By USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
Lake Tahoe finds itself in the middle of the national debate about the rising energy demand from data centers as a utility company scrambles to secure an alternate power source.
About 49,000 customers in the Lake Tahoe region face the prospect of losing their primary source for power next year after Nevada-based utility company NV Energy declined to extend an agreement to supply energy to Liberty Utilities.
Liberty Utilities, a subsidiary of Canada-based Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., gets the bulk of the energy it provides Lake Tahoe from the Nevada utility— about 73%.
Liberty Utilities noted the impending loss of NV Energy as a supplier in a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on March 6, requesting to expedite the search for potential new energy partners.
So how did data centers enter the picture? Liberty Utilities noted the market circumstances faced by NV Energy, particularly in Northern Nevada.
“The market for new resources is extremely competitive as a number of entities are seeking to add large loads such as data centers into the area,” Liberty Utilities wrote.
