Texas Halts Grid Approvals for Data Centers Pending Operational Audits
Governor Abbott orders PUCT and ERCOT to pause grid connection requests as a 474-gigawatt queue stalls.
Texas state regulators have paused grid connection approvals for new data centers seeking access to the state’s main power system, halting progress on hundreds of tech infrastructure projects until developers complete mandatory state audits.
The directive, issued by Governor Greg Abbott to the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), targets a massive queue of incoming commercial power requests. More than 1,800 projects are currently awaiting approval to connect to the ERCOT grid, with data centers making up roughly 90% of those applications. Combined, the requested load stands at 474 gigawatts—more than five times the Texas grid’s current peak demand of approximately 85 gigawatts.
Under the new order, developers must supply extensive operational and financial disclosures to be considered for grid connection. Required submissions include power consumption and generation estimates, water usage and cooling plans, tax incentive details, community impact mitigation measures, and facility ownership structures. Non-compliant applicants will be denied access to the grid.
The mandatory audit follows an attempt by the PUCT to gauge the sector’s resource demands. The agency previously issued a voluntary questionnaire to 377 data center companies operating or planning facilities in the state, but only 28 firms provided responses.
“Our top priority is to protect Texans’ safety and quality of life,” Abbott said in a statement. “Any project that fails to comply with the requirements set forth by the PUCT and ERCOT, and by state law, must be denied connection to the Texas grid. Simply put, Texans must come first.”
The freeze applies strictly to projects seeking connection to the ERCOT system, which supplies power to roughly 90% of the state. Facilities operating outside ERCOT boundaries, including those in El Paso, are exempt from the pause. Data centers that supply their own off-grid power generation are also unaffected because they do not rely on public grid connections.
Despite the halt, state officials face mounting political pushback over grid management. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller criticized the directive on the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Facebook page, calling the executive order “all hat and no cattle” and stating that “Texans need laws with teeth, not another press release designed to make it look like something is being done while hyperscale projects continue moving forward.”
State Representative Gina Hinojosa, a Democrat challenging Abbott in the 2026 gubernatorial race, dismissed the administrative pause as “too little, too late,” pointing to months of state promotional efforts designed to draw major data center operators to Texas.
While narrower than New York’s statewide data center moratorium, the Texas review introduces immediate regulatory friction for developers. For an industry reliant on fast construction schedules and intense power consumption, the connection freeze creates severe bottlenecks across the country’s fastest-growing computing hub.
