Ohio Plots Path for Data Centers as Large-Scale Buildouts Loom

July 14, 2025--Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Utilities across the U.S. are wrestling with how to handle the massive approaching growth in power-generation demand from data centers. One state to notch progress on the issue is Ohio, whose Public Utilities Commission (PUC) last week approved a proposal from AEP Ohio designed to ensure data center developers bear most of the financial burden associated with heavier energy consumption in their areas, despite some pushback from big names like Amazon.com Incorporated (Seattle, Washington) and Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, Washington). Industrial Info is tracking more than $55 billion worth of active and proposed data center projects across Ohio, including more than $6.6 billion worth already under construction. Late last year, AEP Ohio, which is Ohio's largest power provider and a subsidiary of American Electric Power, proposed to the PUC that data centers and cryptocurrency-mining facilities above a certain power threshold be obligated to pay for at least 85% of the energy they expect to need each month--even if they use less--to cover the cost of infrastructure needed to bring additional power. Other companies featured: Alphabet Incorporated and EdgeConneX Incorporated