BEC CEO: No requests made; any change would come at no expense to members

By Sheila Harris [email protected]

A key infrastructural element for data centers is access to reliable electricity.

“A lot of the infrastructure in certain parts of the state would need upgraded in order to support data centers,” said Jennifer McBroom, Barry Electric Cooperative CEO and general manager.

During a July interview with the Cassville Democrat, McBroom said that Barry Electric had not received any requests for service from data center developers.

“However, if they did ask us, it’s our responsibility as an electricity distributor to try to accommodate them,” McBroom said.

During a July 19 meeting at Scott Tech in Monett, Stephen Jeffery, environmental attorney with Jeffery Law Group in St. Louis, said that data center developers operate with a complete lack of transparency.

Jeffery was one of several speakers who addressed some 50 people at an event focusing on concerns surrounding Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), sludge-spreading and data centers. The event was hosted by the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project (SRAP) and organized by Protect Our Water and Environmental Resources (POWER).

Jeffery represents plaintiffs in several lawsuits pertaining to data center development.

“Initially, the companies’ big attorneys will come in and overwhelm county commissions or other government officials, asking them if they’re interested [in a community development project],” Jeffery said. “They’ll even offer funding benefits, which can sound attractive to rural communities.”

According to Jeffery, those benefits are not what they’re cracked up to be.

“If you critically analyze them, they can result in financial losses,” Jeffery said.

Those losses could come in the form of state and local sales and use tax credits offered by state legislatures, and, in some cases, discounted state income taxes.

Missouri is no exception when it comes to subsidizing data centers.

According to Missouri state law, with an initial investment of $25 million, data centers can receive 100% waivers on state and local sales and use taxes on construction materials, operating equipment, utilities, telecommunications and internet for multiple years. Expanding data centers, too, can take advantage of tax breaks (https://tinyurl.com/2r2tr856).

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS), a nonprofit that’s been involved in evidence-based policy research and advocacy since 1945, calls the state and local tax subsidies offered to data centers “extraordinary.”

“Good Jobs First, which tracks corporate subsidies nationally, found that in 10 of the 20 states disclosing data center subsidy costs, programs cost over $100 million per year,” FAS stated (https://tinyurl.com/2ws8beev).

Missouri does not disclose the cost of the tax credits the state gives to data centers. However, Virginia — the world’s largest data center market — foregoes nearly $1 billion annually in state and local revenue, according to FAS.

Jeffery said that if county officials accept the deals proffered by data center developers, they’ll usually be asked to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. If signed, that agreement can prevent the public from becoming aware of a pending project, until it’s well underway.

Jeffery said the acceptance of such clandestine offers can be counter-productive for elected officials who hope to maintain their positions. He cites recent examples of four councilmen being voted out of office after it came to light that they’d signed a non-disclosure agreement with a data center developer. In another case, a lawsuit is pending against a city mayor.

The surge in data centers in Missouri can be chalked up to an Executive Order that Governor Kehoe signed in January of this year.

“Data centers have been operating in Missouri since the early 2000s – with 50 in place by 2020,” states the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), on its website. “In January 2026, Governor Mike Kehoe signed Executive Order 26-02, to align state research and workforce assets with President Trump’s initiative to establish a coordinated national effort for AI-accelerated innovation.”

On July 1 of this year, Kehoe went one step further. He signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance the state and federal permitting of critical infrastructure across the state — to do away with red tape, according to his press release (https://tinyurl.com/4hazdkn7).

Last year, Kehoe signed Senate Bill 4 into law, which allows utility companies to charge customers in advance of construction projects.

On June 10, Liberty Utilities hosted open houses in Pierce City and Aurora in advance of a $750 million project to upgrade 90 miles of transmission lines from Branson, northwest to Aurora, across Lawrence County, then west to the Missouri/Kansas line. Liberty serves northern Barry County.

According to Liberty’s website, the project will include the construction of approximately 316 miles of high-voltage 345 kV transmission lines, an upgrade from the existing 161 kV lines, in parts of southeast Kansas, northeast Oklahoma and southwest Missouri.

In July, the Public Service Commission approved an increase in annual operating revenues of $97 million for Liberty Utilities, set to begin this month.

Nate Morris, vice president of transmission planning and operations for Liberty, said that upgrades in their transmission lines are being planned in order to provide more reliable and dependable electric service to customers.

“We’re not planning these upgrades with data centers in mind,” he said.

However, he stated, data centers — or anyone — can use the system in the future.

Liberty hopes to have the project completed by the end of 2030.

Whether the upgrade in transmission lines will change southwest Missouri’s future landscape remains to be seen.

McBroom said that if a data center desired to enter the Barry Electric landscape, she would want to ensure that it wouldn’t be at the expense of other members of the Co-op.

“Everyone pays their fair share,” she said. “We want to make sure nobody’s subsidizing anybody else. We’re not obligated to serve [an entity] at the expense of other members.”

As an electric co-op, McBroom said Barry Electric is not subject to the regulations of the Public Service Commission, as is Liberty Utilities, nor is the Co-op subject to the legislation in Senate Bill 4.

According to McBroom, Barry Electric is part of a three-tiered system.

“Barry Electric serves as the local distributor,” she said. “However, if a data center asked for service, our electricity provider, Associated Electric, would be involved.”

Jeffery said when it comes to data centers and other environmental concerns, it’s important for people to show up and make their voices heard.

“Sometimes, it takes a judge in a courtroom to order a defendant to do [or not do] something,” he said.

FAS offers another option.

The organization recommends that community leaders who don’t want to altogether nix the idea of a data center enter into a negotiated, legally-binding Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) with data center developers, before development proceeds. A negotiated CBA, FAS said, could cover such topics as harm remediation in the areas of electricity affordability, environmental protections and a cap on water usage. Above all, a CBA should provide transparency, accountability and enforcement authority with clear penalties for violations, they say.

Jeffery said that numbers won’t always carry the day in this political climate.

“But sometimes the only way out is through, and the only way through is together,” he said.