SB 6 (2025): rules for very big power users like data centers · June 20, 2025
Signed June 20, 2025, and in effect right away. It covers new or bigger hookups of 75 megawatts or more on the main Texas grid (ERCOT). The state utility commission (PUC) must write hookup rules. Big users must: pay a study fee of at least $100,000; prove they own or lease the land; put up money to back the power lines built for them; say if they are asking for power at other Texas sites too; and report on-site backup generators. In a power emergency, ERCOT can tell big users with backup generators to switch to them or cut back. New big users hooked up after December 31, 2025, must have equipment so they can be cut off during rolling blackouts. Hooking a new data center straight to an existing power plant now needs ERCOT study and PUC approval. Big users must help pay to connect. The PUC must review how power-line costs are split between home and business customers and change its rules by December 31, 2026. Source

HB 24 (2025): new zoning notice and protest rules for cities · June 20, 2025
In effect September 1, 2025. Cities must now post zoning hearing notices on their website as well as in the newspaper. Home-rule cities must put a notice sign (at least 24 by 48 inches) on the land at least 10 days before the zoning commission hearing. The neighbor protest rule stayed the same for non-housing projects like data centers: if owners of at least 20% of the land in the change, or of the land within 200 feet, sign a written protest, the city council needs a three-fourths vote to approve it. The lower bar in this law only applies to changes that add housing. Source

HB 2559 (2025): limits on city building pauses (moratoriums) · June 20, 2025
In effect September 1, 2025. A city that wants to pause new development must hold two public hearings at least 30 days apart, give 30 days' newspaper notice, and pass the pause with a three-fourths vote of the council. A pause ends after 90 days unless the council extends it with written findings, and it can never total more than 180 days. The same kind of pause cannot come back for two years. A state senator has said this law also blocks city data center bans; land use experts quoted by the Texas Tribune disagree, because a zoning change is not a moratorium. Source

Governor's order: data centers must pay their own power costs (June 10, 2026) · June 10, 2026
Governor Abbott told the PUC to make sure data center hookups lead to lower home electric bills and that data centers pay all of their power line and hookup costs. He told the PUC to start cutting home customers' power-line (transmission) costs by July 31, 2026. He also said he will ask lawmakers in 2027 to: make data centers add power plants, not just use power; require water-saving cooling such as closed-loop systems; make big data centers report power and water use every year; end the data center sales tax break; and set rules on setbacks and noise. This is an order to state agencies, not a law. Source

Governor's pause: no new data center grid approvals until an audit (August 3, 2026) · Aug 3, 2026
Governor Abbott ordered the PUC and ERCOT to check (audit) every data center moving through the grid hookup line before any more are approved. Projects that do not pass must be denied a grid connection. Each project must report: tax breaks, power use and on-site power plants, water use and type of cooling, steps to protect neighbors (noise, lights, setbacks, traffic), and who owns it. ERCOT told the PUC on August 14 that the audit covers about 250 to 300 projects in its first group ('Batch Zero'), about 200 gigawatts in all, and will take 'several months.' The governor said the pause applies statewide, including outside the ERCOT grid. It is an order, not a law. Source

Governor's order: punish data centers that skip the state water survey (September 14, 2026) · Sept 14, 2026
State law already says big water users must answer the Texas Water Development Board's yearly water use survey, or face a Class C misdemeanor. Few data centers did: about 30% of the 329 surveyed in 2025. Governor Abbott told the board to enforce the law and to send cases to county or district attorneys. The board says it cannot prosecute anyone itself. The board's update to the governor is due October 14, 2026. Source

Governor's pause: no state environmental permits for data centers until the audit ends (September 21, 2026) · Sept 21, 2026
Governor Abbott told the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to pause all permits sought by data center projects until ERCOT finishes its review. This reaches projects that make their own power and skip the grid. TCEQ must report back to the governor by October 19, 2026. The letter also says the governor will ask lawmakers to end money incentives for data centers. It is an order, not a law. Source

Next chance for new laws: the 2027 session · Jan 2027
The Texas Legislature meets in regular session only in odd years. Its next session starts in January 2027. In 2026, House and Senate committees held study hearings on data center power use, water use, tax breaks and local control. The Senate Finance chair, Sen. Joan Huffman, said she will file a bill to change or repeal the data center sales tax break. People including the agriculture commissioner and some lawmakers asked the governor to call a special session now; we found no special session called on data centers as of October 6, 2026. Source

💡 Who pays for the power

What the 2025 law (SB 6) makes big users pay · June 20, 2025
For new hookups of 75 megawatts or more on the ERCOT grid: a study fee of at least $100,000; money held as a guarantee for the power lines built to serve them (refunded as the project ramps up); and a share of the cost to connect. City-owned utilities and co-ops that do not offer customer choice must pass the 'reasonable costs' of connecting a big user on to that user. The PUC must review whether the way power-line costs are split (the '4CP' method, based on use at the four summer peak hours) is fair to all customers and fix its rules by December 31, 2026. Source

'Batch Zero': the new line for data centers to join the grid · June 18, 2026
On June 18, 2026, the PUC approved ERCOT's new 'batch' process. Instead of studying each request one at a time, ERCOT studies a group of big users (75 megawatts and up) together and decides which power lines are needed. The Texas Tribune reported that developers would have to pay $50,000 per megawatt requested and prove they own or lease the land before being studied. In August ERCOT said it still aims to finish the first batch study by its original April deadline; a full power line plan for the batch is expected in fall 2027. Applications for the next batch were expected in summer 2027. The governor's August 2026 audit now comes first. Source

How much power data centers are asking for · Aug 3, 2026
As of August 2026, ERCOT was tracking more than 1,800 big-user requests asking for about 474 gigawatts, more than five times the grid's record peak. About 90% are data centers. Experts and ERCOT say many will never be built. ERCOT's April 2026 draft forecast said peak demand could reach 367,790 megawatts by 2032, compared with the record of 85,508 megawatts in August 2023; ERCOT itself called that forecast likely too high. Source

Governor: data centers must pay all their power line costs · July 17, 2026
The governor's June 10, 2026 letter told the PUC to require data centers to pay all of their electric infrastructure costs and to start cutting home customers' transmission costs by July 31, 2026. On July 17, PUC Chair Thomas Gleeson answered with a letter listing steps already taken under SB 6 and asked lawmakers for more power, such as making data centers register with the state and letting regulators talk to data centers directly in an emergency. Exactly how data centers will pay for new power lines is still being worked out. Source

Home electric prices since 2020 · Sept 15, 2026
The Texas Tribune, using data from the private marketplace ElectricChoice, reports the average Texas home electric rate rose about 40%, from 11.50 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2020 to 16.11 cents in 2026. The Tribune says rising bills are driven by natural disasters, power line congestion and growing demand. We did not find an official state study that measures how much of this is caused by data centers. Source

💵 Tax breaks

State sales tax break for data centers · 2015
Since 2013 (expanded in 2015), qualifying data centers do not pay the 6.25% state sales tax on equipment and on electricity. That covers servers, storage, cooling and electrical systems, emergency generators, software and the power they buy. Local sales tax is still due. There are two levels. (1) A building of at least 100,000 square feet that promises 20 jobs in the county and $200 million of investment over 5 years gets 10 years, or 15 years at $250 million or more. (2) A project of at least 250,000 square feet that promises 40 jobs and $500 million gets 20 years. Each site must have a single occupant. The comptroller checks investment and jobs at the 5-year mark and can take the break away. Source

How much the sales tax break costs · July 27, 2026
The comptroller estimated in 2025 that the break will cost the state $3.2 billion in sales tax over two years, and nearly $1.8 billion a year by 2030. In 2015 it cost $5.4 million. At a July 27, 2026 Senate hearing, the comptroller's office said 138 data centers qualify, only 20 have been audited, and 6 of those broke the rules (at least 4 did not create the promised jobs). 59 more were certified in 2026, about 10 a month, so the next cost estimate will be 'significantly higher.' The governor, the lieutenant governor and the Senate Finance chair have called for repealing or changing the break in 2027. Source

Local property tax breaks (abatements) · Aug 13, 2026
Cities, counties and special districts (not school districts) can cut property taxes on a new project's added value for up to 10 years under Chapter 312 of the Tax Code. Steps: the local government adopts abatement rules after a public hearing; creates a 'reinvestment zone' after a public hearing with 7 days' newspaper notice; and gives at least 30 days' public notice before the meeting where it votes on the deal. The notice must name the owner and applicant and describe the project. Residents can speak at the hearings. Counties often use these deals to add conditions such as road repair. A consultant told the Texas Tribune he knew of no data center project that went ahead without an abatement. Local deals are posted on the comptroller's website. Source

🤐 Secret deals and public records

Secret deals (NDAs) are legal in Texas · Aug 10, 2026
No Texas law bans secret deals (NDAs) between data center companies and cities, counties, economic development groups or water agencies. The Texas Tribune found NDAs in several places, for example a river authority that signed one with a developer in 2026, and city officials who said an NDA kept them from answering questions. Texas law lets local governments negotiate business deals in private, but the final vote must be on a public agenda. Companies often use shell companies (LLCs with different names) on public votes and filings. Microsoft said in spring 2026 it would stop using NDAs with local governments. Source

Public records: the Texas Public Information Act · Jan 21, 2025
Anyone can ask for Texas government records. You do not have to live in Texas or say why. Ask in writing. The government must release records 'promptly.' If it cannot within 10 business days, it must tell you in writing when they will be ready. If it wants to keep something secret, it must ask the Texas Attorney General for a ruling within 10 business days and send you a copy of its letter. The Attorney General then has 45 business days (plus up to 10 more) to decide. If the government misses the 10-day deadline, the records are presumed public. Source

What data center records are often kept secret · July 28, 2026
Texas law lets governments hold back trade secrets and business information that would cause competitive harm, and details of economic development talks while a deal is being negotiated. But once a deal is made, information about tax breaks or other incentives that cost public money is public. The 2025 grid law (SB 6) makes customer-specific information that ERCOT gets about big users confidential. The state comptroller has refused to say how much sales tax each data center saves. Some water utilities, such as San Antonio's SAWS, refuse to release data center water use, citing a law meant to protect household smart-meter data. Source

The grid operator keeps project details private · Aug 10, 2026
ERCOT treats project-level data (how much power a site wants, where, and who is building it) as private. It shares only totals, mostly in meeting slides. The PUC's 2026 voluntary data center water survey got few answers, and the PUC asked the Attorney General to let it withhold the results from the Texas Tribune. Source

New in 2025: faster answers and a way to complain · Sept 1, 2025
Since September 1, 2025 (HB 4219): if the government has no records, it must tell you in writing within 10 business days. If it wants to hold records back, it must ask the Attorney General within 10 business days and name the exact legal reasons. If it does not answer you as the law requires, you can send a written complaint to the Attorney General, who can require training, stop it from charging you, and order a faster review. Each government must also give the Attorney General an official mail and email address for records requests (HB 4214), and the Attorney General posts them in a public database. Source

Open meetings: votes must be public · Aug 11, 2026
The Texas Open Meetings Act requires public notice and public access when city councils, county commissioners courts and school boards meet on official business. They may meet in closed (executive) session on some topics, such as buying or leasing land and some contract talks, but final votes should be taken in public. So a data center deal, tax break or land sale must appear on a public agenda before the vote. Source

💧 Water

Who controls the water a data center uses · Aug 11, 2026
There is no single state approval for a data center's water. It depends on the source. City water: the city or water utility decides, and can set conditions on a new heavy user. Wells: the local groundwater conservation district may know how much is pumped, but not every part of Texas has one. River or lake water: the state owns surface water, so a user needs a water right from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), or a deal with a river authority or water district that has one. Wastewater discharge needs a TCEQ permit. Source

State water use survey (Texas Water Development Board) · Sept 14, 2026
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) plans the state's water supply. Since 2020 it has asked operating data centers that use at least 10 million gallons a year to report their water use. Answering is required by law, but in 2025 only about 30% of 329 data centers did. Survey answers are available only through a public records request. Planned data centers that are not built yet are not surveyed. In September 2026 the governor ordered the board to enforce the law. Source

PUC's 2026 data center water and power survey · Aug 3, 2026
Under the state budget law, the PUC and the Water Development Board surveyed data centers and crypto mines in 2026 about water use, cooling, water sources, power demand and on-site power plants. Only 28 of 377 companies notified had answered by June. There is no fine for not answering. The PUC must share the results with the water board and TCEQ and report to the governor and the Legislative Budget Board by the end of 2026. The PUC asked the Attorney General to let it keep the results from the Texas Tribune. Source

🌫️ Air and generators

Air permits for generators and gas plants (TCEQ) · July 9, 2026
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) issues air permits for data center diesel backup generators and on-site gas power plants. Many get quick 'permits by rule' or 'standard permits,' which do not require public notice or a comment period. Bigger 'major source' permits require the best pollution controls, more review and public comment. Floodlight found at least 38 Texas data centers got the smaller permits since 2024, for more than 2,100 diesel generators. More than half reported nitrogen oxide emissions just under the limits that would require public input (for example 249.1 tons a year where the limit is 250, and 99.8 tons near San Antonio where it is 100). Watchdogs say some projects get a small permit first and expand later. Source

Data center permits paused; a federal rule could cut public input · Sept 21, 2026
On September 21, 2026, the governor told TCEQ to pause all permits sought by data center projects until ERCOT's audit is done. TCEQ must report back by October 19, 2026. Separately, on July 7, 2026 the U.S. EPA proposed letting states decide how much public notice and input to give for 'minor' air permits, the kind many data centers use. Written comments were due August 21, 2026. If EPA adopts it, any TCEQ change would still go through its own state rulemaking with public input. Source

🙋 How to have your say

Who decides a data center near you · June 30, 2026
Inside city limits, the city decides. Texas cities zone land: a zoning (planning) commission holds a hearing and recommends, and the city council votes. Outside city limits, the county is in charge, but Texas counties have no general zoning power, so they usually cannot block a data center or stop it by a pause. In 2026, Hill County's pause was dropped after a $100 million lawsuit, and a state senator warned Hood County it had no power to pass one. Counties mainly decide tax breaks (abatements), county roads and septic permits. A developer outside city limits may also ask a city to annex its land; the council votes on that in public (San Marcos said no in 2026). About half of the planned Texas data centers are on unincorporated land. Source

City zoning hearings: notices and how to speak · Sept 1, 2025
For a rezoning, the city must mail written notice to property owners within 200 feet at least 10 days before the zoning commission hearing. The city council must hold its own public hearing, with notice in the newspaper and on the city website at least 15 days before. Home-rule cities must also post a sign on the land at least 10 days before the commission hearing. Anyone can speak at these hearings. Ask the city planning office for the case number and staff report. Source

Neighbor protest petition: force a three-fourths vote · Sept 1, 2025
If owners of at least 20% of the land being rezoned, or 20% of the land within 200 feet of it, sign a written protest, the city council needs a three-fourths vote of all members to approve the change. Streets and alleys count in the land area, and the area is added up for all the tracts together. Turn in the signed protest before the council votes; ask the city clerk about its deadline and form. Source

Appeal deadline: 10 days for board of adjustment decisions · Aug 30, 1999
A city board of adjustment decides variances and appeals of the zoning officer. If you were harmed by its decision, or you are a taxpayer, you can ask a district or county court to review it. You must file a sworn (verified) petition within 10 days after the decision is filed in the board's office. This is a very short deadline. A city council's rezoning vote is a law-making act and is challenged differently; talk to a lawyer quickly. Source

What you can ask your county to do · Feb 13, 2026
County commissioners courts vote in public on tax breaks (abatements). They can say no, or put conditions in the deal, such as road repairs, noise and light limits, setbacks or local hiring. Many Texas counties have also passed resolutions asking the state for more power and more information about data centers. Watch the commissioners court agenda, sign up to speak, and ask whether any NDA was signed. Source

How to file a public records request in Texas · Jan 21, 2025
1) Find the agency's public information officer (city secretary, county clerk, water utility, or state agency). 2) Send a written request by email, mail or the agency's online portal. 3) Be specific, for example: 'all NDAs, letters and emails with [company] about a data center, January 2025 to today.' 4) Anyone may ask; you do not need to be a Texan or give a reason. 5) Mark your calendar: if the agency wants to withhold records, it must ask the Attorney General within 10 business days and copy you. 6) You can send the Attorney General your own arguments. If the agency refuses to follow the law, you can complain to your county or district attorney or file suit. Source

Where to look for clues about a project · Aug 11, 2026
Check city and county meeting agendas for zoning cases and tax abatements. Look up the land owner on the county appraisal district website. Search the state comptroller's lists of data centers with sales tax breaks and of local tax deals. Search the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) building registrations, which list owner, location and cost. Search TCEQ for air permits for generators or gas plants. Ask the local groundwater district or water utility about water deals. Source

How to track and comment on TCEQ permits · Aug 11, 2026
Search TCEQ's central registry and its lists of pending air permit applications (new source review and federal operating permits). Only some permits require public notice and input before they are approved. Permits by rule and standard permits often have none, so look early. A federal operating permit may be the first chance to comment. The nonprofit Air Alliance Houston keeps a map of air permit notices. Public Citizen, Save Our Springs and Environment Texas published a guide to tracking data center permits. Source

How to speak up at the utility commission (PUC) · Aug 28, 2026
The PUC decides grid hookup rules, power line routes and how costs are split. People can speak during PUC open meetings; landowners and lawmakers testified at the August 14 and August 28, 2026 meetings on data centers and power lines. If a new power line case (called a 'CCN') may cross your land, you get a letter. You can file to take part (intervene) in the case, but deadlines are short; some landowners said they had 21 days to respond. On August 28, 2026 the PUC approved two 765,000-volt Oncor lines in West Texas despite hundreds of landowner protests. Source

🧾 Help with your bills

CEAP: help paying electric and gas bills · Aug 13, 2026
The Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) is Texas's federally funded (LIHEAP) utility bill help for low-income households. Local agencies run it in all 254 counties, and it also teaches ways to lower energy costs. To find your local agency, use the state housing agency's 'Help for Texans' page or call 2-1-1. Source

Free home weatherization · Aug 13, 2026
The Weatherization Assistance Program helps lower utility bills by making homes more energy efficient. Find a local provider on the state housing agency's 'Help for Texans' page. Source

2-1-1 Texas: find local bill help · Oct 6, 2026
Call 2-1-1 or search 211texas.org for local help with electric, gas and water bills, payment plans, utility deposits and disconnection protection. Source

📞 Who to contact

Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) · Oct 6, 2026
Oversees ERCOT and the power companies. Sets grid hookup rules for big users, approves new power lines, and decides how costs are split. Running the data center audit with ERCOT. Source

ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) · Oct 6, 2026
Runs the main Texas power grid (about 90% of the state's power use). Studies data center hookup requests in 'batches' and plans power lines. Source

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) · Oct 6, 2026
Issues air permits (generators, gas plants), water rights for river and lake water, and wastewater permits. Data center permits have been paused since September 21, 2026. Source

Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) · Oct 6, 2026
Plans the state's water supply and runs the yearly water use survey that data centers must answer. Source

Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts · Oct 6, 2026
Runs the data center sales tax break, lists the data centers that qualify, and posts local tax abatement deals. Source

Texas Attorney General, Open Government · Oct 6, 2026
Rules on whether records can be withheld under the Public Information Act and takes complaints when a government does not respond. Source

Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), TABS search · Oct 6, 2026
Big building projects register here for accessibility review. The TABS search shows owner, location and estimated cost, and can reveal data center buildings early. Source

Groundwater conservation districts (map) · Oct 6, 2026
Local districts that manage well water. The Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts keeps a map with contacts. Source

Texas Legislature Online · Oct 6, 2026
Look up bills, hearings and votes. The next regular session starts in January 2027. Source

Office of the Governor · Oct 6, 2026
Issued the 2026 orders on data center costs, the grid audit, water reporting and the TCEQ permit pause. Source

Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) · Oct 6, 2026
Runs the CEAP bill help and weatherization programs through local agencies. Source

Guides and model rules for towns

Sample rules other towns can copy, from planners and groups across Texas.

Republican Party of Texas, State Republican Executive Committee

The Texas Republican Party's state committee passed a resolution opposing new data centers that use open-loop (evaporating) water cooling until there are real safeguards for the power grid, water and communities. It asks for public reports of power and water needs, independent impact studies, water-saving cooling, and a bigger role for local governments. Many Texas county commissioners courts have since passed resolutions using almost the same words.

Feb 7, 2026

Counties

Bold counties have at least one data center project.