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Consumer Groups Warn Economic‑Development Rates and Data‑Center Deals Could Shift Costs to Households

2512458 · March 5, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

AARP and other witnesses told senators that special rates and contracts for large new industrial customers — including data centers — risk shifting costs to residential customers and recommended tighter safeguards such as separate rate classes or incremental‑cost tests.

Consumer advocates and critics of preferential industrial rates told a Senate Energy Subcommittee that language in House Bill 3309 and related proposals could allow “economic development” or transformational customers to receive discounts that shift costs to ordinary households.

“Rate setting is a zero‑sum game,” said John Ruth of AARP, who testified that if large customers are offered discounted rates, the commission’s revenue…

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