Data centers in Oklahoma

📜 State laws

House Bill 2992: big data centers must pay their own power costs (law since 2026) · May 11, 2026
The Data Center Customer Ratepayer Protection Act of 2026 (HB 2992) passed the House 84-0 and the Senate 48-0 on May 5, 2026. Gov. Kevin Stitt signed it on May 11, 2026, and it took effect July 1, 2026. It covers new data centers, crypto mines and AI computing sites that sign up to add 75 megawatts or more after July 1, 2026. Every electric supplier in the state (big utilities, co-ops and city-owned utilities) must create separate rules and rates for these customers, including credit requirements, so that homes and businesses do not pay costs caused by them. Contracts must last at least 10 years. Sites that make all their own power on site ('behind the meter') are not covered. The Corporation Commission enforces it for the utilities it regulates. Source

Land purchase notice: neighbors and county must be told within 60 days · July 1, 2026
HB 2992 also says that when a big data center (75 megawatts or more), or a company acting for one, buys land outside a city or town and outside an industrial park, it must tell the Corporation Commission, the county commissioners and every neighbor whose land touches the site, by certified mail, within 60 days after the purchase. The fine for not doing this is $1,500 per day per violation, collected by the county commissioners. This is a notice after the sale, not a public hearing before it. Source

Senate Bill 259: no groundwater for evaporative cooling (starts Nov. 1, 2026) · May 20, 2026
SB 259, the Groundwater Modernization Act, was signed on May 20, 2026, and takes effect November 1, 2026. It makes it a waste of groundwater for a data center to cool with open-air evaporative systems or any cooling that uses up groundwater without recirculating it. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) may only give a data center a groundwater permit if it shows it uses closed-loop, immersion or similar low-water cooling. All groundwater permit holders must report their use to the OWRB every year, and the OWRB must investigate complaints about waste. It does not cover data centers that buy water from a city. Source

Senate Bill 480 (2025): companies can make their own power on site · May 14, 2025
SB 480, signed May 14, 2025, changed who counts as a 'public utility'. It lets a company make electricity on its own site for itself, a related company or tenants without being regulated as a utility, as long as the power is not resold to the public. Utilities do not have to serve a customer that gets power this way, and these projects must use natural gas as part of their power supply. State lawmakers described it in 2026 as the law that lets data centers build their own power plants. Source

Statewide data center pause (SB 1488) did not pass · May 2026
SB 1488 by Sen. Kendal Sacchieri would have stopped new data center building in Oklahoma until November 1, 2029, while the Corporation Commission studied effects on water, power bills and property values. It was sent to the Senate Rules and Appropriations committees in February 2026 and never got a vote. It died when the 2026 session ended. Source

Other 2026 data center bills that did not pass · May 2026
These bills were filed in February 2026 and never left committee: HB 4424 (House Speaker Kyle Hilbert) to limit data centers' 5-year property tax break; SB 1215 (Sacchieri) and HB 3030 (Rep. Jim Shaw) to limit secret deals (NDAs) by public officials; HB 3396 (Rep. Amanda Clinton) to make project details public before tax breaks are approved; HB 3394 (Clinton) to create a state list of big data centers with their power and water use; and HB 4194 (Rep. Mark Chapman) to make data centers clean up their sites within one year after closing. Source

Lawmakers studied data centers again in fall 2026 · Sept 29, 2026
On September 29, 2026, Rep. Mark Chapman held an interim study on data centers with about a dozen lawmakers. They heard from companies, state agencies, local officials and residents about water, noise, traffic and power bills. The OWRB said Google's Pryor site uses an estimated 2.8 to 3.76 million gallons of water a day. New bills can be filed for the 2027 session. Source

💡 Who pays for the power

Who sets electric rates in Oklahoma · July 1, 2026
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission (three elected commissioners) sets rates for investor-owned utilities like OG&E and PSO. Under HB 2992, it must make sure homes and businesses do not pay unfair rates caused by big data centers. Electric co-ops are governed by their own boards and city-owned utilities by their city councils, but HB 2992 applies to them too. Source

OG&E's proposed data center rate rules (under review) · June 18, 2026
On June 18, 2026, OG&E asked the Corporation Commission to approve special rules for customers using 75 megawatts or more (or existing customers that add 75 megawatts or go over 125 megawatts). Big users would pay 100% of the cost to connect to the grid up front, sign 15-year contracts (with up to 5 years to ramp up), pay minimum bills even if they use less, pay fees if they leave early or cut back, and post financial guarantees. They would also pay a monthly charge, about $25-30 million a year in total, that could be credited to home customers. OG&E said the review would take about 6 months. Google's 2025 deal with OG&E for its Stillwater and Muskogee sites already has some of these terms, but not the home credit. Source

PSO rate case and data center rules (decision pending) · Sept 2, 2026
In January 2026, PSO asked for a $299 million a year base rate increase, about 15% (about $25 more a month) for an average home. In the same case it asked to add special terms for large customers like data centers to its Large Power and Light tariff. A temporary increase of about $11 a month started July 1, 2026. On June 30, 2026, the Attorney General announced a settlement that would cut the home increase to about 1% ($2.45 a month); customers would get refunds if final rates are lower than the temporary ones. As of early September 2026 the Corporation Commission had not decided. Source

💵 Tax breaks

5-year property tax break for data centers · Aug 25, 2026
Data centers can get Oklahoma's 5-year exemption from local property taxes on new buildings and land improvements, the same as factories (not on computers and servers). The state then pays back schools, counties and cities from a fund fed by 1% of state income tax. In the last budget year the state paid about $88.6 million in paybacks, and Google's Pryor-area company (Myall LLC) alone accounted for about $34.2 million. On August 25, 2026, voters rejected State Question 844, which would have let lawmakers stop fully paying back local schools and governments. A 2026 bill to limit data centers' use of this break (HB 4424) did not pass. Source

Sales tax breaks and Quality Jobs cash rebates · Nov 1, 2024
Data centers that sell mostly (80% or more) to customers outside Oklahoma do not pay sales tax on computers and equipment. Web search portals (like Google or Meta) are also exempt on electricity. Bitcoin mines are exempt on equipment and electricity since November 1, 2024. Data centers can also get the Quality Jobs program: a cash rebate of up to 5% of new payroll for up to 10 years if they add at least $2.5 million in new yearly payroll within 3 years. Source

🤐 Secret deals and public records

Secret deals (NDAs) are not banned in Oklahoma · July 15, 2026
No Oklahoma law stops local officials from signing secret deals (NDAs) with data center developers. Bills to limit them (SB 1215 and HB 3030) died in committee in 2026. Cities that signed NDAs include Claremore, Yukon, Luther, Sand Springs, Coweta and Stillwater. Some NDAs even kept the deal itself secret. A Wagoner County assistant district attorney warned they conflict with the open meeting and open records laws, and a law professor said they may not be enforceable. Officials cannot use an NDA to get around the Open Records Act or Open Meeting Act. Source

Officials met one at a time to avoid public meetings · June 17, 2026
The Frontier found emails showing Claremore's economic development director set up one-on-one briefings with city leaders 'to avoid quorum' so no public meeting notice was needed. In other places, councils approved contracts and annexations without telling the public a data center was planned. Source

Open Records Act: anyone can ask for public records · July 2025
Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act (51 O.S. 24A), records of public bodies are open to any person. You do not have to live in Oklahoma or say why you want them. There is no fixed deadline: the body must give 'prompt, reasonable access' and may not make a simple request wait behind older, bigger ones. Copies cost up to 25 cents a page; no search fees for public-interest requests. The body must say which exception it uses to hold something back. Before suing, you must notify the body 10 business days ahead and copy the Attorney General. Source

Open Meeting Act: agendas posted at least 24 hours ahead · Oct 7, 2026
Public bodies (city councils, county commissions, utility and development trusts) must file their yearly meeting schedule by December 15 with the city or county clerk, and post the date, time, place and agenda at least 24 hours before each regular meeting (25 O.S. 311). Source

💧 Water

Who approves the water a data center uses · July 24, 2026
The Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) issues permits to take groundwater or river and lake water. But most data centers buy water from a city or water district, and then they need no state permit. In July 2026 none of the state's 55 data centers had applied for a water permit, so their water use is largely untracked. The local water system and its council or board decide whether to sell the water. Example: Google's Pryor site used about 1.1 billion gallons in one year. Source

New groundwater limits for data centers (from Nov. 1, 2026) · Nov 1, 2026
Starting November 1, 2026, SB 259 bans data centers from using groundwater in evaporative cooling. A groundwater permit requires closed-loop, immersion or similar low-water cooling. Groundwater users must report yearly to the OWRB. Source

Wastewater and stormwater permits (DEQ) · Oct 7, 2026
The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issues permits for wastewater discharges, construction stormwater and new water lines or plants. Small data centers in existing buildings on city utilities may need no DEQ permit; rural sites usually need several. Source

🌫️ Air and generators

Air permits for generators and power plants (DEQ) · Oct 7, 2026
DEQ's Air Quality Division issues permits for air pollution from data center backup generators and from power plants built for them, on or off the grid. DEQ lists data center permits (Google/Myall, Core Scientific and others in Mayes, Muskogee, Payne, Tulsa and other counties) on its data center web page, and pending Tier II and III applications can be viewed online. Source

How to comment on an air permit · Sept 3, 2026
For bigger (Tier II and Tier III) permits, the company must publish a notice in a local newspaper when DEQ finishes a draft permit. The public gets 30 days to comment and 30 days to ask for a public meeting, which DEQ then holds. For Tier III permits, there is also a 20-day chance to review the proposed permit and ask for a formal hearing. A copy of the application and draft must be available in the county. Source

🙋 How to have your say

Who decides a data center near you · Sept 30, 2026
Oklahoma has no townships. Inside a city or town, the city council or town board decides zoning, usually after a planning commission. Outside city limits, the county decides only if it has set up a county or city-county planning commission; many rural counties have none. Counties cannot pass data center moratoriums; only cities and towns can (legal advice to Grady County, 2026). Grady County commissioners voted in September 2026 not to create a planning commission. Cities often annex rural land for a project, so watch annexation votes too. Tax deals, water sales and power are decided separately by city councils, county commissioners, trusts and the Corporation Commission. Source

City rezoning: notice, hearings and protest petitions · Oct 7, 2026
Before a city rezones land, it must publish notice in a local newspaper at least 15 days before the hearing, with a map (11 O.S. 43-104), and mail notice to nearby owners 20 days before (43-106). If owners of 20% of the land being rezoned, or 50% of the land within 300 feet, file a written protest at least 3 days before the hearing, the council needs a three-fourths vote (three-fifths on councils of 7 or fewer) to approve it (43-105). Source

Appeal deadlines · Oct 7, 2026
A lawsuit challenging a city council zoning decision must be filed in district court within 30 business days (11 O.S. 43-109.1). Appeals from a city board of adjustment go to district court within the time set by city ordinance (11 O.S. 44-110). Appeals from a county board of adjustment must be filed within 10 days (19 O.S. 868.19). Source

How to ask for records · July 2025
Send a written request (email is fine) to the city clerk, county clerk or agency records officer. Ask for specific records, such as NDAs, development agreements, emails with a named company, and water or power contracts. Anyone may ask; no reason needed. If records are held back, ask which exception applies. Before suing, you must give 10 business days' notice and copy the Attorney General. Source

How to comment on utility cases · Oct 7, 2026
Find the case number (for example the OG&E large-load tariff or the PSO rate case) and send a comment by the Corporation Commission's online form, by email to CS@occ.ok.gov, by mail (Oklahoma Corporation Commission, ATTN: Public Utility Division, Public Comments, PO Box 52000, Oklahoma City, OK 73152-2000), or in person or on Zoom at a hearing. All comments become public and go into the case file. Source

Tribal nations are making their own rules · Oct 5, 2026
Tribal nations decide on their own land. The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma banned data centers on its land in March 2026. The Cherokee Nation banned hyperscale data centers on tribally owned and trust land in August 2026 and says it will not support them anywhere on its reservation without consultation. The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal Council voted 261-83 on October 5, 2026, for a 3-year ban. The Kickapoo Tribe opposes data centers, and the Osage Nation and Muscogee Nation are considering their own rules. If you are a tribal citizen, contact your tribal government. Source

Where to watch for new projects · Oct 7, 2026
Check DEQ's data center page and permit review site for new air and water permits; county clerk filings for land notices required by HB 2992 (rural land bought by 75-megawatt projects); city council and trust agendas (posted at least 24 hours ahead); and Corporation Commission cases for utility deals. Source

🧾 Help with your bills

LIHEAP: help with heating and cooling bills · July 14, 2026
Oklahoma Human Services runs the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program twice a year: winter heating (opened January 6, 2026) and summer cooling (opened July 14, 2026). Both run until money runs out. One payment per household per season, paid to your main heating or cooling source. Apply at OKDHSlive.org. Tribal households can apply there or through their tribal nation, but not both for the same program. Source

Energy Crisis Assistance (ECAP) and year-round crisis help · April 14, 2026
Oklahoma Human Services also offers the Energy Crisis Assistance Program each spring (opened April 14, 2026) and life-threatening crisis help all year. Summer cooling aid is not crisis aid: a shutoff notice does not move you up the line. Source

📞 Who to contact

Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) · Oct 7, 2026
Three elected commissioners set rates and rules for OG&E, PSO and other regulated utilities, including the data center rate rules, and enforce HB 2992. Takes public comments in cases and consumer complaints. Source

Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) · Oct 7, 2026
Issues groundwater and stream water permits, enforces the new data center groundwater rules (SB 259), and investigates waste complaints. Source

Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) · Oct 7, 2026
Issues air permits for generators and power plants, and wastewater, stormwater and water system permits. Posts data center permits and pending applications online. Source

Oklahoma Attorney General · Oct 7, 2026
Represents utility customers in rate cases (negotiated the 2026 PSO settlement) and must be copied before an Open Records Act lawsuit. Source

Oklahoma Department of Commerce · Oct 7, 2026
Runs state business incentives such as the Quality Jobs program used by data centers. Source

Oklahoma Human Services · Oct 7, 2026
Runs LIHEAP and energy crisis help. Source

Oklahoma Legislature · Oct 7, 2026
Find bills, bill status and your lawmakers. Source