Texas: data centers & your electric bill
The numbers residents cite at hearings — grid, water, and regulator contacts for Texas, from the free GridWatch toolkit.
Subscribe by RSS — moratorium changes and community headlines for Texas.
As of July 2026 · changes over months · Source: U.S. Data Center Power Map by State — ElectricChoice.com compilation (updated July 2026; CC-BY 4.0). Underlying load research: LBNL 2024 US Data Center Energy Usage Report; rates: EIA
Facility counts vary by directory because each one draws the boundary differently — DataCenterMap lists 44 in Alabama where this table says 35, since it counts small network rooms alongside hyperscale campuses. Cite the TWh figure rather than the facility count when you can; it is the number that speaks to grid impact. Underlying load research is LBNL-2001637 (Dec 2024).
Your regulator
Public Utility Commission of Texas — website · file a complaint
Official state energy data: EIA Texas electricity profile — generation, prices, and consumption from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Pushback already happening in Texas
| Where | Level | Status | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hill County | Local | Rescinded | 1-year moratorium passed May 2026, rescinded after a $100M federal suit argued Texas counties lack moratorium authority; suit dismissed Jul 2026. Replaced with a disclosure checklist for large projects | Source read 2026-08-04 |
| San Marcos | Local | Enacted | Not a pause — a zoning ban. Passed 4-3 after failing once by a single vote; data centers are now ineligible in every zoning district. First Texas city to do it, and a live test of the 2023 'Death Star' preemption law | Source read 2026-08-04 |
| Hays County | Local | Enactedexpires 2026-12-31 | Resolution pausing review of high-water-use and large industrial projects in unincorporated areas through Dec 31, 2026. Weaker than the moratorium first proposed: it raises scrutiny and halts development agreements rather than blocking projects outright | Source read 2026-08-04 |
| Texas (Abbott directive) | State | Enacted | Governor directed ERCOT and PUC to freeze all data center interconnection progress pending a comprehensive audit. ERCOT halted 'Batch Zero' large-load study and suspended Aug 7 classification notifications. Queue holds ~474 GW (~90%% data centers) — 5x Texas's record peak demand. Audit scope: tax incentives, water, community impacts, on-site generation, ownership. Excludes projects with on-site generation and areas outside ERCOT. PUCT open meeting Aug 20. No end date — treat as a hold on the queue, not a construction ban | Source read 2026-08-13 |
| Fort Worth | Local | Proposed | Council voted unanimously to begin 90-day moratorium process; public hearings required before it takes effect (~Feb 2027). Also created a Data Center & Infrastructure Committee | Source read 2026-08-13 |
| Lavon | Local | Enactedexpires 2026-11-05 | 90-day moratorium on data center projects approved at special council meeting while the city reviews zoning and infrastructure | Source read 2026-08-15 |
| San Antonio | Local | Proposed | Three council members (Galvan, Castillo, Meza Gonzalez) filed memo requesting 3-6 month moratorium on all data center development. Special council meeting requested by Aug 31 | Source read 2026-08-15 |
| Denton | Local | Proposed | Council voted 4-3 to proceed with a possible 90-day moratorium; public hearings tentatively Sep 22 / Oct 27, final adoption Dec 2 | Source read 2026-08-13 |
As of August 2026 · changes weekly — re-check before citing
Illustrative rather than exhaustive — dozens of localities churn weekly, and this tracks the ones we have read a source for. **Each row carries its own provenance.** Rows showing a verification date link to the ordinance, the enacting body's own page, or a datable report of the vote, and were read on that date. Rows marked *unverified* came from bulk compilation and have not been checked against a primary source — the locality, the year, and the status may all be off. Verify one of those with the town clerk before citing it as precedent. **Expiry is derived, not asserted.** A row with a documented end date flips to *Expired* on its own once that date passes. A time-limited moratorium whose start date was never documented keeps showing as enacted — that is a known gap, not a claim that it is still in force. Moratoriums are also routinely extended, so an expiry date is the earliest it could have ended, not proof that it did.
Known data center campuses in Texas
| Operator | Location | Tenant | Filing LLC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellis County | Land-acquisition shells: Jet Stream LLC, Sharka LLC | ||
| Midlothian | Land-acquisition shells: Jet Stream LLC, Sharka LLC | ||
| Red Oak | Land-acquisition shells: Jet Stream LLC, Sharka LLC | ||
| Meta | Fort Worth | Meta | Codename shells: Greater Kudu, Raven Northbrook, Stadion, Wobniar, Pinnacle Mountain |
| Meta | Temple | Meta | Codename shells: Greater Kudu, Raven Northbrook, Stadion, Wobniar, Pinnacle Mountain |
| Meta | El Paso | Meta | Codename shells: Greater Kudu, Raven Northbrook, Stadion, Wobniar, Pinnacle Mountain |
| Microsoft | Greater San Antonio | Microsoft | Project-name / generic 'Holdings LLC'; less consistently codenamed |
| OpenAI · Oracle (Stargate) | Abilene (Lancium Clean Campus) | OpenAI | Per-site developer LLCs (Crusoe/Lancium at Abilene, etc.) |
| OpenAI · Oracle (Stargate) | Shackelford County | OpenAI | Per-site developer LLCs (Crusoe/Lancium at Abilene, etc.) |
| OpenAI · Oracle (Stargate) | Milam County (Rockdale) | OpenAI | Per-site developer LLCs (Crusoe/Lancium at Abilene, etc.) |
| CoreWeave | Denton (Core Scientific host) | — | Mostly TENANT in partners' buildings: Core Scientific, Chirisa/Bulk, Flexential, Lincoln, TierPoint, Digital Realty, DataBank, Switch, Galaxy, Applied Digital |
⏳ No verification date recorded · changes over months · Source: Operator ownership & filing-LLC naming patterns — compiled from operator releases and county filings, then checked against SEC EDGAR full-text search. Composite, not a single citation: look the entity up yourself before naming it in a filing
Each row carries its own attribution level — first-party rows come from the operator's own site, but colocation and REIT ownership was compiled from trade press and never passed an independent fact-check. Check the attribution column before citing a row.
Every data center already built in Texas
The campuses above are the ones GridWatch tracks by operator and filing LLC. For the full inventory — street addresses of every existing facility, including the smaller colocation and network sites — DataCenterMap keeps a public directory for Texas.
Two caveats before you cite it at a hearing: it lists facilities that already exist, so a newly proposed campus will not appear; and it counts a small network room the same as a hyperscale campus, so the facility count is not a measure of power draw or community impact.
San Marcos — City Council
Meets: 1st and 3rd Tuesday monthly — 3:00 p.m. work/executive session, 6:00 p.m. regular meeting · City Council Chambers, City Hall, 630 E Hopkins, San Marcos, TX 78666
Public comment: Regular meetings include citizen comment. The sign-up process and rules are on the city's Citizen Comments page and the Legistar agenda portal (san-marcos-tx.legistar.com).
Source: https://www.sanmarcostx.gov/149/City-Council · as of 2026-08-05
Hays County — Commissioners Court
Meets: Tuesdays 9:00 a.m. · Hays County Historic Courthouse, 111 E. San Antonio St., San Marcos, TX 78666 (offices at 712 South Stagecoach Trail)
Public comment: Commissioners Court meets Tuesday mornings; see the county's agenda portal for the public-comment process.
Source: https://www.hayscountytx.gov/188/Commissioners-Court-Members · as of 2026-08-07
Westlake — Town Council
Meets: See the council's published Agenda Center for the current meeting calendar. · Westlake Town Hall, 1500 Solana Boulevard, Building 7, Suite 7200, Westlake, TX 76262
Public comment: Submit feedback via the town's official comment form, or attend a meeting (streamed live and archived on demand).
Source: https://www.westlake-tx.org/148/Town-Council · as of 2026-08-12
North Richland Hills — City Council
Meets: 2nd and 4th Monday, 7:00 p.m. · Council Chamber, City Hall, 4301 City Point Drive, North Richland Hills, TX 76180
Public comment: Complete a Public Meeting Appearance Form before the meeting; 3-minute limit per speaker.
Source: https://www.nrhtx.com/359/City-Council · as of 2026-08-12
Castro County — Commissioners Court
Meets: See the county's published Commissioners Court minutes page. · 100 E. Bedford, Room 111, Dimmitt, TX 79027
Public comment: See the court's published agenda for the public-comment process for a specific meeting.
Source: https://www.co.castro.tx.us/page/castro.Commissioners.Court · as of 2026-08-12
Archer County — Commissioners Court
Meets: See the county's published public-notices page. · Archer County Courthouse, 100 S Center St., Archer City, TX 76351
Public comment: See the court's published agenda for the public-comment process for a specific meeting.
Source: https://www.archercountynews.com/county-holds-public-forum-o · as of 2026-08-12
Guadalupe County — Commissioners Court
Meets: See the county's published Commissioners Court calendar. · Guadalupe County, Seguin, TX
Public comment: See the court's published agenda for the public-comment process for a specific meeting.
Source: https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2026/07/24/data-centers-draw · as of 2026-08-12
Lubbock — City Council
Meets: 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month, 2:00 p.m. · City Council Chambers, Citizens Tower, 1314 Avenue K, Lubbock, TX 79401
Public comment: In-person: sign up outside chambers by 2:00 p.m. Remote: submit to City Secretary by 11:00 a.m. on the meeting date.
Source: https://www.mylubbock.us/170/City-Council-Mayor · as of 2026-08-12
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A data center was proposed near you?
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