ERCOT says governor's data center audit could take months to complete
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has enacted a moratorium on new data center approvals, tasking ERCOT and the PUCT with a comprehensive audit of current and proposed projects' energy, water, and community impacts. This audit is expected to take several months, causing significant delays for data center developers seeking to connect to the state's power grid.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has mandated a statewide moratorium on new data center approvals, directing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) to conduct a thorough audit of all current and prospective data center projects. The audit, which energy regulators estimate could take several months to complete, aims to evaluate data centers' energy and water usage, government assistance received, ownership, and their overall impact on local communities. This directive came after ERCOT faced a substantial backlog of data centers seeking to connect to the Texas power grid, with about 90% of the 474 gigawatts in requested power coming from such facilities.
ERCOT Senior Vice President Chad Seely emphasized the importance of gathering comprehensive community impact information, including details on water technology and power deliverability, to provide a holistic state perspective on the increasing load these facilities will place on the grid. Data center developers who were anticipating progress on their interconnection requests, particularly those in ERCOT's new "Batch Zero" streamlined process, now face extended delays.
The governor's order specifies that the moratorium applies to new approvals, exempting data centers already under construction with grid connection approval, those using their own power generation, and facilities outside the ERCOT grid. ERCOT plans to begin its audit by sending requests for information to 250-300 large energy consumers qualified for Batch Zero, as well as medium-sized consumers requesting 25 to 75 megawatts.
While ERCOT had initially aimed to complete the Batch Zero study by April, the agency has acknowledged uncertainty regarding the audit's duration and its impact on the study timeline. PUCT Commissioner Courtney Hjaltman indicated that the speed of the audit, and thus the lifting of the pause, largely depends on how quickly and thoroughly data center developers provide the requested information.