Abbott orders audit of Texas data center grid requests

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued a directive ordering the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT to verify and audit data center projects seeking to connect to the Texas grid.

• Abbott says ERCOT is considering approximately 474 gigawatts of interconnection requests, with about 90% of new power requests coming from data centers.
• The directive requires checks on state and local incentives, on-site generation, water consumption, cooling technology, community impacts, and ownership/control before projects can move forward; Abbott says noncompliant projects must be denied connection.