City Calls on State Officials to Extend Data Center Ratepayer Protections to El Paso
Regulators want lawmakers to make data centers cover grid upgrades and allow emergency curbs on power use as Texas braces for more projects.
- Following a directive from Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas power grid operators are seeking expanded regulatory authority over data centers to ensure facilities lower residents' energy bills and pay for their own electric infrastructure.
- During a Texas Senate Finance Committee hearing Monday, lawmakers questioned whether the state's tax exemption program for data centers justifies its rapidly mounting cost, projected at approximately $3.3 billion during the 2028–29 biennium.
- Qualifying data centers can avoid the 6.25% state sales tax on equipment by investing at least $200 million and creating 20 permanent jobs, though Texas Comptroller officials reported six of 20 audited projects were noncompliant or withdrew.
- PUCT Chairman Thomas Gleeson outlined steps to regulate data centers, including potential legislation enabling regulators to communicate directly with facilities to reduce energy usage during emergencies rather than through utility companies.
- While the Data Center Coalition argues tax breaks foster reinvestment, critics like Shannon Halbrook of Every Texan suggest the mature industry no longer needs subsidies, especially as a recent poll found 42% of Texans strongly oppose data centers.
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12 Articles
The City of El Paso presented formal comments to the Texas Public Service Commission (PUCT) on Wednesday to request that protections designed to shield residential consumers from the rise in electricity rates associated with mega data centers be applied throughout the state, including areas outside the Texas Electrical Reliability Council (ERCOT) network, to which El Paso does not belong.
City calls on state officials to extend data center ratepayer protections to El Paso
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The City of El Paso announced Wednesday that they have submitted formal comments to the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) requesting that protections being developed to shield residential electric customers from the costs associated with large data centers apply statewide, including to communities served by utilities outside the ERCOT The post City calls on state officials to extend data center ratepayer protecti…
City requests statewide data center ratepayer protections
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The City of El Paso has submitted formal comments to the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) requesting that ratepayer protections be applied statewide, including to communities served by utilities outside the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) electrical grid. The comments were filed in response to Governor Greg Abbott's [...]
Data centers are being built across Texas every day. Here’s what goes on inside one in Austin
KUT News requested tours of several data centers in Hays, Travis and Williamson counties. Most companies either declined or did not respond. But the Texas Advanced Computing Center let us peek behind the curtain.
City asks state to extend data center electricity cost protections to Borderland ratepayer
El Paso is pressing Texas regulators to shield El Paso Electric customers from data center-driven power costs, seeking ERCOT-style protections statewide. The move comes as Meta builds a major campus and demand surges.
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