What to know about data centers and your energy
We know there are a lot of questions about large load energy customers, including data centers. We’re here to help address those questions and concerns.
“Large load” is a term for commercial customers that use a lot of electricity, such as factories, industrial facilities and data centers.
Serving large customers is not new for us or others in our industry. In fact, as a regulated utility, we are required to evaluate any request from customers who want to connect to our system. For over 137 years, we’ve served large energy customers that help support the economic health and vitality of our region.
What’s new now is the scale of interest in data centers and how to incorporate those entities into plans for future energy needs.
Our commitments
1. Protect customers and communities we serve today
As we evaluate data center and other large energy requests, our responsibility remains clear: protect and serve our existing customers safely, reliably and affordably, while planning for future needs. Every step we take reflects this commitment.
If we enter into an agreement with a data center or any other large energy customer:
- That customer pays for the costs to serve them
- Current customers will not pay those costs
- Reliability for current customers will be maintained or enhanced
- There must be a net benefit for current customers
We will not move forward unless we are confident an agreement meets these requirements.
2. Prevent cost-shifting
Data center and other large energy customers must pay all the costs associated with their request for energy service, including:
- Studies and planning needed to review their project
- Equipment and system improvements
- New power supply
- Transmission upgrades
This prevents these costs from being passed on to our current customers.
3. Reliability remains priority
We will only move forward with projects if our system can continue to provide safe, reliable service for our current customers.
We will not take power away from homes or businesses to serve a data center or other large energy customer.
Our approach
Across the country, there’s been rapid growth in demand for data centers and other large energy users. We’re seeing that same interest in our region.
Our project evaluation approach is simple:
- Protect customers
- Keep service reliable
- Ensure no costs are shifted to current customers
- Follow regulatory review and only move forward if approved
- Plan for long-term affordability
Our comprehensive project review process includes:
- Studying system impacts
- Working with other utilities on system interconnection
- Developing a plan of service
- Identifying required infrastructure
- Determining associated costs
We have a dedicated team focused on energy resource planning and procurement that ensures all regulatory guidelines are followed throughout this process.
We believe large load energy projects, like data centers, can play a role in our region’s future but only if they’re approached the right way. By adding more energy customers to our system:
- Fixed system costs can be spread across more customers
- This can help reduce upward pressure on rates over time
Our goal is to ensure any new data center or other large energy project results in a net benefit for all of our existing customers.
Watch this short video to learn more from our leaders about how Avista approaches large load energy customers and data centers.
Featuring:
- Heather Rosentrater, President & CEO
- Scott Kinney, vice president of Energy Resources and Integrated Planning
Speaker 1: Another big topic that we're hearing about from our customers is around large customers coming into the area, such as a data center, and they have these huge energy needs. And there are folks wondering, "Am I gonna foot the cost if you have to build more infrastructure for them?" And so we actually have a video from one of our customers and a member of our equity advisory group. That is a group that advises Avista, and they have a question on that topic. So I'm just gonna pull that up here.
Speaker 2: I'm Lynn, and I sit on the Avista Equity Advisory Group. In that capacity, I represent rural areas of eastern Washington in the Avista service area. My question is, what is Avista's strategy to support and manage both the extraordinary increase in electrical demand created by these data centers and the very large costs created by developing and installing the required electrical infrastructure necessary for such data centers to be up and running, without passing much, if any, of that cost directly on to Avista's consumers?
Speaker 3: We've talked a lot about things that are increasing costs for us and our customers. And so we are always looking for ways to support cost, reducing that cost pressure. And one of the things we have identified is we think large loads, growth, data centers can be an important tool that actually reduces cost pressure for customers. Because we have fixed costs that our existing customers are paying for. And so if we have more customers or more megawatt hours, that we can spread those fixed costs amongst, then that does reduce rate pressure for our existing customers. And so we do see large loads as being a way to actually support affordability for our customers. And we believe that we have the right tools through special contracts to ensure that our system continues to be reliable and that the data centers cover the costs, any additional costs that they would be creating on the system and actually provide a net benefit back to our existing customers from an affordability perspective.
Our role
Energy service is just one piece of the puzzle required to bring a data center or other large energy project to life. As a regional energy provider, we are just one part of the project development process.
Our role is to determine whether we can safely and reliably provide the energy a customer is requesting. Data centers must secure all necessary approvals for their project. These can include:
- State utility commission review and approval
- Land use and zoning approvals
- Local government permitting
- Water use and availability reviews
- Environmental and regulatory reviews
No single entity decides if a project will proceed—multiple reviews and approvals are needed before a project may move forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
A “large load” is a customer that uses a lot of electricity, such as factories, industrial facilities and data centers. These customers use much more electricity than a home or typical business, so they require extra planning and review of their impacts to system generation, infrastructure needs, and more.
Yes.
We regularly receive requests from customers who want to connect large electric loads to our system. As a regulated utility, we are required to review these requests.
Serving large energy customers is not new to us. These requests are reviewed carefully through a consistent process, and not all move forward.
Some potential customers enter initial discussions with us to explore whether their energy needs can be met. These discussions are early in the service request process.
Importantly, these potential customers pay for our time and resources used to study and evaluate their requests. This eliminates cost-shifting to current customers.
We have received interest from potential large load energy users, including data centers.
In May 2026, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a data center developer interested in building within our Washington service territory. An MOU is not a final decision or a commitment to serve. It demonstrates our commitment to responsibly evaluate requests from customers seeking service on our system to determine whether we can meet their energy needs. It is also a mechanism to ensure that customer is covering those evaluation needs.
Negotiations concerning energy service to this potential data center are now paused. As a regional energy provider, we are just one part of the project development process and see a need for a broader coordinated planning effort, which we will actively participate in.
Our focus is not just on data centers. Our focus is on whether we can serve any large customer in a way that protects and benefits current customers, maintains reliability, and avoids cost-shifting. As a publicly regulated utility, we are required to review all new energy service requests.
When approached the right way, large energy customers can bring benefits.
We believe large energy customers can be part of the long-term solution to make energy more affordable for more customers. They can help spread some system costs across more usage, support local economic activity and make good use of our system—as long as current customers are protected.
No.
If Avista enters into an agreement with a data center or other large energy customer, that customer would pay the cost to serve them. Those costs would not be passed to current customers.
No.
Avista’s current Washington general rate case proposal, filed in January 2026, is not driven by data centers or large load energy customers.
That request is driven by the need to recover increased operating and maintenance costs and to fund critical investments that impact cost pressures affecting our entire energy industry—not just Avista. These include:
- Power generation and supply – Rising costs to produce and purchase electricity that meets regional clean energy requirements
- Infrastructure upgrades – Modernizing and securing the electric grid, expanding substation capacity, updating century-old hydroelectric facilities, and replacing aging natural gas pipe to continue to serve safe and reliable energy across our region
- Wildfire safety and prevention – Vegetation management, grid hardening, and advanced wildfire risk monitoring to improve resiliency throughout our service territory
- Technology improvements – Improving the reliability and efficiency of systems that serve our customers
- Regional growth and reliability – Planning ahead to meet the changing energy needs of our growing region
- Clean energy compliance – Meeting state and regional energy requirements, such as the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) and the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA)
No.
Our current customers are priority. We will not take power away from homes or existing businesses to serve any large load energy customer.
Data centers can use a lot of electricity, but the amount varies by project.
For example, some data centers can consume as little as 5 – 10 megawatts (MW), while larger data centers can consume several hundred MW, or even a Gigawatt. For context, our peak electric usage is just under 2,000MW, and our average use in an hour is 1,000MW, so these are significant potential additions. It’s why we have a process in place to carefully review any large load energy request.
We will only move forward with projects if our system can continue to provide safe, reliable service for our current customers.
Some projects can be supported without impacting current customer reliability with our existing infrastructure, and some will require new infrastructure to be installed.
Projects move forward only after studies, upgrades and protections are in place.
Some do and some do not.
It depends on how they are designed. Some use water for cooling, while others use technologies that reduce or eliminate water use.
Avista does not manage water service or supply. Water decisions are handled by local water providers and regulatory agencies responsible for water resources.
Water use is an important concern of our communities—and of ours. Caring for our natural resources has always been an important part of how we operate. It’s why we carefully evaluate potential large energy users and expect them to meet all local requirements and work with the appropriate agencies to manage their use responsibly.
Yes.
Avista will likely continue to receive requests from large load energy users and data centers in the future and we will continue to be required to determine if we are able to serve their needs. Each requestor will also be required to get all necessary approvals from any other agencies involved.
These reviews take time.
Large energy and data center projects typically require detailed study, planning and regulatory review. This is not a quick process and no final decisions are made early on. Learn more about the process here.
Projects like data centers can only move forward if they receive approval from a multitude of agencies
Depending on the project, the large load energy user or data center customer must involve other parties in their review and approval process. These may include regulators, local governments, water providers and other agencies. Any project would need to meet the requirements of all necessary agencies before it could move forward.
Importantly, Avista is only able to address the energy portion of any project request.
We’re committed to sharing clear information as large load energy users and data centers express interest in our region. For updates and answers to common questions, check back here or contact us for more information.