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ICYMI: Data Centers Send Utility Rates Soaring for Ohioans Thanks to Jon Husted

July 22, 2026

NBC 4 Columbus: Data centers cause Ohio’s energy demand to surpass supply

COLUMBUS, OHIO — New reporting from NBC 4 Columbus shows that the massive data center boom in Ohio, spearheaded by Jon Husted, has caused energy demand to outpace supply, sending utility rates skyrocketing for Ohio families.

Jon Husted, who has been called “the face of data centers” in Ohio, led the charge to bring a record number of facilities to the state, helping cut sweetheart tax deals and fast track approvals for corporations to build massive data centers. CNBC even called Ohio one of the “best positioned to land AI data center deals despite rising public opposition.” 

Thanks to Husted’s push to hand billions in tax breaks to attract data centers to Ohio, utility bills are skyrocketing for families — with Ohio seeing the second largest utility rate increase in the country over the last year.

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NBC 4 Columbus: Data centers cause Ohio’s energy demand to surpass supply

  • For the second year in a row, the organization that supplies Ohio with electricity was unable to meet its full capacity target.
  • PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission organization that includes Ohio and 12 other states, said the capacity of resources procured at last week’s auction is short of their reliability requirement.
  • PJM is facing a shortfall of about 6.8 gigawatts — the same amount of electricity it would take to power about 4 million homes. 
  • It also signals to state lawmakers and consumer watchdogs that Ohioans’ electric bills are going to continue to get even higher. 
  • State Sen. Kent Smith (D-Euclid) called the PJM auction results “the worst-case scenario.” 
  • “We’ve got data centers entering the market quicker than we can get generation to enter,” Smith said. “Unfortunately, it means prices are probably going to go up and reliability is going to go down.” 
  • PJM has also cited data centers as the primary driver of the overwhelming growth in energy demand.

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