Gov. Greg Abbott has paused approvals for new data centers seeking to connect to the Texas electric grid, ordering state regulators to audit the projects first.
Abbott sent the directive Monday, Aug. 3, in a letter to the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which runs the grid serving most of the state. New projects cannot move through the interconnection process until those audits are done.
What the numbers look like
ERCOT is tracking more than 1,800 projects in its interconnection queue, representing over 474 gigawatts of requested capacity. That is more than five times the grid's record peak demand.
About 90 percent of the new connection requests are data centers, according to Abbott. The queue has grown quickly: it stood at 233 gigawatts in January, meaning it roughly doubled in under six months.
Why this lands hard in Dallas-Fort Worth
DFW is the second largest data center market in the United States, behind Northern Virginia. Analysts at JLL have projected Texas could pass Northern Virginia to become the largest market in the world by 2030.
Statewide, at least 248 data center projects are planned. North Texas alone accounts for 26 large campuses tracked between Sherman and Waco, and from Weatherford to Terrell, a mix of operating sites, active construction and approved or proposed projects.
The pause therefore falls hardest on the region with the most in the pipeline.
