Texas freezes 474 GW grid queue amid data center backlash

Natural Gas Intelligence quoted Troutman Pepper Locke’s article on Texas data center grid connections and the state’s growing oversight push.

• Attorneys John Arnold, Brandon Lobb, and Rachael Beavers said ERCOT interconnection queue participants “face a delay of indeterminate duration” after Texas froze a 474 GW grid queue.
• The article says Texas had been expected to overtake Virginia as the largest US data center market, but that outcome is now “materially less certain”; Abbott plans to work with the Texas Legislature when it convenes in January 2027, and Troutman attorneys expect the PUCT to seek expanded statutory authority.