• Microsoft to fund USD 39m capital cost of new infrastructure including substation
• Utility has asked Wyoming regulator for approval by June

Investor-owned utility Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power is seeking regulatory approval to construct new transmission infrastructure which it needs to serve Microsoft’s data center expansion in Wyoming’s state capital of Cheyenne.

Cheyenne Light disclosed details of the new infrastructure as part of a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity application that it filed with the Public Service Commission (PSC) of Wyoming on March 13, 2026.

New Microsoft data center campus

The Microsoft data center in question – referred to as the Bronco Filly project – is being developed in the vicinity of the Cheyenne Prairie Generating Station, located on the southeastern outskirts of the city.

In order to effectively serve the load of this Microsoft data center, Cheyenne Light determined that a new 115kV substation, known as Bronco substation, would be necessary.

The substation will have 12 separate 115kV terminals, with six of these being used to connect to Cheyenne’s transmission system, two 115kV/24.9kV transformers to serve the new data center and four for future use.

As part of a Facility Expansion Agreement executed with Cheyenne Light, Microsoft will fund the capital cost of the new transmission infrastructure, which is expected to be around USD 39m.

Microsoft will also be responsible for any operations & maintenance costs associated with the new substation once it’s been brought online, alongside any new ad valorem taxes as stipulated by the expansion agreement.

With this in mind, and with Cheyenne Light recovering funds based upon actual costs, the utility believes that “there will be no impact on rates for any other customer or customer class.”

Timeline

Cheyenne has asked the Wyoming regulator to approve CPCN application on or before June 16, 2026, ahead of placing the substation into commercial operations during the second quarter of next year.

The load of Microsoft’s Bronco Filly project is expected to reach 12 MW by the end of 2027, before rising to 30 MW by the end of 2028 and then topping out at 48 MW by the end of 2029.

The New Project Media (NPM) data center database currently shows almost a dozen under-construction or operational projects in Cheyenne, with Microsoft being responsible for several of these.