# Texas halts data centre approvals, orders audit 2026-08-08T23:09:53+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Texas Governor Greg Abbott has temporarily paused approvals for new data centres seeking connections to the state's electric grid and ordered a comprehensive audit of projects in the pipeline. The directive to the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT requires developers to disclose expected electricity demand, water consumption, cooling systems, ownership and tax incentives. Abbott said any project that fails state requirements must be denied grid access. The move follows low participation in a survey of data centre operators, only 28 of 377 companies responded. ERCOT reports more than 1,800 projects are waiting for grid connections, representing over 474 GW of potential demand, more than five times Texas's record peak. Abbott said roughly 90 per cent of new power requests come from data centres. The state is the second-largest data centre market in the US after Virginia, with at least 248 more facilities planned. ## Coverage - economictimes.indiatimes.com - timesofindia.indiatimes.com Tags: AI demand, data centres, electricity grid, Greg Abbott, regulation, Texas Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/texas-pauses-data-centre-grid-approvals-orders-audit/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/texas-pauses-data-centre-grid-approvals-orders-audit/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.