Nearly 50,000 residents in Lake Tahoe have been informed that their utility provider will stop delivering electricity next year due to a shift toward data centers.

NV Energy, Nevada’s long-standing electricity supplier for the region, has announced it will cease service to homes in Lake Tahoe starting May 2027 and redirect power to meet surging demand from AI-related data centers. Northern Nevada is one of the fastest-growing data-center corridors in the country.

According to NV Energy’s 2024 Integrated Resource Plan, 12 data center projects concentrated in Northern Nevada could add 5,900 megawatts of electricity demand by 2033. At a recent regional business event, NV Energy’s director of business development described the situation as “unprecedented,” stating that while the company is eager to serve new industrial loads, it would not impact existing customers.

Liberty Utilities, which serves about 49,000 residents in Lake Tahoe and generates 25% of its power from Nevada solar facilities, will no longer receive electricity from NV Energy after May 2027. Liberty has submitted a request to the California Public Utilities Commission for approval to find alternative energy sources once the Greenlink Nevada transmission project is completed.

A resident and nonprofit leader, Danielle Hughes, described the situation as “it’s like we don’t exist.”