04/01/2026
What does AES Indiana, BlackRock, and the 25th & Sherman data center have in common?
1. The connection:
AES is the utility supplying power
BlackRock is part of the group buying AES (turning it into a private, investor-owned asset)
Data centers (like the one planned near 25th & Sherman) need massive, constant electricity
Translation:
Big investors + utilities + data centers are all tied together financially
2. The incentives (who gets what):
Data center companies get:
Special utility agreements (often lower rates per unit or custom pricing structures)
“Will serve” guarantees from AES to build whatever infrastructure they need
Local tax incentives (common practice to attract them)
AES / investors (like BlackRock) get:
Guaranteed long-term, high-volume customers
Billions in infrastructure expansion opportunities
Stable returns (because utilities are regulated monopolies)
Government gets:
Development + headlines about “investment”
Some tax revenue (often reduced by incentives)
3. What residents get (the part people are questioning):
• Data centers can use as much power as hundreds of thousands of homes—24/7
• If demand rises, AES may need new power plants
• Those projects can cost hundreds of millions and are typically passed on to customers
• Even without new plants:
More demand alone can drive higher electricity prices and don’t get me started on how high the water bills are going to be considering the amount of water used for data centers