Nearly 50,000 Lake Tahoe residents have one year to find new power as their utility pivots to data centers

[Daniel Sims]

A hot potato: Residents in many US states have reacted angrily as AI data centers spring up across the country, citing environmental impacts and rising utility bills. In one particularly egregious case, around 49,000 people now have one year to find a new power source while their current supplier pivots to data centers.

A Nevada energy company recently informed a nearby California utility provider that it will no longer supply electricity to 49,000 Lake Tahoe customers after May 2027. Although the decision is not tied to a specific AI data center, data centers have grown their footprint in Nevada significantly in recent years.

The affected residents, living near the California-Nevada border, are in a unique predicament: served by California-based Liberty Utilities, which receives 75% of its power from NV Energy across the border. While NV Energy claims the transition has been planned and delayed twice since 2009 – long before the current AI boom – the company also recently hailed "unprecedented" changes that data centers have brought to the state's energy grid.

NV Energy's Director of Business Development Jeff Brigger said the company is excited to serve the load and called the data centers "a huge opportunity" at a panel last September. The Desert Research Institute recently recently reported that data centers consumed 22% of Nevada's energy grid in 2024, and the figure could grow to 35% by 2030. Data center builders want the state to triple its capacity, and 12 data centers across Nevada might request up to 5.9 GW by 2033, 2.8 times what the Hoover Dam generates.

Although Liberty Utilities will likely secure a stopgap supplier in the short term, that power must still travel over NV Energy's lines, forcing the utility to compete with large companies on Nevada's grid. Danielle Hughes, CEO of the non-profit advocacy group Tahoe Spark, told Fortune, "We have no representation. It's resource extraction." Receiving more power from California would require spending hundreds of millions of dollars building new lines across the Sierra Nevada.

Data centers have become increasingly unpopular across the US due to their effects on water supplies and utility bills.

Reports from the past few weeks alone describe a shooting targeting an Indianapolis councilman who supported a data center, a Missouri town removing half its council following a data center approval, Texas data centers diverting electricians from housing projects, and a Georgia data center using 29 million gallons of water for free. Meanwhile, a Utah data center might consume twice the state's energy (with help from an on-site power plant), and a $1 billion Microsoft data center could cause half of Kenya to lose power.

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Nearly 50,000 Lake Tahoe residents have one year to find new power as their utility pivots to data centers

 

[seeprime]

That's incredible. Other than overpaying for solar panels and battery backups, what options are there?

 

[Megalomaniac]

And the funny thing is that if you speak up against this they'll label you a socialist or a communist.

Me predicts this will end violently.

 

[rmcrys]

Solution A: emigrate to a sane country

Solution B: do not use AI and get a new administration asap

 

[Hecate91]

This is incredibly stupid, people need to get together and question their state leaders why they allowed this to happen, or sue the energy company.
This is what you get without any regulations to keep companies from screwing over the people. And I wonder where the AI worshipers are calling this "AI hysteria" or "clickbait".

 

[umeng2002]

Don't worry. When the AI bubble pops, they'll still have all the hardware for you to rent from. If no one can afford to rent the servers, the government will have enough money to rent them for their surveillance network.

"AI" data centers are just the latest thing to park money into.

 

[daffy duck]

In Australia this would be illegal and the state and/or federal governments would step in. In Amurica, Trump cheers on.

 

[Joeg1484]

That's incredible. Other than overpaying for solar panels and battery backups, what options are there?

Vandalism and crime!

It really sucks, but when peoples livelihoods are challenged, people are going to get hurt :-/

 

[Endymio]

In Australia this would be illegal and the state and/or federal governments would step in. In Amurica, Trump cheers on.

I'll stick with America, given the Australian government's "protection" of consumers is raping them badly:

Average Electricity Cost By Nation
Australia: 33.2 cents kW-hr
USA: 17.9 cents kW-hr

And if we just removed the Neo-socialist bastions of CA, MA and HI from the calculation, it would drop to just 14.8 cents.

 

[Win7user]

Well, the great news is that the powers that be for this company in Tahoe, will almost certainly be living there. Need, I say more.

 

[brucek]

This feels like a weird edge case of California residents being at the mercy of the Nevada public utilities commission which is an awkward setup to begin with.

This just needs more exposure in Sacramento at which point some California regulator will figure out what California resource Nevada residents are dependent upon, and will then be in a position to explain to the Nevada authorities why this is a war they do not want to start.

 

[VitalyT]

When the country turns against its citizens, full stop, 180 degree. To serve corporations instead.

 

[noel24]

That is strange in a democratic country. Normally, power generation and power distribiution are industries making money under government license. Anywhere else utility provider would say They cannot performe Their obligation, government would step in and give the license to someone else, and bill in for the solution It was paid in taxes by whole society.
I know, I know, Americans don't remember, but even USA used to have something called "social safety net" - You know - You pay taxes, governement got Your back in the harsh time.
It's probably got something to do with the fact that 1% that owns 99% of America, doesn't pay Their taxes. No money in the coffers.

 

[pnntmp]

This is what you get without any regulations to keep companies from screwing over the people. And I wonder where the AI worshipers are calling this "AI hysteria" or "clickbait".

It's both AI hysteria and clickbait. These are not mutually exclusive, and in fact go hand in hand quite often. Especially on this website, which seems to have a target of at least one AI hysteria spreading article daily.

This change was planned long before datacenters existed, so the whole article is an outright lie.
Generally speaking, if something you read triggers you, it's probably a lie - so fact check it before you start foaming about companies screwing people over. Usually the screwed over ones are the gullible who believe everything.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

This feels like a weird edge case of California residents being at the mercy of the Nevada public utilities commission which is an awkward setup to begin with.

The number of people that missed this key detail is astounding.

But why read the details when you have angry comments to post!

 

[DrSuess]

This is incredibly stupid, people need to get together and question their state leaders why they allowed this to happen, or sue the energy company.
This is what you get without any regulations to keep companies from screwing over the people. And I wonder where the AI worshipers are calling this "AI hysteria" or "clickbait".

That ship has sailed. Our last second to Republican governor (Pete Wilson) thought it would be a great thing to deregulate the energy sector as if would create competitions. The only thing it created was higher prices. The move by the power company will ultimately fail in the courts if there is no alternative power source.

 

[Aolish]

And the funny thing is that if you speak up against this they'll label you a socialist or a communist.

Me predicts this will end violently.

Don't forget, if you give a proper definition on what a woman is, its considered transphobic also. Absolute insanity.

 

[onebignerd]

So after all you corporations and government agencies have screwed the consumers out of PC components, power, water and imports of foreign made technology. Whom do you expect to serve with these datacenters? Essentially forcing your customers back into the early 20th century rather defeats your purpose doesn't it.

 

[3volv3d]

I'll stick with America, given the Australian government's "protection" of consumers is raping them badly:

Average Electricity Cost By Nation
Australia: 33.2 cents kW-hr
USA: 17.9 cents kW-hr

And if we just removed the Neo-socialist bastions of CA, MA and HI from the calculation, it would drop to just 14.8 cents.

I dunno if your comment has any point.
I don't know what the OZ health care system is like, but in the UK everything is free, in America people opposed Obamacare but they would say the affordable health care act is better when in fact it was the same fkn thing. And now you have Trump taking away Medicare from many.

My point is just because energy is slightly cheaper, doesn't mean you're not getting fkd hard in the A in 90 other aspects of life where Australia my super make up the difference.

 

[Endymio]

I dunno if your comment has any point.
I don't know what the OZ health care system is like, but in the UK everything is free

No, it isn't free. It's just being paid for by others.

.... And now you have Trump taking away Medicare from many.

The US Supreme Court did that, when they ruled the Obamacare mandate unconstitutional.

... just because energy is slightly cheaper, doesn't mean you're not getting fkd hard in the A

Less than half the cost is not just "slightly cheaper". And it certainly proves your regulators aren't "protecting you from evil energy corporations" -- your inane Aussie energy policies make heating and cooling your homes, driving your cars, and pretty much everything else more expensive. That likely explains why Australia has 20% less GDP per capita than the US, despite having more than triple the natural resources per capita.

 

[OortCloud]

The US is becoming a completely lawless free for all. Citizens are just shafted at every turn by corporations that seem to have feel no obligation to provide a service, and trample over the law whenever they see an opportunity to make some money. The example being set by the administration has trickled down into all aspects of society and it's extraordinary to see. In any other developed country this just wouldn't be allowed as energy providers (and all other critical services like broadband, water etc) are obligated to provide a level of service to customers. If they don't provide that service they are fined and lose their license.

 

[3volv3d]

No, it isn't free. It's just being paid for by others.


The US Supreme Court did that, when they ruled the Obamacare mandate unconstitutional.


Less than half the cost is not just "slightly cheaper". And it certainly proves your regulators aren't "protecting you from evil energy corporations" -- your inane Aussie energy policies make heating and cooling your homes, driving your cars, and pretty much everything else more expensive. That likely explains why Australia has 20% less GDP per capita than the US, despite having more than triple the natural resources per capita.

Health care is free.
While everyone pays Tax and albeit the UK NHS is failing, but that's again corruption and capitalism at its finest, anyone can go get healed for anything and you don't get handed a bill at the end of it.
It works. Really it does .

In America they hope your dying or ill because big pharma is super expensive and capitalistic and corrupt AF.

My point stands. That different countries have different ways to offset ****, and did you convert to American dollars before you did your math.

Infrastructure and basic needs should be handled by the government to keep costs down anyways.
Selling off to privatise this things means free markets can charge what they want, for poor quality of service and say so what, and people get underserved massive bonuses.

And also Trump is racist and just trashed Obama regardless. There was no issue with Iran until Trump fkd it up.

Stop defending the orange twonk who defends the sex and drug traffickers.

I agreed with you on your AI can help people in regards to medical diagnosis for a fraction of the cost, but if a hospital takes a budget of ,50 million every year and AI comes along and saves 20 million they don't take 30 million next year. That's not how it works they take 80 million cause they can. they will inflate costs if anything.

 

[Endymio]

Health care is free.

The fact you believe your healthcare is "free" underlies the basic problem with socialism: the juvenile belief that resources are unlimited and money grows on trees. Your medical care costs hundreds of billions of dollars a year: a sum Australians pay through taxes.

Oh, and your point is doubly wrong, because out-of-pocket medical expenses in Australia are far from zero:

"...Australians spent an estimated $44.0 billion out-of-pocket on healthcare in 2023–24, averaging over $1,600+ per person annually. These costs, which account for 15.3% of total health spending, primarily cover medications, dental, and specialist "gap" fees..."

...albeit the UK NHS is failing, but that's again corruption and capitalism at its finest

The most amusing thing about far-Left zealots is that, despite the eventual collapse of every socialist endeavor, they simply retrench and respond, "that wasn't *true* socialism, it was something else!"

The "no true Scotsman" logical fallacy at it's finest.

My point stands. That different countries have different ways to offset ****

Your point is absurd. Even if your medical care was in fact free and high quality, it has exactly zero to do with the price of energy. High energy prices are due to poor energy policies, not socialized medicine.

And also Trump is racist and just trashed Obama

Joe Biden once told Congress that allowing black children into white schools would turn them into "racial jungles" ... and Joe said said of Obama, "I actually like him: he's the first clean, articulate black candidate we've ever had."

That's racism. But when your get your opinions spoon-fed to you, you refuse to see it.

 

[TheBigT42]

Maybe if California actually invested in its own power infrastructure they wouldn't be relying on other states for power.

 

[Gravitytr1]

I thought the whole point of utilities is to ensure the right of every human to affordable high quality electricity.

How is this legal?