10/08/2026
Texas has paused approvals for huge new power users after proposed projects asked for an astonishing 474 gigawatts of electricity.
That is more than five times the state’s all-time record peak demand.
ERCOT, the organisation responsible for managing most of Texas’ power grid, is currently tracking more than 1,800 large-load projects seeking connections.
Around 90% of the requested electricity is linked to data centres, many of them built to power the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence industry.
The numbers became so big that Governor Greg Abbott ordered officials to pause projects moving through the connection process while they are audited.
Developers are now being asked to provide detailed information about how much electricity and water they will use, who owns the projects and whether they are receiving public subsidies.
Projects that refuse to cooperate could be denied access to the grid.
To put the scale into perspective, Texas’ record electricity demand is under 90 gigawatts.
These proposed projects are asking for 474.
That does not mean all of them will actually be built.
Some applications may be speculative, duplicated or years away from construction.
But even a fraction becoming real would require enormous amounts of new power generation, transmission lines and water infrastructure.
Texas is already home to some of the largest data centre developments in America.
Now the state is being forced to ask whether its grid can keep up with the AI boom.
The technology of the future may run in the cloud.
But the electricity needed to power it is very real.
