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Rocky Mountain Power warns of 'hyper‑scale' large loads; proposes special contracts to protect existing customers
Summary
Rocky Mountain Power described multiple gigawatts of large, near‑term load requests tied to data centers/AI and proposed requiring very large new customers (proposed threshold 75 MW) to enter special, commission‑approved contracts that place cost and risk with those loads; consumer advocates urged use of existing tariffs and protections instead.
Rocky Mountain Power officials told the interim committee on Oct. 22 that they face an unprecedented wave of large electricity requests—"hyper‑scale" loads fueled by data‑center and AI growth—and proposed a statutory framework to allocate costs and risks to those new customers.
Rocky Mountain Power’s Tom Carter described multiple gigawatts of requests across the company’s six‑state system and said the current regulatory model did not anticipate such rapid, concentrated growth. The utility proposed requiring large new customers (a draft threshold of 75 megawatts) to execute special contracts—subject to PSC approval—that would allocate the costs of new generation, transmission and construction to the new customer rather than socializing those costs across the incumbent customer base. "The risk and the cost will be assigned to those loads," Carter said, arguing this protects existing ratepayers while allowing the state to attract high‑demand customers.
Consumer and policy responses: Office of Consumer Advocate and industrial consumers said Wyoming already has statutory tools and tariffs (notably Wyo. Stat. § 37‑3‑116 and Rocky Mountain Power’s Schedule 400) to handle large loads and protect native load. Anthony Ornelas (OCA) and Thor Nelson (WIAC) warned that the proposed draft could strip customers of protections if it removes standard provisions and asked the committee to narrow scope and preserve PSC oversight, including the ability to review rates charged to any large customer.
Outcome: stakeholders agreed the topic is important and complex. The committee did not advance Rocky Mountain Power’s draft and encouraged further stakeholder talks to adapt existing tariffs and statute where needed.
