El Paso Electric seeks special rates for anticipated data center growth
El Paso Electric is seeking approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas for a special electricity rate specifically for large data centers. This move comes as the utility anticipates 1-2 gigawatts of new data center load in the next three years, with companies like Meta, Oracle, and OpenAI developing facilities in the region. The special rate aims to protect existing customers from potential increases in electric bills.
El Paso Electric (EPE) has filed a request with the Public Utility Commission of Texas to establish a special electricity rate for large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. The utility anticipates serving between 1 and 2 gigawatts (GW) of new data center load within the next three years, indicating a significant influx of these facilities into the Borderland region.
Companies such as Meta Platforms, Oracle, and OpenAI are reportedly developing hyperscale data center campuses in and around El Paso. The city government is also working on operational policy guides for future developments. EPE's proposed data center rate is designed to be cost-based and structured to prevent existing residential and small commercial customers from facing higher electric bills due to the increased demand from data centers.
The special rate includes exponentially higher charges during peak hours (2 p.m. to 7 p.m. in summer) to incentivize off-peak consumption. Meta's facility alone is expected to reach 1 GW of demand when fully built, and EPE's projections for an additional gigawatt of demand are for planning purposes, not yet based on formal agreements. The article also mentions Project Jupiter, a large data center campus in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, serving Oracle and OpenAI, which will operate on an isolated microgrid and require 2.45 GW from fuel cell technology, distinct from EPE's service area.