Nearly 50,000 residents in the Lake Tahoe area have been informed their utility will cease providing electricity next year as Nevada’s primary power provider redirects energy to rapidly expanding data centers. According to reports from More Perfect Union, NV Energy—the Nevada utility that has supplied most of Lake Tahoe’s electricity for decades—will stop servicing homes in the region after May 2027 and direct that power toward burgeoning demand from Northern Nevada’s growing cluster of data facilities.

The shift follows projections from NV Energy’s own 2024 Integrated Resource Plan, which estimates 12 major data center projects in the area could generate 5,900 megawatts of new electricity by 2033. Google, Apple, and Microsoft have either established or are planning facilities near the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center east of Reno, accelerating regional demand for power. NV Energy’s director of business development described the situation as “unprecedented,” stating the company is eager to serve this industrial load but will not impact existing customers.

Liberty Utilities, a California-based provider serving approximately 49,000 Lake Tahoe residents, currently relies on 75% of its power from NV Energy—a source that will no longer be available after May 2027. “It’s like we don’t exist,” said Danielle Hughes, CEO of the nonprofit Tahoe Spark and a supervisor in California’s Energy Commission Efficiency Division. Liberty Utilities has sought approval to replace its energy supply through Nevada’s Greenlink Nevada transmission project, with the goal of securing the lowest-cost alternative power sources once regulatory clearance is granted.

NV Energy confirmed it is reviewing Liberty Utilities’ letter to California regulators but stated it will not alter existing customer service commitments. The utility emphasized its dual priorities: meeting renewable energy targets in Nevada while maintaining affordability—a commitment it claims remains unchanged despite redirecting capacity toward data centers.