Ratepayer costs: what candidates said
We sent every candidate on your ballot the same questions, whatever office they are running for. We wrote the options, so each one appears below once, with everyone who chose it. Candidates who wrote their own answer instead are shown in their own words, exactly as submitted.
Ratepayer costs
When a data center's demand requires new transmission or generation, who should pay for that build-out?
- The facility should cover the full cost of any transmission, generation or grid upgrades its demand requires, under a binding agreement signed before construction, with no recovery from residential ratepayers. If it leaves, the cost stays with the company.
- Costs should be split between the facility and the utility according to how much of the new capacity serves the wider grid, with the split set in a public proceeding and reviewed if actual load comes in below forecast.
- The existing rate case process already allocates these costs, for every large customer rather than one industry. Singling out one class would set a precedent that raises costs for manufacturers and hospitals next, and push investment to other states.