Texas Border Business
AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott released the response from the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to his June 10 directive that shows they are already taking concrete steps to protect residential ratepayers from the costs of data center expansion.
“I directed the Public Utility Commission and ERCOT to protect Texans from the costs of data center expansion and they are putting that direction into action,” said Governor Abbott. “Residential ratepayers will not foot the bill for this industry’s growth. These actions keep electric bills affordable and protect the water our communities need.”
On June 10, Governor Abbott directed the PUCT to make data centers pay for the electric infrastructure they need so Texas families are not stuck with the bill, to ensure that connecting data centers actually lowers residential electric bills, and to work with ERCOT on additional steps that protect ratepayers.
Key actions taken and underway by the PUCT and ERCOT include:
- Requiring data centers to not only pay for transmission infrastructure built to serve them but contribute toward meaningfully reducing residential electric bills.
- Adopting rules to prevent large data centers from diverting existing power away from the ERCOT grid and ensuring power is prioritized for Texas families and communities.
- Begun sweeping changes to how data centers pay for the infrastructure needed to serve them, ensuring data centers do not shift those costs onto everyday Texans or place unnecessary strain on our state’s resources.
- Implemented a new interconnection screening process to prevent data centers from overburdening the grid.
- Strengthened ERCOT’s process for evaluating and managing data center development, and improved long-term planning to ensure our infrastructure will reliably serve Texas residents.
- Developing stronger standards that data centers must meet before they can connect to the grid.
- Mandate that new data centers reduce their power quickly when ERCOT instructs them.
The PUCT and ERCOT also recommended the following legislative changes for the upcoming legislative session:
- Expand the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act to cover large data centers so foreign actors cannot use them to threaten the Texas grid.
- Clarify the PUC’s and ERCOT’s authority to establish additional reliability requirements that data centers must comply with.
- Require data centers to register with the PUCT and ERCOT so the state has accurate information about their water and electricity operations.
Governor Abbott will continue to work with the Legislature to codify these protections and ensure data centers do not come at the expense of Texas ratepayers.
