Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, has directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to conduct a verification audit of all data center projects moving through ERCOT’s interconnection process.
The directive comes as ERCOT considers more than 474 GW of grid connection requests, 90 percent of which are for data centers. Together, the requests represent five times Texas’ record peak electricity demand the governor’s office said in a press release.
“Our top priority is to protect Texans’ safety and quality of life,” said Abbott. “Any project that fails to comply with the requirements set forth by the PUCT and ERCOT, and by state law, must be denied connection to the Texas grid. Simply put, Texans must come first.”
The governor has said that PUCT and ERCOT must obtain a raft of information from data center projects. This information includes the extent to which data centers are paying their own way or depending on the state for financial incentives. These incentives include state and local tax incentives, grants, abatements, and other public financial assistance, according to the governor’s office.
The two utility bodies will also need to determine to what extent data centers are providing their own power or whether they are dependent on the ERCOT grid. This information should include annual and peak electricity consumption and whether there is any effort to construct or procure on-site electric generation.
Information about water consumption will also be required. ERCOT and PUCT will need to determine to what extent data centers are bringing their own water and reusing it, rather than drawing on water needed by local communities. The two utility bodies will also need to gather information on the cooling technology used by data center operators.
Furthermore, Abbott’s office wants ERCOT and PUCT to gather information on the measures operators take to reduce noise and light pollution, improve traffic and emergency response coordination, and other measures that will be implemented to protect local communities.
Information detailing the ownership and controlling interests in the project must also be provided to the two bodies.
There isn’t much, if anything in this list, that data center developers aren’t already detailing in their plans, but Abbott’s directive means that developers can no longer omit these details if they want to build facilities in the Lone Star State. However, some have said that this directive lacks teeth and have called for a moratorium on data center buildouts similar to the one New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed last month.