Duke Asks for Power Rate Increase in Data Center-Wary Ohio

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Written by Eric Funderburk for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Duke Energy has requested an $8 monthly rate increase in Ohio to fund power distribution activities.

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Proposed Rate Hike

Power utility Duke Energy's latest request for a rate hike comes in Ohio, a state where pushback on data centers is reaching a breaking point, not only for the facilities' tremendous drain on power resources, but also in regard to their water consumption and the billions of dollars' worth of tax breaks the state has provided data center developers.

Industrial Info Resources data show more than $310.8 billion worth of planned and underway data center construction in Ohio.

Someone, somewhere is saying, "I told you this would happen." As Ohioans take aim at data centers through legislation and policy, Duke Energy has filed with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio for what the company say would be a rate hike of about $8 a month for residential customers. Duke spokesperson Matt Martin said the increase would represent about a 4.5% increase for residential customers and a 3% hike for non-residential customers.

However, the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, a state agency that advocates for and educates residential utilities customers, says Duke's methodology is flawed and that consumers could see distribution charges on their bills rise by as much as $18 per month.

A final decision on the increase is expected next year.

The request isn't particularly well-timed as Ohio citizens and legislators have become increasingly vocal about data centers' affects on Ohioans, and fingers are bound to point at potential data center developments for what could be a major rate hike from one of the state's primary power providers. According to the company, its regional service territory covers about 3,000 square miles in Ohio and Kentucky, primarily around the Cincinnati area, and serves around 910,000 customers.

As a brief aside, Duke Energy Florida boasts that it has decreased its rates in Florida three times so far in 2026, reducing customers bills by around 25%, according to the company.

Tax Break Pause

Duke's rate request comes as serious movement regarding the tax breaks Ohio provides data centers takes shape. The state last week approved a $42.3 million tax break for two data centers being developed by Cologix in the Greater Columbus area.

But that could be the last of the tax breaks for a while, as around the same time, Governor Mike DeWine (R) announced an abrupt pause to the exemptions, which according to Ohio's Signal media outlet amounts to nearly $2.17 billion since 2025 and reportedly have amounted to around 11 times more than initial estimates suggested. Ohio provided an exemption of from its 5.75% sales tax for data centers that met certain conditions.

Past & Pending Legislation

A flurry of bills in the Ohio's legislative branch provides a snapshot of the growing concern over the facilities as well as their effects on power rates.

Last year, the state's primary provider, Columbus-headquartered American Electric Power (AEP) managed to get approval from state regulators for a new billing scheme meant to prevent unnecessary rate increases to the average citizen. The new billing process includes minimum purchasing agreements and late exit fees for new data center customers. Ohio's House Bill 706, currently under House committee review, aims to extends the AEP provisions to the entirety of the state.

Other bills in the Ohio legislature include:

• House Bill 646 - This bill has been passed by the House and introduced to the Senate. The bill aims to establish a commission to study data centers' effects on water resources, power rates and grid reliability, and other issues.
• House Bill 695 - This bill isn't exclusively aimed at data centers, but a possible data center may be at its heart. The bill would prohibit county, town and village officials from signing non-disclosure agreements (NDA) regarding large industrial developments. One of the bill's co-sponsors, Adam Bird's (R) constituency includes the village of Mt. Orab, population 4,400, where local officials signed an NDA regarding a large industrial development that has been shrouded in secrecy from area residents but in all likelihood is another Ohio data center. This bill is under committee review in the House.
• House Bill 710 - This bill also is under committee review in the House. It aims to forbid all incentives for data centers from the local to the state level and sets limits on siting, protecting neighborhoods and public lands from development and placing environmental criteria on data centers built on farmland. It also bars the use of eminent domain and, crossing a definite line, forbids data centers from connecting to the grid unless they either provide their own generation or fund every aspect related to changes regarding to capacity, distribution and generation that they bring.

Ohio's Data Center Hotspots

Duke Energy's Cincinnati-based service territory isn't really the prime destination for data centers in Ohio, although activity is certainly present in the area. The officially defined Greater Cincinnati area (the Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington OH-KY-IN Combined Statistical Area) includes 16 counties in three states. For the six Ohio counties alone (Butler, Brown, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton and Warren), Industrial Info Resources data find more than $11.9 billion worth of data centers in the planning or engineering stages.

Perhaps the most well-known player looking to build in the area is Amazon Web Services, which is considering a data center near Wilmington in Clinton County that could include up to nine buildings and represent an investment of around $4.5 billion. Subscribers to the Industrial Info Resources Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.

Despite the pending influx of data centers into the Cincinnati area, the real Ohio hotspot for the facilities and certainly the place experiencing the most active construction is Greater Columbus. Industrial Info Resources is tracking a whopping $56.1 billion worth of data centers under construction or planned in the 10 Ohio counties representing Greater Columbus, including approximately $8.6 billion worth of these projects that are in a state of active construction.

Of particular note is the city of New Albany, about 15 miles from Columbus, which has unrolled the welcome mat for data center developers and is currently home to $7.25 billion of active data center construction from likes of Meta Platforms, Amazon Web Services, Google, Vantage Data Centers and others, with more on the horizon.

Duke's Request

With Cincinnati very much on the radars of data center developers and a growing wariness to the facilities amongst citizens across the state, Duke's requested rate hike has already encountered some resistance. Whether the rate hike is passed or not could very much affect how the utility responds to power requests from data center developers and could facilitate or hinder further development in the region.

Key Takeaways

• Duke Energy has requested the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approve a rate hike for the company's Ohio customers.
• Duke says the rate hike would represent a 4.5% rise (about $8) to residential customers' monthly bills, although state agency Ohio Consumers' Counsel say the change could increase monthly bills by up to $18.
• Industrial Info Resources is tracking about $11.9 billion worth of potential data center projects in Duke Energy's Ohio service territory, which is based around Greater Cincinnati.

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About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).