Utility Tariff Analysis · Updated September 2026

Wyoming's Large Power Contract Service (LPCS): What It Means for AI Data Centre Siting in Wyoming

September 18, 2026 6 min read Strategic Crypto Reserve Data Centre Infrastructure

Large loads served under a dedicated energy-procurement model are served under the LPCS tariff, originally approved by the Wyoming Public Service Commission in 2016 and developed collaboratively with Microsoft and Black Hills Energy. LPCS uses a dedicated energy-procurement model — market energy purchases and power purchase agreements — so large-load growth does not raise costs for other ratepayers; participants must fund their own incremental transmission and distribution facilities and arrange their own backup generation.

The Tariff Explained Model a WY Build
Wyoming's Large Power Contract Service (LPCS) — AI data centre infrastructure

Wyoming's Large Power Contract Service (LPCS)

WY

Black Hills Energy

Record Number 14242

Regulatory docket / filing reference

Large loads served under a dedicated energy-procurement model

Who the tariff applies to

Large loads served under a dedicated energy-procurement model are served under the LPCS tariff, originally approved by the Wyoming Public Service Commission in 2016 and developed collaboratively with Microsoft and Black Hills Energy. LPCS uses a dedicated energy-procurement model — market energy purchases and power purchase agreements — so large-load growth does not raise costs for other ratepayers; participants must fund their own incremental transmission and distribution facilities and arrange their own backup generation.

Also active in Wyoming: Wyoming's Cheyenne corridor, built around this tariff, now hosts a specialized Microsoft data centre using customer-owned, behind-the-meter dispatchable generation, an $800 million Meta project, and a $1.2 billion Related Digital/CoreWeave campus ramping from 88 MW to 302 MW.

Named Projects Already Underway

CustomerLocationDetails
MicrosoftCheyenne, WYdata centre project using a specialized tariff requiring customer-owned, behind-the-meter dispatchable generation
Related Digital, CoreWeaveCheyenne, WY$1.2 billion data centre project, ramping from 88 MW in its first phase to 302 MW total

Figures compiled from the Edison Electric Institute's "Large Load Projects and Tariffs" (September 2026) member-company summary and public regulatory filings. Confirm current tariff terms directly with Black Hills Energy and the relevant state public utility commission before relying on any figure for a capital decision.

Weighing Wyoming against another state or a Canadian province with a different rate and interconnection picture entirely? Run both sides of the comparison through our licensed AI data centre cost configurator — it applies each jurisdiction's actual power rate, tax treatment and large-load tariff rules to the same seven build configurations.

Model This State on Your Own Site

Every figure above comes from the same power-cost and tariff dataset behind the SCR AI Build Configurator — a licensed, embeddable widget that models seven data centre build configurations against all nine Canadian provinces and all 50 US states plus DC, returning capital expenditure by line item, energy cost, revenue by commercial structure, EBITDA and payback.

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Standard$4,000 / domain / yearAdvisors who need three lease-model configurations and a clipboard summary
Pro$10,000 / domain / yearConsultants who send CSV deliverables to clients and want all seven configurations
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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Wyoming's Large Power Contract Service (LPCS)?

Large loads served under a dedicated energy-procurement model are served under the LPCS tariff, originally approved by the Wyoming Public Service Commission in 2016 and developed collaboratively with Microsoft and Black Hills Energy. LPCS uses a dedicated energy-procurement model — market energy purchases and power purchase agreements — so large-load growth does not raise costs for other ratepayers; participants must fund their own incremental transmission and distribution facilities and arrange their own backup generation.

Why did Black Hills Energy introduce this large-load structure?

To ensure the cost of new generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure built to serve very large customers, chiefly hyperscale data centres, is paid for by those customers rather than spread across the general rate base of residential and small commercial ratepayers.

What large data centre projects are already active in Wyoming?

Wyoming's Cheyenne corridor, built around this tariff, now hosts a specialized Microsoft data centre using customer-owned, behind-the-meter dispatchable generation, an $800 million Meta project, and a $1.2 billion Related Digital/CoreWeave campus ramping from 88 MW to 302 MW.

Does this tariff replace Wyoming's standard commercial and industrial rates?

No. Wyoming's Large Power Contract Service (LPCS) sits above Black Hills Energy's standard commercial and industrial rate schedules and applies specifically to customers that meet or exceed the large-load threshold described above. Smaller commercial and industrial loads continue to be billed under existing rate schedules.

How can I model a Wyoming data centre build against this tariff and other states?

The SCR AI Build Configurator applies Wyoming's power cost, tax treatment and large-load tariff rules alongside all other US states and Canadian provinces, so a Wyoming scenario can be compared line-by-line against any alternative site.