Officials: grid upgrades for big data centers can take years; developers pay for infrastructure

Officials warned the Council that providing sufficient power for large data centers frequently involves multi-year utility work. City staff explained that Xcel Energy’s process is multi-step and that recent legislation requires utilities to provide consumption and rate plans for large users, but upgrades to add capacity can still take significant time. Rachel Leonard said "Xcel Energy's process is a multi-step process," and that developers traditionally fund necessary infrastructure once agreements are in place.

The City Attorney and staff discussed contract approaches to protect the City when projects consolidate lots or do not follow traditional subdivision contract forms; Mr. Mattick said Site Improvement Plan Agreements (SIPAs) are commonly used in commercial and industrial projects and formalize obligations without creating new statutory development-contract requirements. Council suggested milestone-based approaches and "commercially reasonable efforts" to balance project timelines and utility lead times.