How Will The Texas Power Grid Keep Up With More Data Centers Being Built?

Texas is constantly growing in size day by day.

More people, more businesses, and more traffic, all in that order sometimes. When the state grows, so does the amount of items available to consumers. These things, with the exception of some cars, require power of course.

Families need to keep warm or cool depending on the weather, and the lights have to stay on for companies to show off what they are selling. The state has had some very close calls, mainly when severe weather occurs. But as Texas increases in size, so should the power grid.

One of the biggest concerns on many Texans mind involves data centers making their way to the state. Can the power grid of the state handle the amount coming?

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How Will The Texas Power Grid Accommodate More Data Centers?

According To The San Antonio Current, 4% of the United States' power usage is due to data centers. However, projections show that number is set to jump up to 9.1% by 2030. In what may be even more worrying to some in the state, Texas landed at second in the United States for using power for data centers.

Utility’s Chief Strategy Officer of CPS Energy, Elaina Ball, said the following about the data:

“We have never seen an industry demand an increase for power like we’re seeing right now...Probably the closest was when there was adoption of HVAC technology, but it truly is a stunning amount of growth that everyone in our industry is grappling with…and we are no different here in Central Texas.”

So how will the state of Texas respond? Well, per the San Antonio Current, CPS Energy is set to construct three brand new substations, and improving 15 transmission lines, which may also be brand new depending on the situation.

ERCOT also has new plans to help with the situation as well. As this is a developing story, we will have more information when it becomes available.