Cap City News publishes letters, cartoons and opinions as a public service. The content does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Cap City News or its employees. Letters to the editor can be submitted by emailing editor@oilcity.news. Across the country, cities and counties are implementing temporary moratoriums on new data center construction. Cheyenne is no exception. Petitions are now circulating asking the city to adopt a one-year moratorium as constituents question the long-term impacts of rapid expansion. While concerns have been present for some time, the proposed annexation of ranch land off Happy Jack Road has intensified skepticism about whether large-scale data center development truly benefits our community. Cheyenne currently has 12 fully operating data centers. When these facilities arrived, Black Hills Energy implemented a tariff, requiring large data users — those with electricity loads above 13 megawatts — to build their own substations and pay for their own power. This system was designed to shield residents and small businesses from rate increases. In the short term, this is reasonable. But long-term questions remain unanswered. What happens when existing data centers need more power than their private substations can supply? If they must tap into the main power grid, the system in place that protects ratepayers could be strained. Before we approve a dramatic expansion of this industry, we need to study potential impacts to the power grids. Water usage raises additional questions. According to the Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities and Cheyenne LEADS, all local data centers currently use around 1.2% of Cheyenne’s total water supply. This low figure is possible because most new facilities use closed-loop cooling systems. However, projections suggest Cheyenne could someday host 40 to 70 data centers. Even with efficient systems, scaling up at that magnitude requires answers about flushing cycles, chemical additives, long-term cumulative