Governor Abbott has paused new data center power interconnections to the Texas grid pending verification and audit of existing queued projects, citing concerns over grid reliability and cumulative AI data center demand

On August 3, 2026, Governor Greg Abbott issued a directive to the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) mandating a "comprehensive verification and audit" of all data center projects currently advancing through the ERCOT interconnection process. The directive effectively imposes an immediate pause on approvals, with no additional data center projects permitted to move forward until the audit is completed.

The Governor's directive responds to unprecedented load growth, with data centers representing approximately 90 percent of the 474 gigawatts of new power requests. The stated goal is to protect grid reliability, water resources, and community interests. Projects that fail to comply with the audit's transparency requirements or state law will be denied connection to the primary Texas grid.

The directive's scope is broad, applying to all data centers in the ERCOT queue regardless of type—whether AI processing, crypto-mining, or cloud storage—or load size.

ERCOT has announced it will halt its "batch zero" transmission planning study until the verification and audit is fully completed. Batch zero represents the first phase of ERCOT's new large-load approval process, which was designed to provide a more orderly and expeditious review of interconnection requests of 75MW or more.

Developers must be prepared to provide detailed information to pass the audit, though the source directive does not specify all required disclosures.

Certain projects may fall outside the scope of this directive: those located in approximately 50 Texas counties outside the ERCOT region (such as El Paso, portions of the Panhandle, and Far East Texas) or those utilizing purely "behind the meter" on-site generation without interconnecting through ERCOT.

Developers considering withdrawal from the delayed batch zero process should note potential refund provisions, though specific terms require review of formal program guidance.

Stakeholders should engage now to advocate for a streamlined verification process, as formal rulemaking could significantly delay the audit timeline and create additional uncertainty.