Texas data center projects must stop until state audits them

Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced a moratorium on the approval of data centers until regulatory agencies can audit proposed data centers seeking connection to the state's electric grid. Abbott is asking the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to ensure data center developers provide information on tax breaks they will receive; power use and generation; water use and cooling operations; efforts to reduce impacts on local communities; and ownership of the facility. Any projects that fail Abbott's ordered "comprehensive verification and audit" should be denied connection to the grid, the governor said. Abbott's letter to the PUCT and ERCOT directs them to conduct the audit on all data centers advancing through ERCOT's interconnection queue, or the line for energy intensive projects seeking connection to the electric grid. ERCOT is currently tracking more than 1,800 projects in the queue, representing over 474 gigawatts of electricity, or more than five times the grid's record for peak demand, according to ERCOT. Approximately 90% of the new power requests are data centers, Abbott said. ERCOT and the PUCT are already conducting a review of some of the projects in the queue through a process known as "batch zero." It is unclear if Abbott wants agencies to audit those projects or all those currently in the queue. Following Abbott's directive, ERCOT said Monday they are putting the batch zero review on pause.