Data centers take center stage in Wisconsin governor’s race

Data centers have become a major issue in Wisconsin's governor's race, and the outcome could affect electricity bills across the state. Developers have flocked to Wisconsin for its cool climate, water access, and tax breaks, but the huge power demand from these facilities has raised fears about rising utility bills and new fossil-fuel plants built to serve them. A recent poll found over three-quarters of Wisconsin voters now think the costs of data centers outweigh the benefits. One utility, We Energies, is planning two new gas plants partly to meet this demand, while some coal plants slated for retirement are staying online longer than planned.

Democratic candidates in the Aug. 11 primary have proposed various fixes: a moratorium on new data centers, requirements that they bring their own clean energy, taxes on developers to fund clean energy loans, and more reporting on how much power big users consume so regular customers aren't subsidizing them. Republican candidate Tom Tiffany wants to block data centers on farmland and end their tax breaks, but favors keeping old coal plants running rather than requiring clean energy.

For homeowners, the relevant piece is rate protection. State regulators recently created a special electricity rate for data centers in the Milwaukee area specifically to keep regular customers from covering the cost of powering them, a move consumer advocates praised. How this race unfolds could shape whether that kind of protection expands, and whether new power plants built for data centers end up affecting your own utility bill.