The Public Utility Commission of Texas and grid operator ERCOT are auditing power proposals for AI server farms to determine which projects are actually viable. Governor Greg Abbott's order to halt new grid connections seeks to identify 'ghost demand' from companies that lack the funds or expertise to complete their warehouses, requiring applicants to reveal ultimate owners and water use plans. Electricity requests from data centers and other large users to connect to the Texas grid rose from 48 gigawatts in 2023 to more than 474 gigawatts.
Data centers now represent 7% of total U.S. power demand, with total electricity requests across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and South exceeding 700 gigawatts. Capacity costs for homes and businesses in the PJM Interconnection footprint rose $29.4 billion over the last four auctions due to this load growth. Similar restrictions are appearing elsewhere, with Pennsylvania requiring stricter permits for projects of 25 megawatts or more and Chicago-based Exelon cutting its data center demand forecast 40% to 11 gigawatts after requiring upfront payments.