State leaders discuss data center, their future in the Commonwealth and how to protect consumers
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Across the country, data centers have been on the forefront of everybody’s mind.
Energy experts and state legislators gathered Tuesday to discuss the potential future for data centers in Kentucky, their reliability and how to protect consumers from an increase in price and energy load.
Eric King, executive director of the Energy Planning and Inventory Commission, says that whether a community accepts or denies a data center, local legislators have been learning from surrounding states to help create the best policy.
“So the honest answer is that they are consequential to Kentucky either way” King said. “And that’s why I think our legislators, they’re taking a deep look at this because we are learning lessons from other states. They are asking the right questions, informing local officials about these and taking this issue very, very meaningfully and seriously.”
When something new, like data centers, take over a conversation as quickly as it has, state legislators say that they must take their time, weigh the positives and negatives, and refrain from making any hasty decisions that could hurt the state’s economy in the long run.
“You know, one of the things as a legislator, sometimes we, you know, knee jerk reaction is to pass a bill or to do something about something,” said State Sen. Robby Mills. “We’re trying to make a wise decision here on a huge industry, an industry that could have massive positive effects on local governments on all through our state. So we’re trying to make sure that we do the right thing.”
The question that remains on most communities minds around the state is how can we best protect the consumer?
Certain power cooperatives have already created their own guidelines, ensuring that future data centers have a plan in place for energy consumption before the data centers begin operation.
“You need to be able to show, as a utility, that you have adequate generation resources to be able to match those up against your load. That’s actually one of the very key tenets of our data center tariff,” said General Counsel for the East Kentucky Power Cooperative David Samford.
He said, “If you have a data center that’s over 250 megawatts, we need to have a power supply plan that specifically points to units or generation units somewhere on the electric grid that are putting the same number of electrons onto the grid as you plan to take off, just so the system stays in place.”
State leaders say that no matter the case, data centers are here and communities across the state should stay active in preparation for possible data centers in their communities.
