Gov. Tina Kotek suggested on Thursday she will push for new safeguards against the unfettered expansion of data centers within Oregon — even as she declined to offer specifics on what those might look like.

“Oregon needs to stop being a cheap date and making it too easy for them,” Kotek said of the power-hungry facilities that lend computing power to tech giants such as Amazon, Google and Meta.

Asked what changes that might require, the governor said she would await recommendations of an advisory committee she convened in January. “I try not to preclude or project where I want them to go, but I think what we’re seeing is we will have some very specific actions,” Kotek said.

Kotek offered no suggestion she wants Oregon to prohibit new data centers, a step that has been floated in some other states. Her emphasis in recent months has been on making sure that existing tax breaks for the facilities – currently totalling more than $400 million a year – are not too generous, and that power and water use by data centers doesn’t come at the expense of Oregon residents.

“It has to be a comprehensive approach because there are environmental issues around water usage,” Kotek said. “Obviously the energy piece has been front and center. And when there are changes in tax policy to assist new growth, are local communities getting the best deal that they can?”

The comments came as Kotek, who is seeking reelection this fall, touted rate changes that Oregon’s largest utility has proposed to ensure data centers cover costs associated with their power use.

Under a bill passed by state lawmakers last year, high-energy users like data centers and cryptocurrency mining outfits can be lumped into a special category of power customers, paying their own higher rates.

Portland General Electric is the first of the state’s investor-owned utilities to attempt to rejigger rates under the law. In a proposal that state utility regulators will decide on next week, PGE has recommended a 29% increase in power rates for data centers and a decrease of about 1% in the rates of residential customers.

“I’m sure the data centers won’t be happy with this rate hike, but it is what is right for Oregonians,” said Bob Jenks, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board, which advocates on behalf of residential ratepayers.

Jenks and other observers believe the rate decision the state’s Public Utility Commission will make next week is only the beginning of a larger rebalancing of costs, as utilities and regulators better assess the costs associated with data centers.

But advocates are pressing for more action.

Appearing alongside Kotek at Thursday’s press event was Nora Apter, Oregon director of the group Climate Solutions. She called on the governor and state lawmakers to pass a “comprehensive statewide strategy for responsible data center growth” during next year’s legislative session.

Oregon has a robust and growing collection of data centers, roughly 125 facilities largely clustered in the Portland metro area, the eastern reaches of the Columbia River, and the high desert of Central Oregon.

While the Beaver State has played host to a smaller number of facilities for decades, the rapid expansion of data centers amid the nation’s AI boom has produced public backlash in Oregon and elsewhere. Opponents include environmentalists concerned about the water and electricity they use, land-use advocates seeking to preserve rural land for agriculture, and activists concerned about the growing reach of artificial intelligence.

In May, the debate was the defining factor of a closely watched battle for a state Senate seat in Hillsboro, the beating heart of Oregon’s tech economy. Voters in the district wound up ousting a long-time incumbent who was painted by opponents as overly friendly to date centers.

Kotek hasn’t been immune to the pressure.

As she focuses on boosting Oregon’s economy, the governor floated a bill this year to expand a program that offers property tax breaks to companies that make major capital investments in certain parts of the state. The majority of tax breaks under that Enterprise Zone program go to data centers.

Kotek initially balked at calls to cut data center projects from the expanded benefits she was proposing. She ultimately changed that position, supporting a roughly one-year moratorium on some tax breaks for data centers.

The moratorium may not have the intended impact, however. Companies rushed to secure tax breaks before it took effect, kickstarting an ongoing legal battle.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/07/02/oregon-governor-data-centers-utility-rate/