Madison-based Alliant Energy submitted an application Sept. 4 to create a utility-wide electric rate for so-called “large load” customers, according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The standard rate would apply to all hyperscale data centers of at least 100 megawatts.
State energy regulators had ordered the utility to establish a standard rate that covers the large data centers, also known as artificial intelligence data centers, under construction in its service territory, which includes Dane County suburbs and much of the Driftless area.
Alliant had sought an individual rate contract, rather than a standard rate, with tech giant Meta for its $1 billion data center in Beaver Dam.
In approving Alliant’s 10-year contract with Meta in May, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission directed Alliant to come back with a standard rate for this and any future data centers.
So far, the Beaver Dam data center campus, a 700,000-square-foot campus that is expected to open in 2027, is the only hyperscale data center in Alliant’s Wisconsin service area.
Alliant’s 10-year agreement requires Meta to pay the full cost of the infrastructure needed to serve the campus.
The 3-member WPS commission wants to create a clear public tariff, or pricing structure for high-energy users, that would establish a consistent, transparent rate for future hyperscale data centers.
