Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered a temporary halt on new data center grid connections, directing state regulators to audit facilities before they can connect to the power grid. The move comes as ERCOT faces 474 gigawatts of connection requests—90% from data centers—which is five times the state's peak demand. While the Data Center Coalition hopes the audit will highlight responsible actors, political rivals Gina Hinojosa and Sid Miller have dismissed the pause as empty rhetoric ahead of the 2026 election.
Abbott data center approval pause
- ▪Texas Governor Greg Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas on August 3, 2026, to conduct a comprehensive verification and audit of all data centers seeking connection to the state's electric grid
- ▪Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered a pause on new data center grid connections until state regulators complete the comprehensive audit of these facilities
- ▪The Electric Reliability Council of Texas postponed its "Batch Zero" transmission planning study, which evaluates energy allocation for the first cohort of large-load projects, in response to Texas Governor Greg Abbott's directive
Texas grid capacity pressures
- ▪The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is considering approximately 474 gigawatts of grid connection requests, which is more than five times the state's record peak electricity demand
- ▪Data centers account for approximately 90% of the 474 gigawatts of new power connection requests currently being considered by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas
Abbott reelection campaign dynamics
- ▪Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa and Republican Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller criticized Texas Governor Greg Abbott's directive, calling the pause on data centers empty political rhetoric
- ▪Texas Governor Greg Abbott is seeking reelection in 2026, and a Fox News poll released in late July 2026 showed him leading Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa by 1 percentage point
Data center developer responses
- ▪Dan Diorio, executive vice president of state policy and government affairs for the Data Center Coalition, stated that the coalition hopes the audit will separate responsible water and energy stewards from those who are not
- ▪Dan Diorio, representing the Data Center Coalition, urged the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to move swiftly to avoid unnecessarily delaying serious investors
Water usage reporting compliance
- ▪A voluntary water use study issued by the Public Utility Commission of Texas received a response rate of less than 30 percent from data center operators
- ▪Only 17 percent of data centers responded to a mandatory water use survey issued by the Texas Water Development Board, according to officials at a June 2026 state House Natural Resources Committee hearing
Legislative session timing
- ▪Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and other critics have called on Texas Governor Greg Abbott to convene a special legislative session to address data center regulations before the regular session begins
- ▪The 90th Texas Legislature is scheduled to convene its next regular legislative session in January 2027
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