Wyoming lawmakers consider energy deregulation for data centers, industrial power
Wyoming lawmakers are considering a bill to deregulate electricity for large industrial users, including data centers, to address power demands and reliability issues. The proposal would allow some electricity producers to operate outside public utility regulations if serving high-demand customers. Utilities oppose the bill, citing concerns about financial risks to ratepayers.
The Wyoming Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Interim Committee is currently reviewing a draft bill aimed at deregulating electricity for high-demand industrial customers, including data centers. The proposed legislation would exempt certain electricity generators from public utility regulations if they serve one customer with at least 25 megawatts of demand, or up to four customers with a combined demand of 100 megawatts.
Supporters, including Pete Obermueller of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming and Jody Levin representing the Wyoming Mining Association, argue that current utility rules hinder economic growth and fail to provide adequate power reliability for industrial sectors. Mary Throne, representing data center developer Prometheus Hyperscale, also backed the bill, emphasizing the need for generation flexibility to meet data center demands. Prometheus Hyperscale is behind a 1.5-gigawatt data center project straddling the Natrona-Converse county line.
However, utilities like Rocky Mountain Power, represented by Thom Carter, and Black Hills Energy, represented by David Bush, oppose the legislation. They warn that bypassing the existing grid could burden residents with the costs of stranded assets and maintaining backup power reserves. Bush noted that the bill could threaten Black Hills Energy's power contract tariff in Cheyenne, which uses industrial growth to keep residential rates low.
Despite the opposition, the committee decided to advance the bill to its next meeting in August without immediate amendments. Additionally, a motion was supported to draft a second bill to codify rules proposed by the Wyoming Public Service Commission, aiming to provide stronger statutory authority for regulating non-public utility generators.