Columbus: city utility ordered to propose new charges for large water and sewer users, including data centers

Status: Enacted, signed 1 October 2026; in force “from and after the earliest period allowed by law” · Proposal due: 26 October 2026 · Checked: 8 October 2026

For an existing enterprise facility. This applies to customers of the City’s own utility, Columbus Water and Power, not to every Central Ohio site. No thresholds or rates exist yet; the October proposal must say which customers fall in the new class.

What changed

The Council directed the Director of Columbus Water and Power, with the Utility Advisory Board, to recommend a new rate structure or classification so that “large load/high-volume peak users” pay costs reflecting both their use and the infrastructure built to serve them. The ordinance says it does not itself rewrite the rate structure.

Its detailed requirements are about water: the new structure must recover the cost of water service and of water infrastructure built for these users, and account for the variability of data center water demand. The proposal must consider tiered volumetric charges, a monthly capacity or demand charge, a minimum bill or minimum-take obligation, a connection or infrastructure charge, and seasonal or time-of-use pricing. It must also state the criteria that define the class and the number of customers likely affected.

Who it affects

A “large load/high-volume peak user” is a Columbus Water and Power customer “whose water, sewer, or power demand is disproportionately large relative to typical residential or small-commercial usage.” The definition is “intended to be construed broadly” and may include data centers and colocation facilities, chip fabrication, breweries and beverage or food manufacturers, and agricultural and food processing.

If your facility is a Columbus Water and Power customer, check

1. Which of your services come from the City utility. Water and sewer are the focus of the ordinance.
2. Your peak-day and monthly demand, against the class criteria when the proposal is published.
3. Whether a capacity charge, minimum take or connection charge would apply to existing service, or only to new or expanded connections.

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