Who pays for the power plants built for data centers?
Nevada's utility regulators are deciding the rules for data centers' power contracts. Here is what's being decided, what each side wants, and how to put your view on the record before the hearing starts.
Print them, share them, or attach them when you write your legislators.
That's when the hearing on the data center contract opens. Aim for Friday, Oct. 23. As of Oct. 14, only six comments were on file, and only one from an individual.
In 30 seconds
- What: The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) is reviewing NV Energy's long-term power plan (Docket 26-05007). Part of it is a standard contract for data centers, called the Large Load Electric Service Agreement (LLESA).
- Why it matters: NV Energy plans new gas plants and power lines largely to serve data centers. The contract decides how much of that cost data centers carry, and how much could land on everyone else's bills if their demand doesn't show up.
- Where it stands: The PUCN's own staff and the state's consumer advocate both recommend rejecting the contract as written. NV Energy is asking for approval. A decision is expected by Dec. 31, 2026.
What's being decided
Everyone in the case says data centers should "pay their own way." They disagree about how to make that happen. The key terms:
| The term | What it means | Where people stand |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum payment | A data center pays for most of the power it reserves, whether it uses it or not. | NV Energy: 90%. Several developers asked for 70% to 80%. |
| Security (collateral) | Money the utility can collect if a data center walks away. | Developers asked for far less. The consumer advocate wants collateral covering 100% of the exposure. |
| Forecast risk | Who pays if plants are built for data centers that never arrive. | PUCN staff's fallback: put NV Energy's shareholders "fully at risk" for forecasting errors. One developer offered an annual true-up. |
| Cost shift to homes | Whether other customers' rates rise. | NV Energy's illustrative numbers show other customers' rates rising "less than 0.5 percent." PUCN staff: "There should be no impact to existing customers." |
| Grid emergencies | Who gets cut first when power is short. | NV Energy's draft lets it cut data centers first only in an early period. The consumer advocate's alternative would allow cutting up to 100% of data center load in any grid emergency. One developer offers to be cut first in the most severe emergencies, running on its backup generators. No filing names homes and hospitals as protected first. |
The other side, in fairness
NV Energy says its contract already makes data centers pay up front for new generation, and that serving them can spread fixed grid costs over more customers. Developers say very high minimums and collateral would make projects impossible to finance and push them elsewhere. Those are real concerns. The question for the PUCN is how to protect existing customers without simply chasing projects away.
The one question to ask about every promise
"If it does, then what?"
"We'll pay our own way." If you don't, then what? "Our demand will show up." If it doesn't, then what? A promise only protects you if the contract says what happens when it fails: minimum payments, exit fees, collateral the utility can actually collect. That's the heart of a useful comment.
How to take part
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File a written comment (before Oct. 26, 10 a.m.)
This is the main way to get your view into the official record.
- Online: the PUCN's electronic filing system (account required; user guide).
- By mail or in person: Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, Attn: Docket 26-05007, 1150 E. William St., Carson City, NV 89701, or 9075 W. Diablo Dr., Suite 250, Las Vegas, NV 89148. Mail early.
- Optional form: the PUCN's Commenter Form (you don't have to use it).
Comments about the gas plants and demand forecast (Phase III) are due before Nov. 16, 10 a.m.
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Speak for 3 minutes at a PUCN meeting
You can't speak at the hearing itself, but every PUCN agenda meeting opens and closes with public comment, in Carson City and Las Vegas. Next: Tuesday, Oct. 27, 10 a.m. Then Nov. 10, Nov. 24, Dec. 8, and Dec. 29. You can also email a comment for these meetings to BPA@puc.nv.gov.
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Tell the consumer advocate
The Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection represents residential customers in this case and opposes the contract as written. Call 702-486-3132 or write, citing Docket 26-05007. It ran an online survey (en español) in place of a public session. It was still open as of Oct. 16; it notes that your name and comments may become part of the public record.
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Watch the hearing
Monday, Oct. 26, 10 a.m., continuing through Oct. 29: live at puc.nv.gov, or in person at either PUCN office above.
What to say: a template
Short and specific works best. Use your own words; pick the points you care about.
Know before you file: your comment and the contact information you give become public. Comments become part of the record but are not treated as evidence; the PUCN says it can't rely on them when deciding. Their value is indirect: the consumer advocate can use them, and they show commissioners, legislators, and reporters how many people care. With only six on file, each one is visible.
Who represents you, and who else to tell
Key dates
- Fri., Oct. 23: recommended last day to file a comment on the data center contract.
- Mon., Oct. 26, 10 a.m.: hearing opens (continues through Oct. 29).
- Tue., Oct. 27, 10 a.m.: PUCN agenda meeting with public comment.
- Mon., Nov. 16: Phase III hearing (forecast and gas plants); file related comments before it starts.
- By Dec. 31: expected decision (per the Attorney General's office).
Sources
- PUCN Docket 26-05007 filings, including the Notice of Hearing (Sept. 25, 2026), PUCN Staff direct testimony (Sept. 22) and supplemental testimony (Oct. 2), the Bureau of Consumer Protection's testimony (Sept. 22) and letter (Oct. 2), NV Energy's rebuttal (Oct. 6), and developers' testimony. Search the docket at puc.nv.gov.
- Commenter rules: NAC 703.491; public hearings: NRS 703.110.
- Attorney General's office, consumer survey announcement (Sept. 4, 2026), including the expected decision date.
- Docket comment count as of Oct. 14, 2026, from the PUCN document index.
Version 1.2 · information current as of Oct. 16, 2026, 6:56 a.m. PDT. Rebuttal testimony is due Oct. 16 at noon; this page will be updated.