Before the Ohio House voted on House Bill 646 earlier this week, the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association (OMA) warned lawmakers not to let a convenient political storyline obscure the real problem in Ohio’s electricity debate. Data centers may be drawing the headlines, but the deeper threat to ratepayers is a system that rewards inflated utility forecasts, speculative planning and infrastructure costs that end up landing on everyone else.

In its letter sent to every member of the General Assembly, OMA argued that Ohio should be asking harder questions about the assumptions driving grid planning and electric bills. When utilities project demand too aggressively, the result is not just a paper exercise. It can trigger overpriced capacity procurement, unnecessary transmission expansion and higher costs for manufacturers, families and other customers.

“Ohio lawmakers should be very careful about building policy around a scapegoat while ignoring the real cost driver in plain sight,” said Lindsey Short, OMA managing director of energy and advocacy services. “When utilities can inflate demand, overbuild the system and send the bill to everyone else, that is not responsible planning. That is a direct threat to affordability, accountability and public trust.” 3/19/2026