Columbus-area residential electric bills are running more than 7% higher than a year ago, and state regulators just ordered new protections to keep data center growth from pushing them further.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio directed AEP Ohio on Aug. 6, to require data centers to provide 180 days' notice before connecting to the utility's default service. Once notified, AEP Ohio will purchase energy for that data center through separate auctions or spot-market buys, and the data center will pay the entire bill. AEP Ohio itself requested the order.

The rule matters locally. Franklin County has at least 40 tracked data center facilities, the largest concentration in Ohio, according to a statewide data center inventory updated July 30. Dublin's West Innovation District alone hosts five Amazon Web Services buildings on Crosby Court, plus smaller operators DartPoints and Expedient. AEP Ohio provides electricity throughout the district via a 138-kV transmission line and substation north of Darree Fields, according to city planning documents.

"We continue to implement safeguards to ensure that other customers are not impacted by costs to serve large loads like data centers," PUCO Chair Jenifer French said in a statement on Aug. 6, according to Spectrum News 1.

AEP Ohio reported that customers' bills rose an average of $27 per month during the summer of 2025 because of increased generation costs. Ohio law does not allow utilities like AEP Ohio to generate additional power, so rising data center demand strains a fixed supply across the company's 1.5 million customers.

The Aug. 6 ruling builds on an existing AEP Ohio tariff, approved by PUCO in July 2025, that already required data centers to pay for a minimum share of their committed electricity whether or not they use it. That tariff cut speculative power requests sharply: AEP Ohio received applications for 30,000 megawatts of new demand in 2023, but after the tariff took effect, applications dropped to about 13,000 MW and resulted in contracts for 5,342 MW, according to ABC6.

Dublin City Council has taken its own steps. On July 1, council voted 6-1 to remove data centers as permitted or conditional uses in the West Innovation District and create a new Research Transition District zoning category. Neighboring Washington Township approved a 90-day moratorium on new data center development in December 2025, citing electricity concerns, according to Columbus Business First.

French said the PUCO order also connects to the federal Ratepayer Protection Pledge, a nonbinding commitment initiated by President Donald Trump for data centers to cover their own energy costs. AEP Ohio and Gov. Mike DeWine are among roughly 300 signatories.

The next regulatory step is a separate PUCO proceeding to create dedicated rate classes for data center customers. Dublin City Council's next regular meeting is Monday, Aug. 24, at 7 p.m. at 5555 Perimeter Drive.