Kansas Commerce official urges local vetting as data‑center interest grows

The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners heard a detailed presentation from Paul Hughes of the Kansas Department of Commerce about data‑center siting, power demands and safeguards. Hughes said data centers vary widely in size and are typically measured by power demand (megawatts); anything over roughly 75 megawatts triggers Southwest Power Pool planning processes. He told the board Kansas law prevents operators from passing infrastructure costs onto residential ratepayers.

Hughes advised local officials to coordinate early with utility economic‑development staff such as Evergy to obtain a courtesy notice if a developer is evaluating the county, and to require that any company seeking incentives complete the state's intelligence/fusion center review required under SB 98. "In Kansas, it's prohibited by law for a data center to pass their infrastructure costs to the residential rate payers," Hughes said during the presentation.

Commissioners asked how the county would learn whether a developer had contacted energy providers; Hughes recommended contacting Evergy's economic development office, which can provide non‑confidential courtesy notices. He also outlined mitigation options communities can use — zoning, master plans that limit data center size by megawatts, moratoria to buy study time — and highlighted that decisions hinge on power availability, water needs, and the size of the proposed facility.