WECC market shows strongest available capacity among 280+ tracked metros, but time-to-energization remains the critical variable
## Cheyenne tops the DCPI excess-power index
Cheyenne, Wyoming scored 69.5 out of 100 on the DC Hub Data Center Power Index (DCPI) excess-power metric as of June 19, 2026—the highest reading of any tracked US or global market. Its constraint score of 22.5 (lower is better) confirms minimal grid bottlenecks, a rare combination in today's capacity-starved landscape.
## What it means for site selection
Cheyenne sits at the top of every hyperscaler's build shortlist on paper: ample headroom, low constraint risk, and WECC interconnection diversity. But available power on a spreadsheet is not the same as energized capacity. Before committing capital, verify substation upgrade timelines, utility engineering backlogs, and whether that 69.5 score reflects **firm** capacity or optimistic projections. A market can lead the index and still deliver power 18 months late if queue discipline is weak.
The second-order implication: other WECC markets (rural SPP at 67.2, for example) are close behind. If Cheyenne's timelines slip or land premiums spike, the next-best alternative is already visible in the data—no need to pivot to a different ISO.
## Methodology
The DCPI excess-power index combines real-time substation load, queued generation, utility filings, and historical constraint patterns across 280+ markets. Scores update daily.
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**Source:** DC Hub Data Center Power Index (https://dchub.cloud/dcpi). Updated daily.
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