Abbott Orders Texas Grid Agencies to Curb AI Data Center Costs by July 17
Updated
Updated · Brownwood News · Jun 28
Abbott Orders Texas Grid Agencies to Curb AI Data Center Costs by July 17
3 articles · Updated · Brownwood News · Jun 28
Summary
July 17 is the deadline Abbott gave the Public Utility Commission and ERCOT to deliver a plan making AI data centers cover their own electric infrastructure and avoid shifting costs to households.
The directive also calls for new centers to add power capacity, use water-efficient cooling, report annual electricity and water use, and face repeal of sales-tax breaks and other incentives.
Texas already has nearly 300 operating data centers, more than 100 under construction and 87% of ERCOT interconnection requests tied to the sector, intensifying pressure on grid planning.
Water is a parallel concern: data centers consume an estimated 25 billion gallons annually, while Texas water planning does not yet account for their growth and the state already faces a 4.8-million-acre-foot shortfall.
The push sets up a broader 2027 legislative fight over how Texas balances AI-driven investment and jobs against ratepayer protection, grid reliability and local environmental impacts.