Texas Governor Greg Abbott released a response from the state’s Public Utility Commission and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to his June 10 directive to protect residential ratepayers from the costs of data centers.

Protecting Ratepayers

Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission to make data centers pay for their own electric infrastructure and to work with ERCOT on more steps to protect ratepayers. The agencies reported they’re already taking action by recommending legislative changes for the upcoming session.

The PUC and ERCOT recommended expanding the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act to cover large data centers so ‘foreign actors cannot use them to threaten the Texas grid.’ They also recommended clarifying the agencies’ authority to establish other reliability requirements data centers would have to follow.

Additionally, the PUC and ERCOT recommended requiring data centers to register with them so the state has accurate information about their water and electricity operations. Governor Abbott said he will work with the legislature to codify the protections.

Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.