State lawmakers, policy experts, and residents of Tulsa met at a forum Sunday to talk about the influx of AI data centers in Oklahoma - and who really pays the cost.
Former University of Tulsa president Brad Carson, one of the guests on the panel, said compared to what data center companies like Google, Meta, and Amazon are receiving from local governments, Oklahomans are not asking for enough in return – regardless if residents support or oppose the developments.
“We can make them pay for our schools, and our roads, and for clean energy, and everything else in between, if we want to, because you don’t have to have it at all,” said Carson. “It’s a viable choice, also, to say, ‘No, I don’t want this.’”
Carson is now president and co-founder of Americans for Responsible Innovation, a nonprofit focused on AI policy.
He said it is important for communities to know that money “gifted” to them from data centers is not charity but a replacement for the tax break they were given.
For example, Tulsa’s Meta data center, Project Anthem, received an 85% exemption on property taxes for 25 years, resulting in a tax bill around $36 million. In lieu of the full payment in property taxes, Meta is providing a minimum $62 million toward the city’s project fund.
Carson spoke about citizen’s common worries regarding data center builds: water usage and electricity rates from entities such as Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co. or Public Service Company of Oklahoma.
“There are a lot of concerns about AI data center development. Water is probably not a significant problem, actually, as is the electricity question, but the electricity rates are set by the people we elect to office,” said Carson. “Now, the Corporation Commission is admittedly pretty obscure to most people – it has enormous power. So, if you don’t like what PSO or OG&E is charging you, you have the ability to find new people to do that.”
Carson suggests the resident’s concerns about water and electricity consumption will be solved over the next three to four years as the technology is developed to be more efficient and to use less.
In the meantime, legislation across several states, including Oklahoma, is placing guardrails on data center development. During the National Governors Association meeting in Oklahoma City last week, Gov. Kevin Stitt addressed citizens’ concerns about electricity and water usage by referring to the ratepayer protection plan, or House Bill 2992, signed into law in May.
The bill, which took effect July 1, is meant to protect residents and business utility customers from taking the brunt of new data centers electrical and energy-driven costs. It also requires large scale projects with mass amounts of energy usage to give 60 days’ notice and hold public meetings before settling land purchases.
State Representative Amanda Clinton (D-Tulsa) was on Sunday’s panel, as well. Last year, she requested an interim study to explore the impact of data centers on Oklahoma water resources and power grid. While Clinton co-authored HB 2992, she said it could be stronger in protecting ratepayers.
“House Bill 2992 does not address all industrial, large load users, like the proposed smelter in Inola which needs 1000 megawatts compared to some of these data centers that have requested 75, 100, 150,” said Clinton. “So, the smelter actually uses exponentially more electricity, or would use more electricity, than a data center would.”
The bill specifically covers data centers and bitcoin mining, and leaves a lot of the finer details to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission such as placing tariffs on large-load energy users.
Another law passed in 2025 allows large load users like data centers to build their own power plants behind the meter, essentially bypassing the need to plug in with other users. While not many data centers in Oklahoma have opted to go that route, Clinton said there are still concerns around that idea, as well.
“I think on the one hand, going behind the meter sounds great for rate payers who feel that they are then protected from these large load users, having to access the same power grid that we're all accessing, but at the same time, I do worry about regulations on behind the meter power generation,” said Clinton. “I think the Trump administration recently announced that they wanted to lift or relax a lot of emissions standards for behind the meter power generation. So, I think it's sort of a mixed bag.”
At the forum, Clinton stated data centers belong in industrial parks, not farmland – and agreed with Carson that Oklahomans need to ask for more: from their politicians and the companies seeking to develop in their community.
“We’re rolling over way too easily and just giving away the farm for not very much in return,” Clinton said.
The issue is not just data centers. Carson said people should think more about their relationship with technology as a whole as it will be the most important political issue over the next 30 years.
“Technology is transforming the world around us - in maybe some good ways, maybe some bad ways - it’s ambivalent. We need to make sure we get it working for us And it definitely happens through activism like this in the room, so get after it.”
According to the Data Center Map database, there are 48 data centers listed in Oklahoma. Of those 48, 33 are located in or around Tulsa.
To watch the discussion, visit https://youtu.be/LY0XnY0DA7U.
