Nevada regulators review NV Energy 2026 plan as data centers drive demand

by Steve Wolford
Tue, October 27, 2026 at 6:17 PM

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Nevada regulators are reviewing NV Energy’s long-term plan for meeting electricity demand as the state draws growing interest from power-hungry data centers and other large customers.

The Public Utilities Commission is going over NV Energy’s 2026 Integrated Resource Plan this week in Carson City. Regulators are also considering a proposed “Large Load Electric Service Agreement,” aimed at ensuring reliable service and financial protections as Nevada becomes more appealing to new large-load customers such as data centers.

RCG Economics, which does local economic forecasting and analysis, reports Nevada’s data center boom is outpacing the power grid. The firm says 39 data center projects interested in Nevada have requested nearly three times the amount of power generated by NV Energy during peak hours last year.

NV Energy is building a framework intended to prevent potential growth from leading to cost shifts for existing customers. Sean Dalesandro, the developer proposing the Manse Technology Campus in Nye County, said data center developers are required to cover major infrastructure upgrades tied to their projects.

“What can data center developers do? Well, what they have to do is pay for all the upgrades required for their project, and because data center projects are large loads, those costs can be substantial,” Dalesandro said.

Dalesandro said adding large loads can require reinforcing major parts of the transmission system. “There’s all this equipment that goes into the transmission system, transmission lines, substations, and transformers and switching yards. All of that has to be reinforced if you add a large load to it,” he said.

NV Energy said its guiding principle is that “growth should pay for growth.” The utility said that as Nevada continues to attract new businesses and large energy users, including data centers, “we believe the customers driving significant new demand should bear the costs associated with serving that demand, while existing residential and business customers should be protected from those costs.”

Dalesandro said requiring developers to pay for upgrades can also strengthen the grid for others. “They have to be paid for by the developer, and that enhances the bulk electric system so that all of the residential and other users on the grid benefit,” he said.

Beyond power costs and infrastructure, experts say Nevada’s climate and connectivity help make it a premium location for data centers. Greg Moody, an associate professor of information systems at UNLV, said data centers are expensive to build and operators want to protect that investment.

“We have lots of fantastic stuff,” Moody said.

Moody said Nevada avoids many severe weather risks seen elsewhere. “But we don’t get big tornadoes, we don’t get large floods, we do not get hurricanes, risk of lightning storms, ice storms, all that fun stuff that hits all different parts of the country; we simply don’t have,” he said.

Moody also said Nevada provides humidity-free air conditioning, adding that “75% of the year it is 72 degrees or cooler.”

He said another major advantage is internet backbone access through Las Vegas. “Almost every single major ISP backbone provider goes through Las Vegas, and so as a result, if you build a data center right next to essentially what would be the spine of the nervous system, you get a lot better access speed, and speed is very important when you’re dealing with large quantities of data,” Moody said.

Electricity prices are also a key factor NV Energy wants to protect as demand grows. According to Electricity Cost Comparison.com, Nevada pays less than 13 cents per kilowatt hour, with an average power bill of $110 a month. By comparison, the site lists Texas at about 16 cents per kilowatt hour, California at almost 30 cents, and Hawaii at 47 cents per kilowatt hour, with an average power bill of $407 a month.

The Integrated Resource Plan and the Large Load Electric Service Agreement are expected to receive approval from the Public Utilities Commission, with possible language changes.