PUC sues Texas Attorney General over data center record dispute
The Public Utility Commission of Texas sued Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office in Travis County over whether information about data center locations, water use and electricity consumption must be released under the state’s public-records law. The commission argues that combining the information could create risks to critical infrastructure and drinking-water systems, while officials and journalists seek the data to assess resource impacts.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas filed a lawsuit asking a Travis County judge to block the release of survey information about data centers and virtual currency mining facilities across Texas. The data was collected by the commission and the Texas Water Development Board, including facility locations, regional water-planning jurisdictions, peak water use, electricity demand and cooling systems.
The commission argues that releasing the information in combination could expose critical infrastructure to cyber or physical attacks. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office is the defendant after declining to accept the commission’s homeland-security justification for withholding the records. Reporters, state leaders and water planners say the information is needed to evaluate data centers’ effects on Texas water supplies, electricity resources and future infrastructure needs.