In 2013, reports said Utah and the National Security Agency were discussing a possible electricity tax tied to the NSA’s Utah Data Center at Camp Williams. Contemporary estimates put the facility’s annual energy bill at about $40 million; a reported 6% levy would have produced roughly $2.4 million per year. That figure was a projection, not evidence of a final assessment or payment.
What the 2013 dispute concerned
Data Center Dynamics and Data Center Knowledge reported on May 20, 2013, that a Utah law could add a charge to electricity used by the NSA’s planned Utah Data Center. The reports described the facility as a roughly $1.5 billion project at Camp Williams and framed the levy as an unexpected cost for an installation that had selected Utah partly because of anticipated long-term utility-rate stability.
Contemporaneous coverage referred to the measure as HB325. In a quotation reproduced by Data Center Dynamics, NSA installations and logistics director Harvey Davis called it “HP325,” matching the spelling printed in that account. The reports described a potential tax and an ongoing disagreement, not a documented final bill.
How the $2.4 million estimate was calculated
| Item | Contemporary figure | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Expected annual electricity expense | About $40 million | 2013 project estimate, not a verified utility invoice |
| Reported levy | Up to 6% | Rate described in the contemporaneous reports |
| Illustrative annual amount | About $2.4 million | 6% arithmetic applied to the $40 million estimate; not a confirmed remittance |
The calculation is simply $40 million × 0.06 = $2.4 million. It should not be read as proof that the NSA paid that amount, or even that the full estimated energy bill and maximum rate ultimately applied.
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How the reported tax mechanism worked
The reports said the law directed the charge to the Utah Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA), placed the levy on the utility, and allowed the utility to recover the cost from the end user. Data Center Knowledge described the provision as allowing MIDA to collect up to 6% on Rocky Mountain Power electricity used by the facility.
That distinction matters: a charge calculated through the electricity supplier is not the same thing as a separately documented federal payment. The available reporting does not establish the final rate, assessment, billing history, appeal, settlement, or payment record.
Why the cost was described as unexpected
Facility siting decisions often rely on projected utility prices over many years. Davis was quoted by Data Center Dynamics as saying: “The long and short of it is: Long-term stability in the utility rates was a major factor in Utah being selected as our site for our $1.5bn construction at Camp Williams. HP325 [the new law] runs counter to what we expected.”
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In that account, the issue was not merely the size of a single bill. A new assessment changed the expected operating economics after the site-selection assumptions had been made. The quotation is reproduced from the trade-press report; the underlying correspondence was not independently available in the material reviewed here.
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The NSA’s official project description places the Utah Data Center at Camp Williams, Utah, and says MIDA received a multiyear infrastructure contract covering planning for power, water, sewer, and storm drainage. NSA/CSS described itself as the executive agent for the facility on behalf of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Data Center Dynamics reported contemporary expectations of 65 megawatts at full buildout and four 25,000-square-foot data halls. Those are project expectations reported in 2013, not measurements proving the facility’s present-day load or configuration.
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What is known about the final outcome
The available contemporary reports do not establish whether the maximum 6% charge was enacted as described, what amount was assessed, whether the NSA or another federal entity paid it, or whether the matter was resolved through an agreement, legal challenge, exemption, or later legislative change. The $2.4 million figure therefore belongs in the category of projected exposure, not confirmed tax paid.
How current Utah rules differ from the 2013 story
Utah Code section 59-37-201, in the version dated May 6, 2026, provides a county excise tax on the delivered value of energy received by qualifying high-impact consumers. An entity that qualifies both as a large-load customer and as a qualifying data center is subject to only one excise tax under that section. When an energy supplier passes the tax through, it must identify the amount as a separately itemized charge. The statute also includes notice and effective-date conditions for county tax changes.
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Utah’s broader large-load policy in 2026
A Utah House of Representatives legislative summary dated September 8, 2026, describes several later policies affecting large electricity users and data centers:
- SB 132 (2025) requires Public Service Commission review of large-load contracts, separate accounting, and protections against shifting large-load electricity costs to other customers.
- HB 76 (2026) requires certain large data centers to report water information before construction and annually after becoming operational.
- HB 507 (2026) limits and adds oversight to some incentives; the summary says property-tax incentives are generally capped at 60% of new county revenue and may not exceed 80%.
The same legislative material reports 48 operating Utah data centers, more than 920 megawatts of capacity, and seven projects expected to add about 2,600 megawatts. Those figures describe the 2026 policy environment, not the NSA project’s 2013 tax outcome.
Quick Recap
What readers should take from the episode
- The story was about a possible 2013 electricity tax connected to the NSA’s Utah Data Center at Camp Williams.
- About $2.4 million per year was a conditional calculation based on a reported $40 million energy estimate and a possible 6% levy.
- MIDA was involved in the Camp Williams infrastructure project, while contemporaneous coverage described the utility as the billing point with possible end-user pass-through.
- Later Utah rules address large-load contracts, cost allocation, data-center water reporting, and incentives, but they do not resolve the historical question.
- No reliable final assessment or payment amount is established by the cited material.
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