Piqua, Ohio, approved a 30-year power arrangement for a planned Meta data center, but not before residents spent hours warning officials that the community could be giving up too much for too little in return.
Here’s what to know
On a roughly 607-acre site held by J5 LLC — which officials described as a business entity used by Meta — the planned data center would receive long-term electricity from AES Ohio under a 30-year deal the Piqua City Commission approved, as Dayton Daily News reported.
The final version is shorter than first proposed: commissioners reduced the term to 30 years from 40, required AES to pay Piqua $1 million annually, and gave the city the right to walk away if that payment stops. Separately, after talks about police, fire, and EMS needs, Meta pledged $8 million for public safety staffing and equipment.
Those concessions did not satisfy many residents, who argued the city still had room to demand better terms. Among them was Alexander Hessler, who asked officials to stop and reopen talks, saying, “Now the cat’s out of the bag. Let’s negotiate with Meta.”
More background
According to city officials, Piqua’s own electric utility can handle the construction phase but not the data center’s ongoing power demand. That is why the plan calls for city power during construction, with AES later taking over the permanent service and the associated infrastructure…