TIFFIN, Ohio — Tiffin’s unusually cheap electricity rate is coming to an end, leaving the city preparing for a potentially sharp increase in what it costs to power City Hall, fire stations, wastewater facilities and other municipal operations.
Tony Ramos, a representative of the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council, told Tiffin City Council on Tuesday that the city has continued receiving electricity for less than 5 cents per kilowatt-hour under a contract that actually expired more than two years ago.
The city signed a 36-month contract with NextEra in April 2021. That agreement expired in April 2024, Ramos said, but NextEra continued honoring the old rate.
That rate is now going away.
“Five cents a kilowatt hour for electricity is extremely low,” Ramos told council, saying current rates are roughly 9 to 12 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Rather than send Tiffin into the electricity market alone, NOPEC is proposing to combine the city’s municipal electricity demand with 11 other Ohio communities in an effort to secure a better price through bulk purchasing.
The proposed group would represent more than 80 million kilowatt-hours of annual electricity use, Ramos said, and includes communities such as Norwalk, Mansfield, Lancaster, Chardon and Lexington.
“The main goal is to blunt any potential increase,” Ramos said.
He used a move from roughly 4 cents per kilowatt-hour to around 9 cents as an example of the kind of increase NOPEC is attempting to soften through the pooled purchasing program. No final price for Tiffin has been established.
NOPEC expects to present participating communities with pricing and term options in early October. The initial contracts would run either 12 or 24 months and are expected to begin in November or December.
Ramos did not provide council with an estimate Tuesday of how much the change will increase Tiffin’s total annual electricity costs.
The proposal has also not yet received final approval from City Council. Ramos said legislation will come before council affirming Tiffin’s participation and authorizing a city official, likely the mayor or city administrator, to execute the eventual agreement.
What it means for Tiffin residents
The change discussed Tuesday applies specifically to electricity purchased for city government facilities. It is not a change to the NOPEC aggregation program serving Tiffin residents and small businesses.
City Administrator Nick Dutro specifically cited City Hall, the fire departments and the city’s water pollution control center while explaining the distinction.
“I’m not proposing any changes to your residential programs at all,” Ramos told council. “Just for your municipal load.”
NOPEC describes itself as a governmental energy aggregator that uses the purchasing power of 250 member communities to negotiate electricity and natural-gas rates.
Ramos said Tiffin has already provided NOPEC with updated electric bills. The organization has also received a letter of authorization allowing it to communicate with the utility and a letter of exclusivity establishing that NOPEC is authorized to work on the city’s behalf with prospective suppliers.
Rate change comes as Ohio electricity demand surges
NOPEC did not tell council that data centers caused NextEra to stop honoring Tiffin’s old rate.
The direct reason for the city’s coming increase is straightforward: Tiffin’s exceptionally cheap contract expired in 2024, and the city has continued benefiting from a below-market rate that its supplier is now ending.
But Tiffin is being pushed back into the electricity market at the same time Ohio’s power system is confronting rapidly growing demand — much of it coming from the data-center industry state officials spent years courting.
In June, the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel told state lawmakers that “Ohio is experiencing extraordinary electric load growth driven largely by data centers.”
The state agency, which represents residential utility consumers, has warned that unprecedented new demand can require significant investment in generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure — and has argued that the customers creating those costs should be responsible for paying them rather than shifting them to other consumers.
“Ohio can welcome data center investment without shifting costs to families,” OCC Director Maureen Willis told lawmakers. “Those goals are not in conflict.”
The Consumers’ Counsel says Ohio has more than 200 data centers, the fifth-highest number of any state, with most concentrated in Central Ohio.
A large hyperscale data center can consume as much electricity as approximately 100,000 homes, according to the agency. OCC also says rapid data-center expansion is increasing electricity demand and can put upward pressure on prices while requiring major upgrades to transmission lines, substations and other infrastructure.
Ohio spent years courting data centers
The growth follows years of state efforts to attract and expand the industry, with then-Lt. Gov. Jon Husted repeatedly promoting major data-center investments while serving in the DeWine administration.
In June 2023, Gov. Mike DeWine, Husted and JobsOhio announced that Amazon Web Services planned to invest an estimated $7.8 billion to expand its data-center operations in Central Ohio.
“This positions Ohio as a critical location for the most discussed technology in the world, artificial intelligence,” Husted said at the time.
In December 2024, DeWine, Husted, the Ohio Department of Development and JobsOhio announced another estimated $10 billion AWS expansion across greater Ohio.
The announcement brought AWS’s planned and announced investment in Ohio since 2015 to more than $23 billion through 2030.
“Artificial Intelligence and data centers are crucial to America’s economic superiority,” Husted said in announcing the expansion.
Ohio has also offered a significant tax incentive to qualifying projects. The state’s Data Center Tax Exemption allows qualifying projects to receive a partial or full sales-tax exemption on eligible data-center equipment, subject to investment and payroll requirements and approval by the Ohio Tax Credit Authority.
The industry’s expansion is now spreading beyond its heavy concentration in Central Ohio.
In April 2025, the Regional Growth Partnership and JobsOhio announced a more than $800 million Meta data center in Wood County.
The AI-optimized facility is being built on approximately 280 acres in Middleton Township. The planned 715,000-square-foot development is expected to support approximately 100 permanent jobs, according to JobsOhio.
Tiffin has already hit the brakes on data centers
The statewide debate over electricity demand has particular relevance in Tiffin.
City Council voted 6-0 in April to impose a 12-month moratorium on data-center development inside the city, giving officials time to examine zoning, infrastructure, electricity, water use and other potential consequences before establishing permanent regulations.
No data-center project was pending in Tiffin when council adopted the moratorium.
Tiffin’s impending municipal electricity increase is not evidence that data centers caused the city’s rate to rise. The city’s immediate problem is an expired contract that allowed it to continue buying electricity at an extraordinarily low price for more than two years after the agreement ended.
But the broader electricity market into which Tiffin is now returning is markedly different from the one in which the city locked in its previous deal in 2021, with state consumer advocates now warning of extraordinary load growth as increasingly power-hungry data centers expand across Ohio.
NOPEC’s task is to determine how much of the coming increase it can shield Tiffin from by combining the city’s purchasing power with other municipalities.
The actual price won’t be known until NOPEC presents its pricing and term options in early October.
What is already clear is that the sub-5-cent electricity rate Tiffin has enjoyed for years is coming to an end.
TIFFIN, Ohio — Tiffin's unusually cheap electricity rate is coming to an end, leaving the city preparing for a potentially sharp increase in what it costs to power City Hall, fire stations, wastewater facilities and other municipal operations. Tony Ramos, a representative of the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council, told Tiffin City Council on Tuesday that the city has continued receiving electricity for less than 5 cents per kilowatt hour under a contract that actually expired more than two years ago. The city signed a 36 month contract with NextEra in April 2021. That agreement expired in April 2024, Ramos said, but NextEra continued honoring the old rate. That rate is now going away. "Five cents a kilowatt hour for electricity is extremely low," Ramos told council, saying current rates are roughly 9 to 12 cents per kilowatt hour. Rather than send Tiffin into the electricity market alone, NOPEC is proposing to combine the city's municipal electricity demand with 11 other Ohio communities in an effort to secure a better price through bulk purchasing. The proposed group would represent more than 80 million kilowatt hours of annual electricity use, Ramos said, and includes communities such as Norwalk, Mansfield, Lancaster, Chardon and Lexington. "The main goal is to blunt any potential increase," Ramos said. He used a move from roughly 4 cents per kilowatt hour to around 9 cents as an example of the kind of increase NOPEC is attempting to soften through the pooled purchasing program. No final price for Tiffin has been established. NOPEC expects to present participating communities with pricing and term options in early October. The initial contracts would run either 12 or 24 months and are expected to begin in November or December. Ramos did not provide council with an estimate Tuesday of how much the change will increase Tiffin's total annual electricity costs. The proposal has also not yet received final approval from City Council. Ramos said legislation will come before council affirming Tiffin's participation and authorizing a city official, likely the mayor or city administrator, to execute the eventual agreement. What it means for Tiffin residents The change discussed Tuesday applies specifically to electricity purchased for city government facilities. It is not a change to the NOPEC aggregation program serving Tiffin residents and small businesses. City Administrator Nick Dutro specifically cited City Hall, the fire departments and the city's water pollution control center while explaining the distinction. "I'm not proposing any changes to your residential programs at all," Ramos told council. "Just for your municipal load." NOPEC describes itself as a governmental energy aggregator that uses the purchasing power of 250 member communities to negotiate electricity and natural gas rates. Ramos said Tiffin has already provided NOPEC with updated electric bills. The organization has also received a letter of authorization allowing it to communicate with the utility and a letter of exclusivity establishing that NOPEC is authorized to work on the city's behalf with prospective suppliers. Rate change comes as Ohio electricity demand surges NOPEC did not tell council that data centers caused NextEra to stop honoring Tiffin's old rate. The direct reason for the city's coming increase is straightforward: Tiffin's exceptionally cheap contract expired in 2024, and the city has continued benefiting from a below market rate that its supplier is now ending. But Tiffin is being pushed back into the electricity market at the same time Ohio's power system is confronting rapidly growing demand — much of it coming from the data center industry state officials spent years courting. In June, the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel told state lawmakers that "Ohio is experiencing extraordinary electric load growth driven largely by data centers." The state agency, which represents residential utility consumers, has warned that unprecedented new demand can require significant investment in generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure — and has argued that the customers creating those costs should be responsible for paying them rather than shifting them to other consumers. "Ohio can welcome data center investment without shifting costs to families," OCC Director Maureen Willis told lawmakers. "Those goals are not in conflict." The Consumers' Counsel says Ohio has more than 200 data centers, the fifth highest number of any state, with most concentrated in Central Ohio. A large hyperscale data center can consume as much electricity as approximately 100,000 homes, according to the agency. OCC also says rapid data center expansion is increasing electricity demand and can put upward pressure on prices while requiring major upgrades to transmission lines, substations and other infrastructure. Ohio spent years courting data centers The growth follows years of state efforts to attract and expand the industry, with then Lt. Gov. Jon Husted repeatedly promoting major data center investments while serving in the DeWine administration. In June 2023, Gov. Mike DeWine, Husted and JobsOhio announced that Amazon Web Services planned to invest an estimated $7.8 billion to expand its data center operations in Central Ohio. "This positions Ohio as a critical location for the most discussed technology in the world, artificial intelligence," Husted said at the time. In December 2024, DeWine, Husted, the Ohio Department of Development and JobsOhio announced another estimated $10 billion AWS expansion across greater Ohio. The announcement brought AWS's planned and announced investment in Ohio since 2015 to more than $23 billion through 2030. "Artificial Intelligence and data centers are crucial to America's economic superiority," Husted said in announcing the expansion. Ohio has also offered a significant tax incentive to qualifying projects. The state's Data Center Tax Exemption allows qualifying projects to receive a partial or full sales tax exemption on eligible data center equipment, subject to investment and payroll requirements and approval by the Ohio Tax Credit Authority. The industry's expansion is now spreading beyond its heavy concentration in Central Ohio. In April 2025, the Regional Growth Partnership and JobsOhio announced a more than $800 million Meta data center in Wood County. The AI optimized facility is being built on approximately 280 acres in Middleton Township. The planned 715,000 square foot development is expected to support approximately 100 permanent jobs, according to JobsOhio. Tiffin has already hit the brakes on data centers The statewide debate over electricity demand has particular relevance in Tiffin. City Council voted 6 0 in April to impose a 12 month moratorium on data center development inside the city, giving officials time to examine zoning, infrastructure, electricity, water use and other potential consequences before establishing permanent regulations. No data center project was pending in Tiffin when council adopted the moratorium. Tiffin's impending municipal electricity increase is not evidence that data centers caused the city's rate to rise. The city's immediate problem is an expired contract that allowed it to continue buying electricity at an extraordinarily low price for more than two years after the agreement ended. But the broader electricity market into which Tiffin is now returning is markedly different from the one in which the city locked in its previous deal in 2021, with state consumer advocates now warning of extraordinary load growth as increasingly power hungry data centers expand across Ohio. NOPEC's task is to determine how much of the coming increase it can shield Tiffin from by combining the city's purchasing power with other municipalities. The actual price won't be known until NOPEC presents its pricing and term options in early October. What is already clear is that the sub 5 cent electricity rate Tiffin has enjoyed for years is coming to an end.
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