In Corporation Commission debate, GOP incumbents unite on data center costs

Republican Arizona Corporation Commission candidates Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers showed little distinction between their approach to data centers and other utility issues that come before the commission during a debate Tuesday. Both incumbents agree that data center owners, not residential ratepayers, must shoulder the costs of their own infrastructure.

“Chairman Myers and I have made very, very clear to the utilities from day one, from sitting on the dais, (that) growth pays for growth, that we’re not going to allow (data center) user costs to be put on the backs of residential consumers,” Thompson told moderator Steve Goldstein during the Clean Elections Commission debate.

Myers echoed that approach, calling “cost causers are the cost payers” a guiding principle both commissioners have promoted nationally.

He pointed to a recent energy services agreement with Tucson Electric Power tied to Project Blue as a model for protecting residential customers.

“We added a bunch of customer protections in an energy service agreement to make sure that all of their costs are going to be paid by them and not by residential (customers),” Myers said.

With data centers comes concern around water usage

Both candidates also addressed water concerns, saying large data center developers are increasingly using closed-loop cooling systems and treated wastewater rather than drawing heavily on Arizona’s limited supply.

“We’re getting the message across to these large load customers that water in Arizona is precious,” Myers said. “Water is for fighting, whiskey’s for drinking.”

Thompson noted that Arizona is competing with other states, including Virginia, Texas and Nevada, for data center investment, adding that the state currently has the seventh most reliable grid in the nation.

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