Texas Pauses Data Center Grid Hookups for Audit as Requests Hit 474 GW

Texas has paused new data center connections to its main power grid while the state audits every data center project in the queue. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the review on Aug. 3, after large-load requests to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas reached about 474 gigawatts. That’s more than five times ERCOT’s all-time peak demand record.

“Approximately 90 percent of the new power requests are data centers,” Abbott wrote in the letter calling for the audit, Utility Dive reported. “Any data center project that fails to comply with the verification and audit process to protect the reliability and resilience of the Texas electric grid must be denied.”

The audit asks whether each project will supply its own power or rely on the grid, how much water it will use, and whether it receives state or federal help such as tax incentives, grants or abatements. In response, ERCOT delayed its review of the first group of projects under the state’s new large-load interconnection process, a study known as Batch Zero.

Real demand vs. ‘ghost’ demand

The size of the queue is part of the point. A figure that large suggests many requests are duplicates or speculative claims on grid capacity rather than projects that will actually be built. BloombergNEF said more than 70% of the roughly 50 GW of Texas data center projects it tracks are in early stages. It expects about 8.25 GW of additional data center capacity to come online in ERCOT through 2030, bringing the total to more than 17 GW.

BNEF said the pause affects nearly 49.8 GW of projects and puts about 20% of the total U.S. data center pipeline at risk of delay. Assuming 60% of the delayed capacity is AI-related, it estimated data center revenue losses could reach $8 billion by the first quarter of 2027. By BNEF’s estimate, AI computing capacity can earn around $1.76 billion per gigawatt per month.

The risk grows the longer the pause lasts. If it runs into the 2027 legislative session, lawmakers could change the new interconnection rules, BNEF said. BNEF also said its 2030 forecast “could be revised significantly higher” if Batch Zero proceeds as planned.

Texas isn’t the only state pulling back. New York halted new data center approvals in July for up to a year while it writes new development rules.

For companies counting on Texas capacity for AI infrastructure, the audit means more paperwork and less certainty. Projects with their own generation, low water use and committed financing should come through the review in the best shape. Speculative queue positions are the ones most likely to be cut.