Large loads
What are large loads?
Large electric customers, such as data centers, use significantly more electricity than typical commercial or industrial facilities. Platte River defines a large load as any customer requiring more than 10 MW of electricity. Unlike typical load growth, which builds gradually, large loads require full capacity all at once and require advance planning and potential system upgrades.
Why large loads matter
While large loads bring economic opportunity to the region, they also create unique challenges for the electric system:
- Rapid growth: unlike typical load growth that occurs gradually, large loads often come online all at once.
- Single-location demand: power needs are concentrated at one site, which can require new transmission or substation upgrades.
- Higher exit risk: Large load customers can scale back or exist the region on shorter timelines than conventional commercial or industrial users, increasing the utility’s need for financial safeguards.
Because of these factors, large loads require careful evaluation and coordinated planning between Platte River and the owner communities.
Platte River’s role
If an owner community decides to contract with a large load customer, Platte River’s role is to make sure these customers are integrated responsibly, equitably and without shifting costs or risks to the communities we serve. Specifically, Platte River will:
- Ensure the electric system can reliably serve the new load
- Protect existing customers from financial or operational risk
- Coordinate closely with the owner community’s utility and local economic development partners
- Apply consistent policies and cost-recovery practices across all four communities
How Platte River is evaluating large loads
Platte River’s board adopted a large load policy in December 2025
that guides how new high-demand customers are reviewed and integrated.
The policy focuses on four areas:
Pre-interconnection
For potential large loads, Platte River works with owner community and economic development partners to understand the project, gather technical information and evaluate the request.
Interconnection
Platte River works with our regional transmission organization, Southwest Power Pool (SPP), to study how potential new large loads would affect the transmission system and determine whether upgrades are needed. Large load customers are expected to pay for these upgrades to avoid cost-shifting to existing customers.
Rate development
Rates for large loads follow industry best practices to promote cost causation, consistency and full cost recovery over time. Large loads that meet the criteria are subject to Platte River’s Large Customer Service Tariff (Tariff LC-26).
Financial risk management
Platte River uses tools such as reservation charges, financial assurances, and take-or-pay contracts to protect existing customers from stranded costs.
Working together with the owner communities
Interest from large load customers and developers is managed through a collaborative process in which the owner community and Platte River work together to assess opportunities and support interconnection needs. This partnership helps establish:
- Alignment with local planning and economic development goals
- Transparent communication with prospective customers
- Consistent application of policies across Platte River’s four owner communities
- Protection of system reliability and financial sustainability
Platte River remains committed to collaborating with our owner communities and prospective customers to support responsible energy growth across the region.
Per the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Platte River Power Authority will provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with a disability who need assistance. Please email us at [email protected] or call 970-226-4000. “Walk-in” requests for auxiliary aids and services may be honored to the extent possible but can be unavailable if advance notice is not provided.
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