The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.

Wisconsin has attracted lots of attention from technology companies looking to build data centers. With that attention has come a narrative: that ordinary ratepayers will get stuck with the bill. That is false. After spending the past year working closely with state and federal regulators, other utilities, and listening to customers, ATC has developed safeguards that will prevent exactly that outcome. I write to set the record straight.

The concern giving rise to the narrative is understandable. Large data centers consume enormous amounts of electricity. Building the transmission and generation infrastructure to serve them costs real money. So, it makes sense that some fear that those costs could spill over onto families and businesses who never asked for a data center and (they would argue) don’t benefit directly from one. But the utilities charged with protecting Wisconsin customers will not let families and businesses bear unnecessary costs. That is why, at our urging and active participation, additional protections for Wisconsin customers are either already in place or about to be.

Start with electricity generation. On April 24, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin voted unanimously to approve (with even more safeguards) We Energies’ Very Large Customer “tariff” for data center service. Commissioners deliberated for seven hours. Commissioner Nieto put it plainly: “Existing Wisconsin customers should not pay a single cent to subsidize data center service.” Under this tariff, data centers pay 100 percent of the cost of the generating facilities built to serve them. A proposal that would have allowed data centers to capture only some of the capacity of a power plant while spreading a portion of the costs to other customers was considered and rejected. The rule is simple: if the data center needs it, the data center pays for it.

On the transmission side, ATC, as operator of the transmission grid that moves electricity across Wisconsin, has developed a parallel set of protections. These address a specific challenge that transmission creates: infrastructure built when a single large customer becomes part of the shared network. We have worked through every angle to ensure that data centers pay their fair share.

Wisconsin data centers will now face three layers of transmission cost accountability. The first has existed for some time. Before ATC spends significant money on a project built when a large customer requires additional infrastructure, the customer must sign a Project Commitment Agreement guaranteeing it will cover any costs ATC cannot repurpose if the project is cancelled. This protects ratepayers from getting left with the bill if a data center backs out before construction is finished.

The second protection—which is new and will be filed with federal regulators in June—addresses the construction period. When ATC builds transmission facilities for a data center, the financing costs for that construction will now be charged directly to the data center and will never be pooled into the general rate base that all customers share. Other ratepayers will not pay to finance construction for facilities they didn’t ask for.

The third protection, also being filed in June, addresses what happens after the facilities come online. Under ATC’s new Minimum Transmission Charge, data centers pay for the capacity that was built to serve them—based on what they requested, not just what they’re actually using. If a data center secured capacity for 1,500 megawatts and we built the transmission system to deliver it, the data center pays for 1,500 megawatts of transmission service until its actual electricity consumption catches up and is fully reflected in billing.  It should also be noted that for other data centers in service in other parts of the country, their electricity usage has resulted in downward rate pressure as a result of their large load usage, absorbing a greater percentage of the overall cost of operating the electric grid.  As an example, recent announcements from utilities in Georgia and Michigan to freeze rates are largely driven by expected revenue from data centers.  Together, these protections cover the full project lifecycle: project development, construction financing, and usage after the data centers come online.  In addition to the cost protections offered, Wisconsin is able to confidently partner with data centers, and other large load developers for continued investment in our electricity ecosystem.  Regardless of the increased large load requests, continued investment in our aging transmission grid is required to ensure our grid remains resilient, reliable, and safe during this period of unprecedented electrification.

Wisconsin’s approach is deliberate. Regulators, utilities, and consumer groups spent months getting this right because the public trust demands it. The data centers coming to Wisconsin will create jobs and expand the tax base. They should be welcome—and customers who were here long before them can be confident that they will not be stuck with an unwelcome bill.

Nowak is vice president of state and federal affairs for American Transmission Company and a former commissioner for Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission.