PRPA details data center safeguards for Loveland

Platte River Power Authority (PRPA) CEO Jason Frisbie informed the Loveland Utilities Commission that PRPA has proactively adopted policies to manage large electrical customers, such as data centers. These safeguards are designed to ensure that new projects requiring significant power, typically 10 megawatts or more, pay for their own electrical infrastructure, preventing cost shifts to existing customers.

Frisbie explained that planning for such large, rapid load increases differs significantly from the gradual growth utilities usually anticipate. He highlighted that while the PRPA system experienced a peak demand of 721 megawatts, and Loveland's peak was 171 megawatts last year, a single data center could demand 50 or more megawatts at once. The new policy mandates upfront payments or take-or-pay contracts from large customers to recover utility investments, mitigating risks if a customer reduces power use or relocates.

Although no formal data center proposals exist in Loveland, Fort Collins, Longmont, or Estes Park, Longmont is further along in evaluating a potential 50-megawatt data center, a process that has taken about a year. Loveland's former Woodward campus has limited existing capacity, and larger projects would necessitate new transmission or substation infrastructure.

Frisbie emphasized that PRPA's role is not to approve or deny data center construction, but rather to assess the electrical system's capacity and infrastructure requirements. The final decisions on data center development rest with the individual cities. The discussion comes after a recent report of a company, Spark AI Foundry, identifying the former Woodward campus for AI data centers was debunked, leading to a cease-and-desist letter. Frisbie is scheduled to present on data centers again at a Loveland City Council study session on September 1.