OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) — Gov. Kevin Stitt ceremonially signed legislation Thursday designed to protect Oklahoma utility customers as the state attracts additional data center development and other large electricity users.
House Bill 2992, known as the Data Center Customer Ratepayer Protection Act, establishes a framework intended to ensure large-load customers pay for the energy infrastructure required to serve their operations.
“This is going to protect ratepayers,” Stitt said during the signing ceremony.
Stitt said the policy is based on a straightforward principle: the costs associated with serving data centers and other major industrial electricity users should not be passed along through the monthly bills of residential customers and existing businesses.
The governor was joined by Oklahoma Corporation Commissioners Kim David and Brian Bingman, Rep. Brad Boles, Sen. Grant Green, and other state leaders involved in advancing the measure.
The legislation comes as Oklahoma seeks to capture additional investment from data centers while addressing concerns about their effect on electric generation, transmission, and utility rates.
The ceremony also recognized Senate Bill 259, the Groundwater Modernization Act, as part of the state’s broader effort to manage infrastructure and natural resources alongside economic growth.
State leaders characterized the two measures as an effort to accommodate growing demand while ensuring existing Oklahoma residents and businesses are not left paying for infrastructure required by new large-scale developments.
