GAHANNA, Ohio — AEP Ohio and five data center companies today announced a first-of-its-kind effort to provide more than $18 million in additional funding to help Ohioans pay their electric bills.
The funds will support AEP Ohio’s long-running Neighbor to Neighbor program, which provides grants to cover electric bills for people experiencing financial hardship.
The companies that contributed to the fund each have data centers in Ohio.
“These additional funds are a significant infusion for a program that helps Ohioans in need,” said AEP Ohio President Marc Reitter. “This fund has always been about neighbors helping neighbors and we are happy that our data center customers are a part of it.”
To support Ohioans, AEP Ohio will contribute an additional $1 million to the fund in 2026.
Additional contributions came from:
- Meta: $2 million per year over five years; $10 million total donation
- QTS: $1 million per year over three years; $3 million total donation
- Amazon: $2.5 million in 2026
- SoftBank Energy: $1 million in 2026
- Google: $500,000 to Neighbor to Neighbor and $500,000 to support energy efficiency upgrades for low-income households; $1 million total donation
The fund is administered by Dollar Energy Fund, a nonprofit organization that manages similar programs around the U.S.
“What makes today’s announcement different is that this isn’t just a talking point—these companies are supporting Ohio families right now, with real commitments,” said Chad Quinn, Dollar Energy Fund CEO. “To our knowledge, this is the first time a data center community of this scale has opted into a utility-wide program of this kind, and we hope it sets a new bar for how this industry shows up for the communities and grids it depends on.”
Neighbor to Neighbor grants are provided on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible applicants while funding is available. For more information about the program or to apply, visit Neighbor to Neighbor.
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Dollar Energy Fund Contact: Chad Quinn, cquinn@dollarenergy.org
Data Center Media Contacts
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About AEP Ohio
AEP Ohio is based in Gahanna, Ohio, and is a unit of American Electric Power. AEP Ohio provides electricity to 1.5 million customers. News and information about AEP Ohio can be found at AEPOhio.com.
About AEP
American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) is committed to improving our customers’ lives with reliable, affordable power. We plan to invest $78 billion from 2026 through 2030 to enhance service for customers and support the growing energy needs of our communities. Our nearly 18,000 employees operate and maintain the nation’s largest electric transmission system with 40,000 line miles, along with more than 252,000 miles of distribution lines to deliver energy to 5.6 million customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation’s largest electricity producers with approximately 32,000 megawatts of diverse owned and contracted generating capacity. We are focused on safety and operational excellence, creating value for our stakeholders and bringing opportunity to our service territory through economic development and community engagement. Our family of companies includes AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana, east Texas and the Texas Panhandle). AEP also owns AEP Energy, which provides innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide. AEP is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. For more information, visit aep.com.