Abbott orders statewide audit of all new data center projects

Governor Greg Abbott is directing two state agencies to audit every data center project seeking a connection to the Texas power grid, ordering that any project failing to comply be denied access.  Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and the Electric Utility Commission of Texas (ERCOT) to require mandatory audits before any data center can connect to the state grid.

As part of the audit process, each data center project must disclose:

~What tax incentives, grants, or abatements they have received or expect to receive

~How much power they will use and whether they are generating any of their own electricity

~How much water they will consume, where it is coming from, and what cooling technology they will use

~What steps they are taking to reduce noise, traffic, and other impacts on neighboring communities

~Who owns and controls the project

ERCOT is currently considering more than 470 gigawatts of requests to connect to the Texas grid – more than five times the state’s record peak electricity demand.  Ninety percent of those requests are from proposed data centers.  Abbott said that level of demand could endanger the reliability and stability of the Texas electric grid.