OPINION:
Counties hold more cards than they think when data centers are planned for their communities (What a county can actually negotiate when a data center comes to town,” Web, Sept. 28). Yet the leverage is before the vote, not afterward.
Utility customers in seven PJM states were charged about $4.4 billion for transmission upgrades approved in 2024 to connect data centers. Those costs are usually spread across every family on the bill.
That is the wrong rule book.
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A county cannot set utility rates. It can still make the developer pay for what the project needs: water, roads and the power upgrades that would otherwise hit ratepayers. Some deals already do that. Most still do not.
Whether a community wants a data center is a local call. If it accepts one, neighbors should not get stuck with the bill. The company creating the demand should pay its own way and leave something behind for the people next door, such as rooftop solar and home batteries that cut bills and keep the lights on when the grid hiccups.
Growth should strengthen the grid, not strain it.
Chairman, Americans for Energy Dominance
Lakeland, Florida
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