"Lake Tahoe's local electricity provider, California-based Liberty Utilities, has been obtaining 75 percent of its power from the Nevada-based company NV Energy. But the latter has said it will stop providing power to the Lake Tahoe region by May of next year, according to extensive reporting by Fortune."
"Nevada's fast-growing data center development is one of the main reasons given by NV Energy for ending its energy supply agreement with Liberty, according to a Liberty filing with California regulators. Fortune highlighted data from NV Energy's own planning documents showing that a dozen data center projects in northern Nevada could drive 5,900 megawatts of new demand by 2033."
"Such data center demand has also spurred NV Energy to sign contracts with tech companies to secure additional power generation sources. Amazon recently agreed to support the Nevada utility company's deployment of 700 megawatts of "low-carbon energy" for Reno data center operations, including 100 megawatts of geothermal energy, according to Data Center Dynamics."
"However, NV Energy representatives pushed back on the idea that data centers are the main culprit behind the decision to stop supplying energy to the Lake Tahoe community, telling Fortune that it was part of a long-term transition predating the AI boom. After NV energy initially sold its California assets to Liberty in 2009, it struck a series of temporary agreements to keep providing power to Lake Tahoe until Liberty could secure another energy supplier."
Lake Tahoe’s tourist and ski resort region must secure a new electricity supplier by May 2027 after NV Energy said it will stop providing power to the area. Liberty Utilities supplies Lake Tahoe with power that is 75% sourced from NV Energy. The change affects about 49,000 California residents living near Lake Tahoe. NV Energy cited the need for power capacity for fast-growing Nevada data center development, with planning documents indicating multiple projects could add substantial demand by 2033. NV Energy also signed contracts to secure additional generation, including low-carbon energy for Reno data centers. NV Energy representatives said the decision reflects a long-term transition that began before the AI boom.
Read at Ars Technica
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