GUADALUPE COUNTY, Texas – Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a statewide audit of data centers Monday, directing regulators to review every project seeking to connect to the Texas power grid before it can move forward. But the state’s top agriculture official says the move is more politics than policy — and residents in Guadalupe County say they’re not convinced it changes anything for them.
Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT to conduct what he called a “comprehensive verification and audit” of all data centers advancing through ERCOT’s interconnection queue. Projects that don’t comply with state requirements, he said, should be denied a grid connection.
The directive comes as ERCOT tracks more than 1,800 data center projects totaling roughly 474 gigawatts of requested power — more than five times the state’s record peak demand. Abbott’s office says approximately 90% of all new power requests in the queue are from data centers.
But Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller isn’t impressed.
“The governor’s declaration doesn’t put the brakes on anything. It doesn’t stop them,” Miller told KSAT. “It’s political speak to gain favor with the voters. So it looks like he’s doing something, but actually it doesn’t do really anything.”
Miller said the audit’s requirements are so vague that any data center could satisfy them almost immediately with basic paperwork. He is calling on Abbott to call a special legislative session instead, arguing lawmakers could have meaningful regulations written and passed in as few as two to three days.
“If he really wanted to get a handle on and slow down these data centers, he could do a one-year moratorium — which he’s refused to do,” Miller said. “Or he could call a special session.”
Abbott’s directive also requires data centers to disclose projected water use, cooling technology, power consumption and whether they are using public tax incentives. The governor’s office cited low compliance with an earlier PUCT and Texas Water Development Board survey — only 28 of 377 companies notified submitted responses — as part of the reason the audit is needed.
In Guadalupe County, the debate is already playing out in real time.
A coalition of residents and property owners filed suit last month seeking to block two proposed data center developments — Cloudburst and Palomino Alpha — alleging issues with public notice and potential strain on local water and utilities. That lawsuit is still pending.
Dawn Elam lives less than five miles from the proposed Palomino Alpha site and said water is her biggest concern.
“Our water rates are already pretty expensive in comparison to a lot of surrounding areas, and we have a lot of restrictions on water usage already,” Elam said. “Data centers use an extreme amount of water.”
Crystal Clear, the local water provider for the area, is expected to vote as soon as this month on whether to approve water allocations for the Palomino Alpha project. That vote could be a critical turning point for the development.
As for Abbott’s audit, Elam is skeptical it will make a real difference.
“I personally think that Governor Abbott is more concerned about getting reelected than he is about actual restrictions on data centers,” she said. “I think he had years and years of opportunity to put moratoriums and do evaluations.”
Abbott’s directive does not include a timeline for how long the audit will take. ERCOT has already said it is postponing a key transmission planning study — known as the Batch Zero review — while it reviews the governor’s order.
Miller said the stakes could not be higher.
“That dog won’t hunt. We cannot do that. We do not have the capacity to hook them all up,” he said.
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