An Indiana consumer advocacy group is calling for a moratorium on new electricity-intensive data centers.

The Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana is calling on the state legislature to enact a moratorium on hyperscale data centers, citing concerns over escalating utility bills and substantial tax subsidies. Hyperscale data centers are massive facilities engineered to deliver large-scale cloud computing power, data-management services, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data analytics, typically housing computers, servers, digital storage, and cooling systems. The coalition argues these facilities will provide few jobs relative to their energy consumption and the incentives they receive. "Hoosiers must be fully protected from the rapacious resource needs, massive tax subsidies, and extraordinary utility cost burden associated with these facilities that could lead to skyrocketing utility bills across Indiana," said Kerwin Olson, CAC's executive director.

Major technology companies have announced significant data center investments in Indiana. In April, Amazon Web Services disclosed plans to invest $11 billion to build a data center about 10 miles west of South Bend in New Carlisle, which would create about 1,000 jobs, with the Indiana Economic Development Corp. providing nearly $150 million in performance-based incentives. Also in April, Google announced it would spend $2 billion on a data center project in southeast Fort Wayne—more than double the amount initially disclosed in January—expected to create about 200 jobs. In June, Microsoft announced plans to spend $1 billion to build a data center in La Porte to support its Cloud infrastructure and AI growth. Meta Platforms announced plans for an $800 million data center campus in Jeffersonville in January, supporting about 100 operational jobs.

Indiana's utility system faces unprecedented demand strain from these projects. Indiana Michigan Power is forecasting that hyperscaler data centers will consume 35 million MWh of electricity per year by 2030—exceeding the 31.9 million MWh used annually by all 6.8 million Hoosiers in their homes. Brian Inskeep, program director for Citizens Action, told the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission that I&M currently has no customers using 150 megawatts or more, but new hyperscaler facilities with loads in the hundreds to thousands of megawatts are planned for the utility's service territory. "The new large loads anticipated for I&M's service territory are unprecedented and staggering, including facilities that will be among the single largest electric users in the state," Inskeep wrote. "Without the prompt implementation of robust consumer protections and enhanced transparency, existing ratepayers are at extraordinary risk from these new large loads."

The state has offered "data-center incentives"—tax breaks often worth hundreds of millions of dollars locked in for up to 50 years—with Amazon's project also qualifying for Indiana's data-center sales tax exemption on computers, servers, software, and electricity. AES Indiana, serving the Indianapolis area, is in "advanced discussions" with a hyperscaler but has not named the party, though it previously indicated such a facility would require additional power generation. The Indiana Energy Association, representing investor-owned utilities, supports the state's recruitment efforts, with president Danielle McGrath stating that "electric companies are working with these businesses who are targeting Indiana to understand their timelines, energy needs, and where they are wanting to locate" and emphasizing the goal to "support this growth and the communities who have welcomed them" while maintaining service reliability and protecting existing customers.