Columbus City Council Press Conference: Data Center Policy Package

The City of Columbus held a press conference on September 17, 2026, to discuss a legislative package focused on data center policies, particularly addressing the financial and environmental impacts of data centers on the community. The discussion centered on utility rate structures, specifically water usage and peak demand charges for high-volume users like data centers. Columbus Water and Power conducted a study revealing that current rates do not adequately cover the infrastructure costs driven by these large users, leading to a proposal for a new rate model to ensure fair cost recovery. The ordinance 2560-2026 directs the utility to recommend a rate structure that accounts for both water usage and infrastructure demands, with the goal of preventing residential and small business customers from bearing disproportionate costs. The council plans to vote on this ordinance by the end of September, with further reviews and potential rate changes to follow. Additionally, the meeting touched on related policies such as water conservation, decommissioning, and enforcement penalties for non-compliance, as well as broader concerns about infrastructure investment and regulatory frameworks for emerging technologies like AI and data centers.