CenterPoint adds $4B to power lines as Houston data center growth accelerates
CenterPoint Energy announced more than $4 billion in additional transmission investment to support surging data center and other large-load demand in the Houston region. The spending comes as Texas regulators pause new data center grid connections for an audit, while potential rate increases and the costs to residential customers remain contested.
CenterPoint Energy plans to add more than $4 billion to its transmission construction program in the Houston region, raising its projected capital spending through 2030 to $38.7 billion. CEO Jason Wells said the company is seeing explosive growth in data center demand, while CFO Christopher Foster described overall demand growth as unprecedented.
The utility expects Houston-area electricity demand to increase by 14 gigawatts by 2030, with most of that growth attributed to data centers. CenterPoint says much of the infrastructure cost could be recovered from ratepayers, although any rate increases would require approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas and consumer advocates have questioned whether the benefits of the buildout will outweigh its costs.
The investment follows Gov. Greg Abbott's directive pausing data center connections to the Texas grid while the Public Utility Commission and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas audit pending large-load requests. ERCOT estimates that data centers account for nearly 90% of those requests, with the audit results expected in December.