Missouri U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley is skeptical about the economic benefit of data centers and is firmly opposed to people paying more on their electricity bills to subsidize them.
The GOP senator's comments put him at odds with some Republican officials who have touted data centers as economic development opportunities. And it comes amid high-stakes Public Service Commission cases that could determine who pays for data center-driven use.
"I don't want Missouri ratepayers to be paying to foot the bill for data centers," Hawley said Wednesday in an interview with St. Louis Public Radio. "If data centers are going to come into the state, fine. If they're going to create jobs? Hey, wonderful. But if they're going to suck up a bunch of electricity, they need to pay for that."
Over the past year, data centers have become a major political flashpoint in the St. Louis area. A data center proposal in St. Charles was withdrawn after meeting widespread public opposition. And St. Louis residents are mobilizing against a center proposal for the Armory Building.
Data center critics have raised alarm about the amount of power and water they use.
Gov. Mike Kehoe said the centers are "a piece of the economic puzzle that we would love to have in our portfolio here in the state."
And on Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, wrote on Facebook that "while there should be oversight into any massive project that is funded by taxpayers, Ameren's desire to invest in data centers in Missouri would be a win for the 8th District and the hardworking people that live here."
"I've seen other communities around America where these centers have been transformative for the community, and I want Missouri to lead the way in attracting jobs and investment," said Smith, the chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee.
When asked to respond to Smith and Kehoe's comments, Hawley said, "If it's going to mean jobs, I'm all for what brings jobs to the state." But he said data centers don't typically bring many long-term jobs – with the exception, perhaps, of people performing maintenance on the machines in the facility.
"And if the grid needs to be built out in order to accommodate them, they need to pay for that," Hawley said. "What I don't want to see happen is your average working guy in St. Louis or Cape Girardeau or Springfield or Kansas City or anywhere kicked off his electricity because he can't afford the bills anymore, because he's being asked to subsidize some data center."
Data centers have also provoked a split among Democrats.
In St. Louis, some of the most vocal critics have been progressives who are concerned about the centers' impact on the environment. That puts them at odds with some labor unions, such as the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, that could benefit from the short-term construction jobs and longer-term opportunities to maintain data centers.
Large energy needs
In its filings and calls with investors, Ameren has said it has signed construction agreements with five large data centers. It has also said it will need to build more power plants to meet that demand.
In recent applications to build two natural gas plants and a solar plant, Ameren staff members told state regulators the new energy was needed in part for data centers. Typically, electric utilities spread the costs for new power plants among existing customers.
The Missouri legislature passed a large utility law this year called SB4 that is supposed to protect other customers from paying for data centers' energy needs. One section of the legislation requires utility companies to create special rates for the huge energy users. It says those rates should "prevent other customer classes' rates from reflecting any unjust or unreasonable costs arising from service to such customers."
Both Ameren Missouri and Evergy are asking the state's Public Service Commission to approve their plans for data centers.
Ameren's plan includes terms to try to isolate data center costs, like minimum years of service. But commission staff members called on the body to reject the plan, saying it could raise other customers' rates by millions. The commission is expected to finalize the rates early next year.
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