City Council authorizes negotiations to protect ratepayers from Meta data center energy facility
El Paso City Council authorized attorneys to continue negotiating protections so city electric customers do not pay for infrastructure needed to power Meta's planned data center in northeast El Paso. El Paso Electric wants to build the McCloud natural gas facility next to the data center, while administrative judges recommended approval only if ratepayers are protected from the costs.
El Paso City Council authorized its attorneys to continue negotiations aimed at shielding El Paso Electric customers from costs associated with infrastructure for Meta's data center in northeast El Paso. El Paso Electric has proposed building the McCloud natural gas facility beside the data center to generate the power needed for its operations.
The utility says the project's developer, Worldwide LLC, will cover all costs. Two administrative judges with the Texas Public Utility Commission recommended approving the gas plant only if El Paso Electric guarantees that ratepayers will not be charged for it.