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Texas halts data center power connections pending grid audits
The directive is aimed at managing electricity demand and clearing out speculative queue projects that have requested more than five times the power the state grid has ever produced.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a halt to new data center connections to the state power grid as state agencies audit power demand and related details, according to Bisnow.
The pause is not described as a full moratorium, and energy law expert Dan Walters of Texas A&M University School of Law said the tighter rules could end up favoring established developers by reducing a backlog of speculative projects.
Walters said the policy may produce a short-term slowdown but could also accelerate off-grid connections, a segment Texas already leads in, while leaving some land speculators that expected to line up electricity later without power access.
Bisnow cited JLL data showing Texas data centers already under construction are expected to more than double the state’s existing inventory, and noted Walters viewed the order as potentially tied to election-year politics, including a June poll that found 29% of Texans support data center construction in their community.