Last week, the OMA Energy Group initiated the appeals process at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), requesting their reconsideration of an unwise decision allowing for discriminatory ratemaking.

AEP Ohio, a regulated utility required to serve all customers fairly, imposed an unapproved moratorium on new data center developments and proposed a new rate class targeting energy-intensive customers like data centers, which was ultimately approved by the PUCO. The OMA Energy Group opposed this move, arguing that it sets a discriminatory precedent that could harm manufacturers in the future and disrupt Ohio’s competitive energy market. Especially of concern, the PUCO’s rationale for the special tariff is deeply flawed, based on overstated speculative load forecasts by AEP.

The OMA continues to advocate for market-based solutions grounded in competitive markets without unfairly targeting specific industries. Register for the Ohio Manufacturers’ Energy Conference on September 18 to learn more about the data center tariff. 8/12/2025