'It's like we don't exist': Nearly 50,000 Lake Tahoe residents face power loss as utility redirects lines to data centers | Fortune

"NV Energy, the Nevada utility that has supplied the bulk of Lake Tahoe's electricity for decades, told Liberty Utilities-the small California company that services the region-that it will stop providing power after May 2027. The reason? NV Energy needs the capacity for data centers. As in: the energy supplier for the Lake Tahoe region is telling the utility company that it has less than a year to find another power source."

"Northern Nevada has become one of the fastest-growing data-center corridors in the country. Google, Apple, and Microsoft have either built or are planning facilities around the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center east of Reno. The Desert Research Institute, using data from NV Energy's 2024 Integrated Resource Plan, found that the 12 data center projects located overwhelmingly in Northern Nevada could drive 5,900 megawatts of new demand by 2033."

"But Liberty's 49,000 California customers may already be bearing the cost. Liberty Utilities generates about 25% of its power from solar facilities it owns in Nevada. The other 75% comes from NV Energy, and that source will no longer be supplied to the region by this time next year."

""It's like we don't exist," Danielle Hughes told Fortune. Hughes is a North Lake Tahoe resident, CEO of the nonprofit Tahoe Spark, and a supervisor within the California Energy Commission's Efficiency Division."

NV Energy, the long-time electricity supplier for the Lake Tahoe region, will stop providing power after May 2027. The stated reason is the need to reserve capacity for rapidly growing data centers tied to the AI boom. Northern Nevada has become a major data-center corridor, with major technology companies building or planning facilities near the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center. Research using NV Energy’s 2024 Integrated Resource Plan estimates that data-center projects could add about 5,900 megawatts of demand by 2033. Liberty Utilities supplies the region, but only about 25% of its power comes from solar it owns, while roughly 75% comes from NV Energy, creating an urgent supply gap for about 49,000 residents.

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