ERCOT's Soaring Power Demand Places Texas As America's Next AI Hub

Texas's top electricity regulator is among the few entities that recognize the urgent need for new power generation plants to be constructed near new AI data centers, citing explosive electricity demand forecasts as Big Tech descends on Texas. 

In early October, Thomas Gleeson, chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, informed tech companies that they would need to supply some of their own power if they constructed an AI data center in the state and connected to the power grid within the next 12 to 15 months. 

"We can't afford to lose any of our resources off the system at this point, especially given those load-growth projections," Gleeson said in an interview at the Gulf Coast Power Association conference in Austin.