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Amazon commits another $10 billion to Ohio data centers amid questions about energy costs and supply

Amazon Web Services will look beyond Columbus, where energy supply is constrained, to expand its data centers in the state.

AEP Ohio, the Columbus utility that serves Amazon, said earlier this year that it received 30 gigawatts of service requests from data centers alone — an amount that would put the region's demand for electricity close to New York City's. AEP has asked Ohio's public utilities regulator to approve a tariff and a special rate class for data centers that would require the power-hungry facilities to pay for the majority of electricity they anticipate needing — even if they ultimately do not consume all of it. The future of the chip plant, which is supposed to bring 3,000 advanced manufacturing jobs to central Ohio, is uncertain as the company debates spinning off its struggling foundry business.

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