Issue Brief | State Utility Tariffs: A Tool to Manage Large Load Growth
March 20, 2026
Demand for electricity is rising rapidly due to the growth of data centers and other new large electric customers, as GCC recently highlighted in an introductory blog on large loads. In a new issue brief released today, the Georgetown Climate Center highlights ways that large load tariffs can help states maintain a clean, affordable, and reliable electric system. Large load tariffs are a tool that state policy makers can use to mitigate the impacts of large loads, and Mitigation Program Director Melissa Birchard and Senior Associate Nate Burnand provide examples of large load tariff provisions from states across the country that can help state regulators leverage clean energy to power large loads, address affordability impacts, and maintain the reliability of the electric grid.
The issue brief highlights innovations in Nevada and Kansas, where utility commissions have adopted tariff provisions that help power data center facilities with large-scale clean energy, as well as in North Dakota, where utilities carry out energy efficiency audits to help large loads meet more ambitious efficiency standards. The brief also identifies a range of tariff provisions that advance energy affordability in states like Ohio, Indiana, and Oregon—including by directly assigning costs and requiring up-front payments or deposits. Finally, the brief explores how state tariffs can advance the reliability of the electric grid by incorporating provisions that cover everything from load flexibility and curtailment to bring-your-own new clean energy arrangements.
According to Birchard and Burnand, “Together, the tariff provisions spotlighted in this brief can pave the way for a clean, reliable, and affordable electric system that meets the needs of new large load customers like data centers without harming existing residential and commercial customers or the climate.”
In the coming months, the Georgetown Climate Center will continue to identify solutions to the load growth challenge as part of a publication series exploring regulatory and policy solutions available to leaders in state and local government.