Texas halts data center grid connections amid overwhelming demand
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has imposed a moratorium on new power grid connections for data centers until regulators can verify their impact on the grid. This follows a surge in interconnection requests, mostly from data centers, that could threaten the reliability of the state's power system.
Governor Greg Abbott of Texas has declared a moratorium on all new power grid connections for data centers, requiring them to provide more information about their projects' potential impacts. This action, announced on August 3, directs the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to perform a comprehensive verification and audit of all data centers in the interconnection process. Texas, which has aggressively courted data center development with tax breaks and fewer regulations, is now facing an unprecedented load growth: more than 1,800 projects with over 474 gigawatts of connection requests are in ERCOT's queue, more than five times the state's record peak electricity demand, with about 90 percent coming from data centers. Abbott's office stated that this load growth could endanger the reliability and stability of the Texas grid. ERCOT forecasts that data center demand could double the current demand record by 2032.
- Abbreviations
- ERCOT = Electric Reliability Council of Texas — Электрический совет надежности Техаса
Source: Ars Technica —
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