Lawmakers pushing consumer protections

Jeff Elkins

The Oklahoman USA TODAY NETWORK

Seek to shield residents from data center costs

Oklahoma legislators are moving on multiple fronts to shield residential ratepayers from bearing the infrastructure costs of large load electric users like data centers, with three consumer protection bills clearing their first hurdles in recent days.

The efforts at the Capitol this session come as more than a dozen hyperscale data centers, cryptocurrency mining operations and artificial intelligence facilities eye Oklahoma for expansion, which could add thousands of megawatts of demand to the state’s electric grid.

It’s a bipartisan undertaking to ensure that working families, seniors on fixed incomes and small businesses don’t see their monthly utility bills climb due to infrastructure upgrades driven by corporate giants. The motivation behind the measures stems from the rapid influx of data centers in Oklahoma, which has caused significant concern among residents, local and state officials, and consumer advocacy groups regarding the strain such projects put on infrastructure, as well as electricity and water supply.

“I enjoy my devices and modern conveniences just as much as the next person, but the bottom line is this: if multibillion- dollar tech companies need more electricity for their business model, they should have to pay for it,” said Rep. Amanda Clinton, D-Tulsa, whose measure to mandate a study of data center impacts passed without opposition.

Data Center Consumer Ratepayer Protection Act clears committee

The most comprehensive measure to advance is House Bill 2992, the Data Center Consumer Ratepayer Protection Act of 2026, authored by Rep. Brad Boles, R-Marlow. The bill passed the House Utilities Policy Committee 7-0 Tuesday. It would require new largeload customers that add at least 75 megawatts of demand to cover the infrastructure costs tied to their operations.

“With more than a dozen potential data centers considering our state, we must make sure everyday Oklahomans are not left paying higher electric bills because of increased demand,” Boles said in a statement, adding that the measure was created to ensure large energy users pay for the infrastructure needed to support their operations instead of shifting those costs onto residential payers.

The legislation would require the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and other governing bodies to ensure rates remain fair and that costs are assigned according to cost causation principles. Boles told the committee that means those who create the demand are on the hook for associated expenses.

If passed, Oklahoma utilities would need to establish separate terms and conditions for large load customers, including credit protections and a minimum 10-year service commitment to reduce the risk of stranded costs if a facility leaves or significantly reduces usage, according to bill language.

Language also clarifies that residential, commercial and traditional industrial customers are not included in the large load classification.

“Oklahoma families should not be expected to finance major system upgrades required for high-demand users,” Boles said. “Those costs should rest with the companies driving the need.”

The next step for HB 2992 is the House Energy and Natural Resources Oversight Committee.

Study bill to provide data for future policy

House Bill 3392, authored by Clinton, also advanced unanimously with a 9-0 vote in the House Utility Committee. It directs the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to conduct a comprehensive study examining how large, energy-intensive industrial projects impact the state’s electric grid and ratepayers.

The measure was included as a priority piece of legislation for the Oklahoma House Democratic Caucus for the Second Regular Session of the 60th Legislature. As projects request hundreds or even more than 1,000 megawatts of power from companies like PSO and OG&E, the bill asks the OCC to clearly define “large load electric” customers as a first step in protecting residential payers.

The OCC would report the impact of large load customers such as data centers to legislative leaders by Dec. 1, 2027.

“Working Oklahoma families, lowincome households and fixed income households already feel the burden of rising costs. As hyperscale data centers are built to meet the growing demand for generative AI and cloud storage, it is important we protect current customers from carrying the weight of those costs,” Clinton said in a statement.

HB 3392 moves onto the House Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Oversight.

Peak demand surcharge to fund grid modernization

House Bill 3917, authored by Rep. Mickey Dollens, D-Oklahoma City, passed unanimously out of the Appropriations and Budget Natural Resources Subcommittee.

This measure takes a different approach by requiring public utilities that provide electric services to large load data centers to file an updated schedule of tariffs with the OCC that includes a surcharge for high usage customers applied during periods of peak demand on the electrical grid.

It also creates a revolving fund for the OCC designated as the Grid Modernization Revolving Fund in the treasury. The continuing fund would not be subject to fiscal year limitations and consists of money received from the surcharge collected from public utilities.

“Simply put, customers who use more energy should be charged for that energy,” Dollens said in a statement. “This measure protects residential energy customers from unfair costs while ensuring that modernizing the electric grid does not get placed on the shoulders of Oklahomans.”

The measure now heads to the full Appropriations and Budget Committee. If it passes that step, it can be considered on the House floor.

Additional measures still await committee action

Multiple other bills related to data centers remain pending in committee because they haven’t received their first votes.

Senate Bill 1488, authored by Sen. Kendal Sacchieri, R-Blanchard, would establish a moratorium on new data center construction until Nov. 1, 2029, in an attempt to allow time for a study on impacts to water and electricity resources.

Rep. Molly Jenkins, R-Coyle filed House Bill 3095, which focuses on increasing local control over projects. It would require approval from residents within a five-mile radius for new data center projects.

Senate Bill 1706, by Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, addresses national security concerns with a proposal to prevent foreign entities from controlling data centers in Oklahoma.

Aggressive measure fails in committee

Not all data center-related legislation has made it through the first vote. House Bill 3724, authored by Rep. Jim Shaw, R-Chandler, was voted down 2-6 by the House Utilities Committee Tuesday.

Shaw’s measure would have taken the most aggressive approach to consumer protection by prohibiting taxpayer- funded subsidies for high-demand electric facilities, including state or local tax credits, rebates, refunds, abatements, grants, forgivable loans, tax increment financing, as well as sales, use, ad valorem or income tax exemptions.

The bill would have required highdemand facilities to fully fund all electric infrastructure upgrades required to serve the facility, including those required in the future due to operational needs, and prohibited any costs associated with serving such facilities from being allocated to or recovered from other retail ratepayers.

Before the vote on his measure, Shaw took a moment to clarify that the measure isn’t intended to stray away from free-market principles, but there are countless people in his district and throughout the state who are asking for reasonable protections for their families, properties and communities. He said he received a petition Tuesday with more than 2,500 signatures collected in just 24-36 hours, and that shows the collective Oklahoma voice doesn’t support the idea of funding the data center boom.

“I want Oklahoma to be a place that people want to do business,” Shaw told the committee. “What I cannot do as a representative is let companies whose market caps, in some cases are larger than some countries’ GDP, shift their cost of doing business onto my constituents. It’s not just and it’s not America first.”

Rep. Gerrid Kendrix, R-Altus, one of the no votes, said he would support a bill that “cleanly prohibits subsidies, enforces cost causation and protects rate payers without restricting property rights.”

Shaw closed debate by telling the committee the American Dream is dying, in large part, because people are being treated like “they’re a piggy bank to support government action or the growth of big businesses, rather than recognizing that it’s the other way around.”

The measure failed 2-6, with the two votes in favor coming from Rep. Arturo Alonso-Sandoval, D-Oklahoma City and Rep. Annie Menz, D-Norman.

“What I cannot do as a representative is let companies whose market caps, in some cases are larger than some countries’ GDP, shift their cost of doing business onto my constituents. It’s not just and it’s not America first.”

Rep. Jim Shaw R-Chandler