Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed state utility commissions to review all proposed new data centers. This directive comes as the state grapples with significant demand for electricity, largely driven by the burgeoning data center industry. The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) are tasked with gathering comprehensive information on these new facilities, including ownership, financial details, planned power consumption, water usage, and strategies for community impact mitigation.

Texas currently hosts 521 data centers, making it the second-largest hub in the U.S. behind Virginia. Adding to the existing strain, ERCOT is evaluating applications for over 474 gigawatts of new power connections. The governor's office highlighted that over 90 percent of these requests originate from data centers, raising alarms that this "unprecedented load growth could endanger the reliability and stability of the Texas electric grid."

This move by Governor Abbott reflects a broader trend of scrutiny and potential restrictions on data center development across various levels of government in the U.S. Concerns over resource consumption and the impact on existing infrastructure have made data centers a point of contention for many citizens.