Oklahoma has at least a dozen data centers planned for its electric grid and each is in need of massive amounts of electricity.
To prevent households from shouldering grid connection costs for companies like Google and Meta, utilities have been tasked with creating terms and conditions for data centers and other energy-hungry facilities.
Oklahoma Gas & Electric proposed its draft to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission June 17. The regulatory body will conduct what will likely be a months-long review process before approving the plan.
What’s in OG&E’s large-load tariff?
Any customer planning to use 75 megawatts or more in OG&E’s service territory is required to operate according to the agreement. Those customers would be classified separately from regular households and be on the hook for their estimated electricity usage, whether they end up using it or not.
Data centers will also be required to pay for their own grid connection. Filed testimony states other customers will not subsidize those connections.
Part of the agreement sets up a future fund by collecting monthly fees from large-load customers and potentially using that money to credit regular or financially vulnerable customers. OG&E estimates the annual collection could total between $25 and $30 million. The Corporation Commission would review a proposed credit in a rate case before it would be distributed.
As large-load customers connect to the grid, the commission will review financial impacts to regular customers during rate reviews. The tariff creates a system to credit consumers if the commission finds harm from high-energy users.
Will Google’s data centers abide by OG&E’s large-load tariff?
The filed agreement only applies to new data centers or other large energy users. OG&E finalized a contract with Google in late April containing some of the same conditions in the large-load tariff.
Google is constructing three data centers in Muskogee and Stillwater. The tech giant is also building solar panel installations to add new generation to the grid.
Christi Woodworth, OG&E’s chief communications officer, said there are some differences in the agreements. Google’s conditions don’t include a monthly fee collection that could be credited to other consumers.
As of today, Woodworth said no companies will be immediately affected by the large-load tariff.
Approval of the proposed utility structure and conditions could take around six months. Woodworth said OG&E will notify customers of when in-person public comment is expected to take place.
“This proposal is designed, and if approved, will put us in a position for these large customers to pay their way and not negatively impact all of our current other customers,” she said.
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