FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentucky lawmakers are preparing for the artificial intelligence data center boom with legislation designed to shield residents from higher utility bills.
The Kentucky Ratepayer Protection Act, introduced by Representative Adam Moore (D-District 45), would prevent everyday Kentuckians from paying for the massive electricity infrastructure needed to power possible incoming data centers.
"If they are coming into Kentucky and they're bringing the things they are promising to do, they're not doing it on the backs of the average Kentuckian," Moore said.
Moore said he has heard from many Kentuckians who fear that data centers will cause their utility bills to increase. That concern has some merit, as data centers consume enormous amounts of energy and often require new power infrastructure to meet their electricity demands.
In other states, there are examples of power generation expansion for data centers leading to increased energy bills for local communities. Moore's bill aims to prevent that scenario in Kentucky.
"Anything new that is generation, transmission, distribution that solely serves data centers cannot be passed on to other customer classes," Moore said. "Now, anything that provides a dual benefit... they can pay on the existing cost of that and that can be shared proportionally. But, anything new that solely serves the data centers has to be paid by them and cannot go to other customer classes. "
The legislation focuses specifically on electricity costs, though Moore acknowledged other concerns about data centers exist, including water usage and noise pollution. He said he initially included those issues in his bill but decided to narrow the focus to improve its chances of passage in the General Assembly.
"What can we get passed that really meets the main need? And the main need is to make sure that people's electricity is affordable and that they're not paying for these things that are coming in by these multi-billion dollar corporations," Moore said.
Power company executives have previously told Kentucky lawmakers that local communities should welcome data centers for the millions of dollars they would bring in local tax revenue. Lawmakers have agreed that Kentucky must compete in the data center market but have emphasized that any AI-related legislation should address local concerns.
