Liberty Utilities Seeks New Power for 49,000 Customers by 2027 as NV Energy Ends 75% Supply
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · May 14
Liberty Utilities Seeks New Power for 49,000 Customers by 2027 as NV Energy Ends 75% Supply
7 articles · Updated · POLITICO · May 14
Liberty Utilities will open bidding this summer and pick a new power source by winter after losing the NV Energy contract that now provides about 75% of electricity for 49,000 Lake Tahoe-area customers.
May 2027 is the cutoff because NV Energy is ending a supply deal first signed in 2009, saying the arrangement was always temporary and that it needs the power for its own system.
Nevada's fast-growing data center load has sharpened the squeeze: NV Energy said in January that overall demand in its territory could more than double over the next two decades, largely because of data centers.
Lake Tahoe residents fear another jump in already-rising electricity bills, though Liberty says it will prioritize affordability and renewable options and that reliability should not be affected.
Greenlink West — a 350-mile transmission line due online next year — is meant to let Liberty procure and deliver its own power to the California community, which is not connected to California's grid.
Will Lake Tahoe's 49,000 residents be left powerless, caught between state regulations and the voracious energy demands of data centers?
With transmission projects stalled, can Nevada power new data centers without sacrificing its residents and fragile desert ecosystems?