Question 1

Myth: Data centers will raise Kansans' electricity bills.

Accepted Answer

Fact: The Kansas Corporation Commission's Large Load Power Service tariff requires data centers and other large electricity users to pay their proportional share of any grid upgrades they trigger, ensuring those costs do not fall on existing customers. Evergy has stated publicly that its Kansas residential rates rose 5.6% from 2017 to October 2024, compared to 25.7% general inflation over the same period, a stretch that includes significant data center development activity in the region. The state's regulatory framework is designed precisely to prevent data center costs from being shifted to residential customers.

Question 2

Myth: Communities have no real power to reject a data center proposal.

Accepted Answer

Fact: Land use decisions in Kansas remain with local governments. City and county councils determine what development is permitted on specific parcels through zoning and approval processes that require public hearings and community input. If a project does not receive local zoning approval, it does not move forward.

Question 3

Myth: The jobs go to out-of-state workers, not Kansans.

Accepted Answer

Fact: The construction workforce for data center projects in the Kansas City area is drawing heavily from local trades. IBEW Local 124's apprentice class grew from 90 in 2021 to an expected 220 in 2026, reflecting local workers entering the electrical trades specifically because of data center construction demand. The Beacon's March 2026 reporting confirmed that local labor organizations are actively engaged in securing project labor agreements to ensure Kansas workers fill these positions.

Question 4

Myth: Data centers bring construction jobs, but nothing permanent.

Accepted Answer

Fact: Construction is one part of the picture; operations jobs are another. Data center facilities require full-time, permanent staff for the life of the facility, including engineers, technicians, security, and operations personnel who live and work in the community long after the building is complete. In Kansas, the data center industry already supports 6,190 direct jobs, according to a 2026 PwC analysis prepared for the Data Center Coalition.

Question 5

Myth: Tax incentives under SB 98 are not worth the cost.

Accepted Answer

Fact: SB 98 requires a minimum $250 million investment, plus qualifying jobs, thresholds designed to ensure the public benefit justifies the incentive. The Kansas Corporation Commission's Large Load Power Service tariff independently requires grid service contracts of 12 to 17 years. Data center facilities still pay property taxes, income taxes, and the full range of other state and local taxes. The net fiscal calculation is why the legislature passed SB 98 with bipartisan support.

Question 6

Myth: It doesn't matter where this gets built, data lives in "the cloud" anyway.

Accepted Answer

Fact: The cloud is physical. Every email, medical record, and financial transaction lives on a server in a specific building in a specific place. Where that building is determines whose laws govern it and who can access it. When this infrastructure is built in Kansas, by Kansas workers, it stays under American law.

News

Kansas Data Centers Support More Than 25,000 Jobs and $3.3 Billion in Economic Activity

Kansas Data Center Push Ensures Jobs and Long-Term Benefits

Kansas Requires $250 Million Minimum Investment for Data Center Projects