TULSA, Okla. — 2 News Oklahoma has been following up on concerns from PSO customers after several viewers reported significantly higher utility bills this summer.
The Tulsa Regional Chamber recently announced that PSO will supply power to the data center project known as “Project Clydesdale.” Some customers are now questioning whether large-scale data center projects could also impact their monthly costs.
2 News listened with Tommy Campbell, a Tulsa resident and PSO customer, who shared his most recent utility bill on Facebook.
“I’m the owner of a cybersecurity firm, and we have clients with servers in data centers," Campbell said. "That entire bill is covered by the power and electricity needed to run those operations. My dad has been an accountant for more than 50 years, this was his 52nd tax season, and after seeing my post, he started crunching the numbers."
"We’ve been PSO customers since moving here in 2007, and he found our bill has gone up about 33% over the last two years. From his perspective, it just seems like someone is getting a little greedy.”
2 News reached out to Matt Rahn, PSO spokesperson, to ask whether data center projects are connected to rising customer bills.
“Data centers are not going to raise customers' bills," Rahn said. "We’re doing a lot of work to make sure they pay for the infrastructure they need and for everything required to serve them. We’re focused on protecting our existing customers and making sure adding large projects like data centers to our system does not negatively impact them.”
PSO told 2 News that projects like “Project Clydesdale” will not strain the power grid and said the company is working to ensure it has enough generation capacity to support the additional demand. The company also shared resources available to help customers manage and pay their utility bills. You can find those resources here.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- 2 News Oklahoma on your schedule | Download on your TV, watch for free. How to watch on your streaming device
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Watch LIVE 24/7 on YouTube
