Texas paused its data centre hook-up queue: 474 GW of requests, about 90% of them data centres
Gov. Greg Abbott ordered an audit of every data centre in the ERCOT queue, including whether each brings its own power. ERCOT delayed its Batch Zero large-load study and said it would seek a good-cause exemption at the PUCT's 20 August meeting.
If you run a big site in Texas and you are waiting to connect a large new load, the queue just stopped moving.
Utility Dive reported on 5 August 2026 that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for an audit of all data centres in the ERCOT queue. Requests total about 474 GW, more than five times the record peak demand on ERCOT, and about 90% of them are data centres, Abbott said.
The audit asks how far each project provides its own power or depends on the grid, including efforts to build or buy on-site generation, as well as water use and public incentives. ERCOT responded by delaying its Batch Zero transmission study, the first group under the new large-load process, and planned to ask the PUCT for a good-cause exemption at its 20 August meeting. New York halted new data centre approvals in July for up to a year.
Analogy: the town's water board has stopped approving new swimming pools until each owner shows whether they dug their own well.
Good: on-site generation is now an explicit test in Texas. A large site with its own solar, battery or other supply has something concrete to show the regulator.
Bad: lawyers quoted call it a delay of indeterminate duration. Projects tied to large loads have no new date.
Ugly: the pause targets data centres, but the queue is shared. Any large commercial load in the same process waits too.
Source: Utility Dive, 5 Aug 2026 - facing 474 GW of requests, Texas hits pause on data centers.