Overview
- On Wednesday Governor Greg Abbott ordered the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT to submit a joint memo by July 17 and asked the PUC to begin action by July 31 to prevent data centers from shifting transmission and interconnection costs to residential ratepayers.
- State filings show hundreds of large projects are seeking ERCOT connections with more than 480 large data-center requests logged through 2032, raising concerns that the scale of proposals could strain the grid and raise costs if developers do not fund upgrades.
- Local officials and residents in counties such as Angelina and Brazoria are pressing for setbacks, noise mitigation and independent impact studies but say state law limits their power to block projects and leaves them relying on contract terms like tax abatements to negotiate protections.
- AmpZ’s proposed site outside Lufkin would occupy roughly 1,000 acres, represent about $1 billion in private investment, promise about 500 construction jobs and use an estimated 500 gallons of water per day according to local project materials.
- Industry groups say members already follow many best practices and will work with regulators, while Abbott’s package—which includes mandating closed-loop cooling, annual reporting and repealing sales tax exemptions—signals likely legislative debate in 2027 over who pays for growth.