by Bob Spitzer, Stevensville
Montana has always attracted people looking for room. Now another arrival is looking our way: the data center. Before we welcome warehouses full of computers, we ought to ask who pays the electric bill.
Data centers can bring construction work, permanent jobs and tax revenue. Those benefits deserve consideration. But the size of an investment tells us little about how much money will stay in our communities or what responsibilities local residents might inherit.
I spent much of my working life managing construction projects. Construction jobs matter, but construction ends. I never saw a ribbon-cutting ceremony that kept an electrician employed forever. We should distinguish temporary work from permanent employment and insist on realistic estimates of both.
My first concern is electricity. Large customers should pay the full costs of the power supply, transmission and other infrastructure needed to serve them. Households, farms and small businesses should not subsidize their arrival. Contracts should include financial guarantees so existing customers are protected if a developer cancels a project or closes its doors.
Water deserves equally careful attention. Before approval, residents should know how much water a facility would use, where it would come from and what would happen during drought. Cooling systems differ, so each proposal needs its own examination. Our homes, agriculture, fish and wildlife depend on those same water sources.
Tax incentives also need plain-language arithmetic. What does the company receive? What does the community receive? What happens if promised jobs and investment fail to materialize? A tax break should be a business agreement, not a wedding vow made after one dance.
Local residents deserve a meaningful voice before commitments are made. Agreements should address roads, emergency services, protection of farmland and watersheds, and responsibility for abandoned facilities.
These questions belong to everyone. Electricity does not check party registration, and a dry well is remarkably nonpartisan.
I believe Montana should judge each proposal by what it consumes, what it contributes and who carries the risk after the construction crews leave. Economic development should benefit the people who live here while protecting the clean water and healthy land we owe future generations.
The computers may operate in the cloud, but their electric lines, water pipes and costs remain on the ground. Before Montana plugs in the future, somebody ought to read the meter.
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