Energy

Billions of dollars in transmission investments could be on the line as utilities prepare for projected data center demand that may never materialize. AEP Ohio maintains that its existing tariff protects customers from those risks, but significant questions remain about who ultimately pays when forecasts fall short and whether its protections go far enough.

The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA) has repeatedly warned that financial commitments from data center developers do not necessarily protect existing customers from the full costs of infrastructure built to accommodate those projects. OMA’s agreement with AES Ohio takes a different approach, emphasizing upfront financial responsibility for infrastructure investments driven by new demand rather than exposing existing customers to costs that developers fail to cover.

The distinction is becoming increasingly important as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) considers new requirements governing large electricity loads and transmission cost allocation. AEP’s existing tariff should not automatically become the benchmark for federal protections simply because it is already in place. Any new standard must be judged by how effectively it assigns costs and financial risks to the customers responsible for creating them.

“AEP doesn’t get to set the standard just because it got there first,” said Lindsey Short, managing director of advocacy and energy services for the OMA. “FERC needs to determine what actually protects existing customers, not simply validate what’s already on the books. When data center forecasts don’t materialize, manufacturers shouldn’t be stuck paying for infrastructure somebody else demanded.”

With billions in potential infrastructure investments at stake, the consequences of getting those rules wrong could extend decades beyond the original forecasts. Existing customers should not become the financial backstop for speculative electricity demand. New demand should pay for new demand. 10/8/2026

FERC has directed PJM to revise and delay its proposed Reliability Backstop Procurement, raising concerns about whether the special capacity procurement would properly assign costs to the large loads driving the need for new power.

The commission delayed the procurement for five months and said PJM must do more to ensure costs are allocated to the customers responsible for creating them. FERC also questioned PJM’s proposed collateral requirements and directed the grid operator to use more current load forecasts when determining how costs are assigned.

“FERC is asking the right questions about who is driving these costs and who should be responsible for paying them,” said Lindsey Short, managing director of advocacy and energy services at the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA). “Existing customers should not become the backstop for speculative load growth. Better forecasting and clear cost responsibility have to come first.”

The order keeps the backstop procurement alive while putting two issues OMA has repeatedly emphasized at the center of the debate. Forecasts need to reflect demand that is likely to materialize, and new demand should bear the costs it creates. 9/30/2026

This week, Reps. David Thomas and Tristan Rader introduced the bipartisan Ohio Power Outage Relief Act, which would require electric distribution utilities to provide bill credits and reimburse customers for certain losses tied to qualifying prolonged or repeated outages.

The bill arrives as Ohio customers continue to face concerns about both electric reliability and affordability.

“Ohio customers should not have to choose between reliable power and affordable power,” said Lindsey Short, Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA) managing director of advocacy and energy services. “Utilities should be accountable for the service they provide, and any reliability solution should be judged by whether it actually improves the system without simply pushing more costs onto customers.”

OMA continues to push for greater scrutiny of utility load forecasts, stronger oversight of transmission spending and protections against shifting the costs of new large loads onto existing customers, all with the goal of improving reliability without piling more costs onto Ohio businesses and families. 9/23/2026

PJM called on demand response resources Sept. 17 as generator and transmission outages combined with unusually warm weather in the southern part of its footprint.

The event stood out because it came on a relatively mild September day in much of Ohio, raising fresh questions about how much operating margin exists when parts of the system are unavailable.

The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA) Energy Group is reviewing the event and gathering feedback from manufacturers that were asked to interrupt production. Members with information about how the call affected their operations are encouraged to contact Nick Miller at OMA.

“Manufacturers can help us understand what this event looked like on the ground,” Miller said. “If you were asked to curtail load or interrupt production, we want to hear what happened, how much notice you received and what the operational impact was. That information helps us make the case for a system that works better for the companies depending on it.”

OMA continues to focus on reliability, system planning and the costs manufacturers bear when the grid is strained. What happened Sept. 17 gives manufacturers another real-world example of why those issues matter. 9/18/2026

Last week, the OMA Energy Group and others urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to strengthen regulatory oversight of supplemental transmission projects, which can be approved with limited review while their costs are ultimately recovered from customers. With transmission spending in Ohio now exceeding $3 billion annually, the OMA has emphasized that customers should not be expected to provide a blank check for transmission spending.

Meaningful regulatory oversight, transparency, and stakeholder review are necessary to ensure projects are truly needed, costs are reasonable, and utilities are held accountable before hundreds of millions of dollars in additional transmission investments are passed through to Ohio manufacturers and other customers. 9/16/26

Photos from the 2026 Ohio Manufacturers’ Energy Conference are now available, capturing both the Aug. 26 welcome reception and the Aug. 27 conference, with candid moments from speakers, members and conversations throughout the two-day event.

“The conversations we started at the Energy Conference are continuing well beyond the event itself,” said Lindsey Short, managing director of advocacy and energy services at the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association. “Manufacturers are asking tough questions about what is driving their energy costs and who is being asked to carry the risk. We intend to keep pushing for answers.”

View the full photo gallery and look back at highlights from both days. 9/10/2026

The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association has spent months challenging the assumptions behind massive electricity demand forecasts and the billions of dollars in customer costs that can follow. Now that scrutiny is getting national attention, PJM is attacking the messenger.

In a new Canary Media report on questionable data center forecasts and Ohio power bills, PJM Executive Vice President Asim Haque called OMA’s position “naive and irresponsible.”

“If PJM is confident in these forecasts, then show the work,” said Lindsey Short, OMA managing director of advocacy and energy services. “Show us which projects are actually committed, when they are expected to come online and what happens to customers if those projections miss. Billions of dollars are on the line. Customers should not be forced to finance PJM’s assumptions.”

Haque’s choice of words is especially rich in Ohio. As former PUCO chair, he was involved in approving a FirstEnergy charge that ultimately cost customers roughly $456 million before the Ohio Supreme Court struck it down. In subsequently disclosed texts, Haque wrote that he knew the charge would “likely be found illegal” and that FirstEnergy would keep the money because it could not be refunded. Haque later said he was joking.

Forecast assumptions are already influencing capacity requirements, transmission spending and customer bills before much of the projected demand has materialized.

Calling OMA naive does not answer the questions. PJM still has to show its work. 9/9/2026

Ohio manufacturers gathered in Beachwood on Wednesday for a wide-ranging discussion on rising electricity costs, grid reliability and the decisions reshaping the energy market.

Ryan Augsburger, president of the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, joined Chris Phalen, vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers, and Andrew Barth, principal at Environ Energy, for the roundtable, which focused on the forces driving costs higher and what manufacturers should be watching next.

“Manufacturers are trying to make long-term decisions while the costs, forecasts and rules around energy keep moving underneath them,” Augsburger said. “We need much more discipline around what gets built, why it gets built and who is expected to pay for it. Those questions have real consequences for companies deciding whether their next investment happens in Ohio.”

The discussion gave manufacturers a chance to press beyond the headlines and dig into what changing energy markets, policy decisions and infrastructure investments could mean for their plants, their budgets and their next round of investment. 9/9/2026

Ohio manufacturers had the opportunity Thursday afternoon to take their energy concerns directly to U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno.

Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA) President Ryan Augsburger joined OMA energy counsel Kim Bojko, John Seryak, OMA energy engineer, and manufacturers from around the state for a discussion focused on PJM, rising electricity costs and the need for greater scrutiny of the demand forecasts driving major energy investments and customer costs.

“PJM and utilities are making enormous decisions based on forecasts that may or may not become real,” said Lindsey Short, OMA managing director of advocacy and energy services. “That is not good enough when manufacturers are the ones being asked to absorb the cost. We need much tougher scrutiny up front and much stronger proof that the demand is actually there.”

The discussion took place ahead of the Energy Affordability Summit and gave manufacturers a direct opportunity to share what they are seeing on the ground with federal leaders shaping the energy debate.

“Meetings like this are exactly why OMA exists,” Augsburger said. “Our members should have a direct voice with the people making decisions that affect their costs, investments and ability to grow. Bringing manufacturers into the room helps turn policy debates into a conversation about what is actually happening across Ohio.” 9/3/2026

If you missed two of the biggest conversations at the 2026 Ohio Manufacturers’ Energy Conference, now is your chance to catch up.

Dr. Jonathan Koomey opened the day by taking a hard look at the data center demand forecasts now driving some of the biggest decisions in the electricity market. His challenge was uncomfortable and increasingly important. How much of the projected load is actually real, and how much should customers be expected to pay before anyone can prove it?

Abhijeet Sathe of SB Energy closed the conference from the other end of the spectrum, laying out the scale and ambition behind the planned PORTS Technology Campus in southern Ohio and what it takes to pair enormous new demand with real generation, infrastructure and investment.

“Jonathan challenged us to scrutinize what is being forecast, while Abhijeet showed us what it looks like when somebody is prepared to put real investment behind real demand,” said Lindsey Short, Ohio Manufacturers’ Association managing director of advocacy and energy services. “That distinction matters enormously when billions of dollars in future energy costs are on the line.”

One talk questioned the assumptions. The other showed what committed growth can look like.

Both are worth watching. 9/4/2026

Apparently, asking who checked the math has some legs.

Coverage coming out of last week’s Ohio Manufacturers’ Energy Conference landed on the front page of the Columbus Dispatch on Monday and the Dayton Daily News on Tuesday, putting manufacturers’ concerns about data center electricity forecasts and rising customer costs in front of readers across Ohio.

The Dayton Daily News did not exactly bury the point. Its front-page headline read, “OMA fears data center energy needs not understood.”

“We wanted people asking harder questions about these forecasts, and now they are,” said Lindsey Short, managing director of advocacy and energy services for the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association. “When the potential price tag is measured in billions, ‘trust the forecast’ is not good enough. Customers deserve to know what is real before they are asked to pay for it.”

Two front pages later, it looks like plenty of people are asking the same question. 9/1/2026

The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA) debuted a new video at this week’s Ohio Manufacturers’ Energy Conference highlighting the work of the OMA Energy Group (OMAEG) and the companies and experts behind it.

The OMAEG is a buy-up opportunity for OMA members, created specifically to give manufacturers a direct voice in Ohio’s utility regulatory process before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

As OMAEG expert John Seryak puts it in the video, “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”

That seat at the table comes with serious expertise. The OMAEG is supported by experienced utility regulatory counsel and a respected energy engineering firm, giving participating companies added leverage as decisions affecting electricity costs and reliability are made.

Watch the new video to hear from OMAEG participants and experts about why manufacturers cannot afford to sit out the decisions shaping their energy future. Interested in joining the OMAEG? Email Lindsey Short to learn more. 8/27/2026

The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA) is done watching speculative data-center forecasts turn into real bills.

At the Ohio Manufacturers’ Energy Conference, Dr. Jonathan Koomey examined the assumptions behind projections of explosive electricity demand from data centers and AI, explaining why short-term trends, uncertain adoption and efficiency gains can make straight-line forecasts dangerously unreliable.

“Enough. Utilities keep putting enormous forecasts on the table, regulators keep treating them like facts and customers keep getting stuck with the risk,” said OMA President Ryan Augsburger. “If utilities and grid operators want to spend billions chasing projected demand, then prove the demand first.”

Koomey also warned that prospective data-center load can be counted more than once and cited estimates that interconnection queues may overstate the demand that ultimately materializes by three to five times.

Augsburger said that is exactly why regulators need to start acting like the check they are supposed to be.

“If regulators are going to approve billions in spending, they damn well better know the demand is real.” 8/27/2026

SB Energy co-CEO Abhijeet Sathe closed the Ohio Manufacturers’ Energy Conference with a project measured on a scale rarely seen in Ohio … or anywhere.

Sathe called the PORTS Technology Campus near Piketon the world’s largest construction project and said its total cost is expected to exceed what it took to build the International Space Station. Plans include major generation and transmission investment, 35,000 construction jobs and 2,500 permanent jobs once the project is complete.

“We’re going to generate an electron for an electron, and we’ll pay for all the transmission on the project ourselves,” Sathe said.

PORTS is not simply a story about how much investment could come to southern Ohio. It is also a test of whether major projects can bring the infrastructure they need, create lasting economic opportunity and avoid sticking existing customers with the bill. 8/27/2026

U.S. Reps. Troy Balderson and Bob Latta brought the federal energy debate to the Ohio Manufacturers’ Energy Conference, discussing permitting, generation, reliability and the policies shaping how quickly new projects can move.

Balderson urged manufacturers to keep Washington connected to what they are seeing on the ground. “We need the information that you have,” he told attendees. “You’re there on a daily basis.”

Latta was equally direct about who should pay when major new loads connect to the grid.

“We want to make sure that the ratepayers aren’t paying for a data center that comes into the area,” Latta said. “If you’ve got costs that are being incurred, that data center should be the one doing it, not the customer.”

That same scrutiny has to apply to the regulators and grid operators whose decisions ultimately show up on customer bills.

“Congress is asking the right questions, but regulators and grid operators need to start demanding better answers,” said Lindsey Short, managing director of advocacy and energy services for the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association. “Before billions of dollars land on customers’ bills, somebody needs to prove the forecasts are real, the investment is necessary and the costs are going to the right place.” 8/27/2026

Today it is data centers. Tomorrow it could be any business someone decides is unpopular.

NBC4 reports that new legislation would require local voter approval before communities could approve data center projects, while also barring local officials from signing nondisclosure agreements with developers.

Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA) President Ryan Augsburger pushed back on the proposal, warning that creating a special approval process for one industry is a dangerous precedent.

“We’ve seen laws happening at the local level and at the state level that impact data center businesses specifically,” Augsburger told NBC4. “My association contends that that’s discrimination against a business activity.”

OMA has also been clear that data centers should pay the full costs they create, including necessary grid upgrades, up front rather than shifting those costs and risks onto existing customers. But holding large new loads accountable for their costs is very different from creating a separate political approval process for one type of business.

Augsburger also warned that a patchwork of local approval rules would undermine the predictability businesses need when deciding where to invest.

Data centers are generating plenty of legitimate policy questions in Ohio. The answer should be clear rules, full accountability and no cost-shifting, not a new political test for whether a business gets to operate. 8/21/2026

PJM customers are paying historic prices for a capacity market that still is not delivering meaningful new generation. A new Runnerstone analysis prepared for the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association finds that PJM’s four most recent capacity auctions will cost customers more than $63 billion, with the latest auction alone totaling $16.4 billion. Yet less than 0.5% of the capacity clearing the 2028-29 auction came from new generation.

“Customers have paid more than $60 billion through these four auctions, and where is the new generation?” said Lindsey Short, OMA managing director of advocacy and energy. “If record-high prices aren’t bringing new supply into the market, PJM needs to explain why customers should keep paying them.”

The analysis also points to PJM’s compressed auction schedule, changing treatment of generation resources and rapidly growing large-load forecasts as factors contributing to high prices. Transmission owners added 1,374.5 megawatts of large-load adjustments to the latest forecast while only 524.7 megawatts of new, uprated and reactivated generation was added to the cleared auction.

Those concerns take on added urgency as PJM prepares a special Reliability Backstop Procurement aimed at addressing its projected capacity shortfall, potentially creating another source of costs that could ultimately reach Ohio customers. 8/18/2026