Texas energy regulators say it could take several months to complete an audit of data centers and end a moratoriumordered by Gov. Greg Abbott.
Earlier this month, the governor ordered the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) to pause approvals for new data centers until they can complete a thorough review of current projects.
In their first meeting since the governor's latest directive, Texas energy regulators laid out their preliminary plans for reviewing data centers' impact on communities. Regulators will meet again next week to discuss more fully fleshed-out plans for complying with the governor's data center audit.
"Just from a holistic standpoint, having all that community impact information on how they’re handling water technology (and) power deliverability gives a better perspective to the state as we see these loads start to come onto the grid over the next several years," ERCOT Senior Vice President Chad Seely said in Friday's meeting.
Delays for some data centers
ERCOT has been facing a massive backlog of data centers looking to join the power grid.
Large energy consumers are requesting 474 gigawatts of power from the Texas grid. That's more than five times the amount of energy used to power the entire state during record-breaking demand. About 90% of the requests come from data centers.
After months of waiting, data center developers were expecting to hear this month whether they would be among the first projects included in ERCOT'snew, streamlined processfor joining the power grid.
But now, following the governor's latest directive, they're facing another several months of delays. ERCOT's first evaluation of data centers under the new process, known as "Batch Zero," has been put on hold.
The governor is requiring the PUCT and ERCOT to evaluate new data centers' energy and water usage, along with any government assistance or tax incentives they receive. The agencies must also collect information about these facilities' ownership and impact on nearby communities.
Data centers under construction that have already been approved to connect to the ERCOT power grid are not included in the governor's moratorium. The pause also does not include data centers that are using their own power generation and don't need to connect to the grid. Additionally, data centers in parts of Texas that are not a part of the ERCOT grid are not subject to the moratorium.
In afilingwith the commission, ERCOT said it plans to begin its data center audit after the commission's meeting next Thursday.
The state's power grid operators will send requests for information to about 250 to 300 large energy consumers that are qualified be included in Batch Zero to verify their eligibility for the study.
ERCOT will also collect "community impact information," as outlined in the governor's directive. The state's power grid operators will request this information from both large energy consumers eligible for Batch Zero and medium-sized energy consumers, which are requesting between 25 and 75 megawatts of power.
A single megawatt can power about 250 Texas homes during peak electricity demand,according to ERCOT.
Next steps
ERCOT had been planning to complete the Batch Zero study by April, notifying developers of how much electricity their projects would be allocated.
The state's power grid operators aren't requesting an extension of this deadline just yet.
"ERCOT does not yet know how long the verification and audit process will take or how the delay will impact the study timeline," the agency wrote in its filing with the Public Utility Commission. "If necessary, ERCOT will address that deadline with another good cause exception request or through the stakeholder process."
The agency is also delaying its long-term energy forecast. ERCOT previously said the state's energy demand could quadruple by 2032, butcautionedthat number is likely an overestimate and asked the commission for time to revise it.
PUCT Commissioner Courtney Hjaltman said data center developers will determine how long the audit — and related pause of data center approvals — will last.
"You answer this audit, you provide the information, and that’s when you’ll know," she said at Friday's meeting. "So it’s up to you to answer and do it well."
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