Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced a moratorium on data center approvals pending regulatory audits, directing the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to audit all data centers in ERCOT’s interconnection queue before they may connect to the state grid, The Texas Tribune reported on August 3, 2026.
Under the directive, developers must disclose tax breaks received, power use and generation, water use and cooling operations, efforts to reduce community impacts, and facility ownership.
“Our top priority is to protect Texans’ safety and quality of life,” Abbott said, according to the Tribune. “Any project that fails to comply…must be denied connection to the Texas grid.”
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The Tribune reported that ERCOT is tracking more than 1,800 projects representing over 474 gigawatts of requested electricity — more than five times peak grid demand — and that roughly 90% of those projects are data centers.
Not established by this report: how long the moratorium will last, how many projects have already been audited, or whether any have been denied.
Story Details
| Primary Source | The Texas Tribune |
| Reported | August 3, 2026 |
| Location | Austin, Texas |
| Verification | Confirmed — article verified directly at the publisher |
| Topic | Business & Economy |
Sources
- The Texas Tribune — New Texas data center projects frozen until state audits them (Aug 3, 2026)
- Office of the Texas Governor — News
Every claim above is attributed to the sources listed.
Where the record changes, this page is updated and the correction is noted with its date.