Техас обязал дата-центры проходить аудит перед подключением к энергосети

Governor of Texas Greg Abbott signed a directive on August 11, 2026, requiring energy market regulators — the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the independent grid operator ERCOT — to conduct mandatory audits of all new applications from data centers seeking connection to the state's electrical grid.

What does the audit cover?

The new procedure requires each data center to disclose four blocks of information before receiving a connection permit. The first — what government and local incentives the facility has already received: tax deductions, land subsidies, preferential tariffs. The second — how heavily the facility will depend on the ERCOT grid, including during peak consumption hours. The third — the expected daily water consumption volume and the list of its sources: a particularly sensitive issue for Texas's arid climate. The fourth — a plan for monitoring the impact on local communities, including industrial noise levels from cooling systems.

• Directive signed on August 11, 2026
• Regulators tasked with the audit: PUCT and ERCOT
• Four mandatory blocks: incentives, grid load, water and sources, noise
• All new facilities seeking grid connection must undergo the audit
• Connection permits are not issued until the review is completed

Why is Texas moving toward restrictions?

For the past several years, Texas has been the primary magnet for data center construction in the United States: relatively cheap land, fast permitting, and the absence of income tax have attracted hyperscalers from around the world. But the sharp rise in electricity consumption is putting pressure on ERCOT — an isolated power system that has no backup connection to neighboring states and cannot quickly import electricity during peak hours.

According to ERCOT's own forecasts published in early 2026, peak demand in Texas could nearly double by 2030 — and a significant portion of that is attributed to data centers, whose construction has accelerated due to the race for AI infrastructure.

"It is necessary to keep the grid stable and reliable," —

Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, in a directive addressed to PUCT and ERCOT on August 11, 2026.

How will this affect data centers?

The new procedure will almost certainly slow the approval of new facilities. Companies building AI infrastructure in Texas have grown accustomed to expedited permitting; the audit adds an additional review stage with mandatory disclosure of financial and environmental data.

It remains unclear by what criteria PUCT and ERCOT will evaluate applications and in what cases they will be able to deny them — regulators have not yet published these details. Nevertheless, the very fact of the directive signals that Texas is shifting from a policy of maximum investment attraction to balancing infrastructure growth with the stability of the energy system.

What this means

The Texas audit is one of the first systemic mechanisms in the United States whereby a state reviews data centers before they connect to the grid, rather than after the fact. If the precedent proves effective, other energy-intensive regions — especially those where AI infrastructure is rapidly outpacing generating capacity — may adopt similar measures.