Texas Governor Halts New Data Centers Amid Grid Overload

KyeGomezB · x · 2026-08-05

Pushed to the brink by surging power demands, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has halted all new data center projects in the state, mandating audits by the Public Utility Commission (PUCT) and grid operator ERCOT.

Texas has been a major hub for tech data centers due to loose regulations and abundant power, hosting the second-most capacity in the U.S. after Virginia. However, ERCOT's interconnection queue has more than doubled this year, skyrocketing from 233 gigawatts in January to 474 gigawatts today, with about 90% of new requests coming from data centers. This policy shift highlights the severe physical infrastructure constraints now challenging AI compute expansion.

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