El Paso Commissioner Calls for Local Voice in Texas Data Center Policy
El Paso County Commissioner David Stout advocates for greater local authority and transparency in Texas data center policy, highlighting concerns about water, electricity, and taxpayer costs. This comes as Gov. Greg Abbott has directed an audit and pause on new data center grid interconnections, which Stout welcomes but seeks to extend its principles to El Paso.
El Paso County Commissioner David Stout is pushing for El Paso and other communities to have a stronger voice in Texas's evolving data center policy, emphasizing the need for transparent reviews, taxpayer protections, and increased local authority over large-scale industrial developments. Stout's advocacy follows Governor Greg Abbott's directive for the Electrical Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the Public Utility Commission of Texas to audit data centers seeking grid connections and to pause new interconnections during the review.
While welcoming the Governor's audit, Stout insists it must be meaningful and lead to tangible protections, not merely serve as political cover. He is calling for a special legislative session to address the immediate impacts data centers are having on communities, arguing that statewide protections are urgently needed. Stout notes that El Paso County, connected to the Western Electric Coordinating Council rather than ERCOT, faces similar concerns regarding water, electric reliability, and environmental impacts despite potentially being outside the scope of the Governor's current directive.
To address this, Stout has placed an item on the El Paso County Commissioners Court agenda for August 17, which includes a resolution outlining principles for responsible industrial development and a letter to Governor Abbott. The letter requests that El Paso County receive the same policy considerations as ERCOT communities, stressing the need for meaningful state review, additional action, and greater county authority to manage local concerns such as water impacts, energy use, noise, light, and vibration.
Stout is slated to testify before the Texas House Committee on State Affairs on Wednesday, where he will reiterate his message that Texas can achieve both economic development and community protection. He advocates for transparency, local authority for counties, and ensuring that development-related costs are borne by developers rather than taxpayers.