Columbia Planning and Zoning to discuss electric grid needs as it considers data center rules
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to meet for a work session at 5:30 p.m. Thursday to discuss the city’s electrical grid.
As Columbia considers rules around data center development, the city's electric grid capacity is a key factor in determining how much additional electricity demand it can support. The City Council on May 18 passed a one-year moratorium on data center applications and development.
According to the committees presentation, the city's historical peak electricity demand is about 290 megawatts, and many of its substations and circuits are already approaching capacity.
Roughly 100 MW of electric power is sufficient to support the electricity needs of 80,000 U.S. households, according to U.S federal legislation.
Projects requiring more than 20 megawatts of electricity could require significant infrastructure upgrades, a city presentation says. Depending on where a project connects to the grid, even a smaller development requiring 5 megawatts could present challenges for the city’s electric utility.
Those upgrades could raise questions about who would pay for the additional infrastructure and how the city could protect existing utility customers from increased costs.
Missouri regulators have approved a large-load power service tariff aimed at investor-owned utilities, including Ameren and Evergy. The tariff targets new customers with an expected ramp rate exceeding 75 megawatts.
However, according to the presentation, no equivalent legislation is currently in effect for municipal utilities such as Columbia’s. Discussions about similar efforts are beginning ahead of the 2027 legislative session.
The city believes it may not have enough capacity to meet the electricity demands of a large data center, meaning developers could need to secure additional power supplies before building in the city.
It presents an option of generating electricity on site, while another would involve purchasing power from an off-site provider through a power purchase agreement.
Under either scenario, the developer would also need a backup power plan to account for potential outages or disruptions, city documents say.
The city is also considering how a data center could remain a Columbia utility customer even if it secures its own power supply.
If a data center generates its own electricity on-site, one potential arrangement would involve the generation facilities eventually being owned by the city’s electric utility or Boone Electric. Officials claim that approach could create additional jobs in the area.
If the developer instead purchases electricity through an off-site agreement, that contracted capacity could help the utility meet its peak demand obligations.
The said the goal is to ensure a data center can meet its own power needs without placing additional strain on Columbia’s electric grid, while allowing the city and its utility customers to benefit from the development.
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