States Act as Data Center Energy Demands Grow
One of the main criticisms in Oklahoma over the rapid expansion of large data center projects centers on who pays for the additional electricity demand. Concerns have risen that ratepayers could be left footing the bill for massive infrastructure upgrades.
But Kansas regulators acted first—establishing new rules to protect consumers and ensure they are not forced to pay the costs of connecting high-demand projects like data centers to the power grid.
Michigan regulators have followed the same path, adopting similar policies to protect existing utility customers from covering expenses related to interconnecting large power loads.
Kansas Approves Settlement Agreement for Large-Load Users
KCC Works with Utilities, Tech Companies, and Environmental Groups
According to Utility Dive, the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) approved a settlement agreement between Evergy’s Kansas utilities, the Data Center Coalition, the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Google, and other stakeholders.
The agreement creates a large-load “power service rate plan” for new facilities exceeding 75 megawatts (MW) of capacity.
Evergy Anticipates 6GW of New Demand
In its February application, Evergy told the KCC that it had been in discussions with nearly 20 potential data center and manufacturing customers. The combined demand from those projects could total more than 6 gigawatts (GW)—a significant addition to Kansas’s power grid.
Under the approved plan, customers would receive up to five years for ramp-up, followed by at least 12 years of service at the negotiated rate.
Environmental Groups Support the Agreement
Settlement Balances Fairness and Clean Energy Growth
The agreement earned support from the Sierra Club and several environmental organizations. Sarah Rubenstein, an attorney with the Great Rivers Environmental Law Center, said the plan strikes an important balance between infrastructure costs and renewable energy goals.
“This settlement ensures that large energy users share responsibility for the infrastructure they require while also creating new opportunities to move the grid toward clean, renewable energy,” Rubenstein said.
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