Kehoe among list of governors who sign ‘ratepayer pledge’ on data centers

By: Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) -- Gov. Mike Kehoe was among one of the 23 signatures seen on a pledge by Republican governors that looks to keep electricity costs down as data centers continue to be built around the country.

“As that infrastructure grows and the related electricity demand increases, the American people should not be footing the bill for the benefit of private companies. Instead, the data center boom should be leveraged to address affordability and benefit all American households and businesses,” the pledge states.

The pledge claims President Donald Trump is asking AI companies to “build, bring, or buy all of the energy needed for building and operating data centers, paying the full cost of their energy and infrastructure, no matter what.”

The pledge alleges companies will build or buy “new generation resources and electricity needed to satisfy their new energy demand,” pay for infrastructure upgrades and negotiate separate rate structures for their utilities.

Multiple data centers have been proposed around the country, including in Mid-Missouri.

Data centers nationwide have been met with pushback from residents, with water and electricity usage among the often-cited concerns. Columbia and Camdenton each passed one-year moratoriums in May on the applications and building of data centers.

Montgomery County residents late last year and earlier this year showed out against attempts to build data centers in the county. Residents and property owners also filed a lawsuit in February in an attempt to halt the construction of an Amazon data center.