德州电网运营商ERCOT因人工智能数据中心需求的急剧增长而宣布冻结所有新许可1。互联接入队列中的电力需求从2024年底的63吉瓦激增至2025年6月的474吉瓦1，其中约90%来自数据中心1，这一规模已超过该州历史峰值需求的五倍1。德州此举冻结了包括已完成其他审批步骤的17个项目在内的所有新申请1，直到审计完成。
暂停措施的背后存在多方面的政策和技术考量。接入队列充斥低质量投机项目、缺乏社区沟通透明度，以及电网升级成本分配不明确成为主要原因1。新生效的互联接入费用规则规定项目需缴纳10万美元研究费和每兆瓦5万美元保证金1，但这笔保证金仅覆盖项目升级部分的成本，不包括所有客户共享的地区性输电线路成本1。大型数据中心完全接入电网通常需要5至10年1，而大功率变压器的交付周期超过两年1。
为缓解电网压力，业界正探索多条替代路径。已有企业订购了75吉瓦的自建幕后资产设备1，规避对公网的依赖。需求灵活性也被视为解决方案，研究显示若数据中心负载放弃0.5%的年度电网电力，ERCOT可在不新增发电的情况下增加约10吉瓦的新负载1。根据PJM的研究，对每吉瓦新数据中心负载，使20%负载具备灵活性可为其他客户每年节省7,800万美元1。
德州民众对数据中心扩张持谨慎态度。2025年8月的民调显示，56%的德州选民认为更多数据中心会伤害本地电费1。不过数据中心也为社区带来经济效益，如印第安纳州亚马逊新卡莱尔校园服务的公用事业公司提议用数据中心收入年均降低家庭账单约100美元1，而阿拉巴马州图斯卡卢萨县校园在20年内支付2.7亿美元社区效益1。
Texas grid operator ERCOT has frozen all new interconnection permits for data centers and other large electricity consumers, responding to an explosive surge in power requests driven by artificial intelligence infrastructure expansion 1. The interconnection queue swelled from 63 gigawatts in late 2024 to 474 gigawatts by June 2025—approximately five times the state's historical peak demand—with roughly 90 percent of these requests coming from data centers 1. The suspension affects 17 projects that had already completed other ERCOT approval steps and will remain in place until a comprehensive audit is finished 1.
ERCOT cited multiple concerns justifying the freeze, including the accumulation of low-quality speculative projects in the interconnection queue and insufficient transparency regarding community engagement 1. The interconnection fee structure, effective October 8, 2025, establishes a $100,000 research fee plus a $50,000 per megawatt deposit that covers only project-specific upgrades, excluding the broader regional transmission line costs shared across all customers 1. Connecting large data centers to the grid typically requires five to ten years 1.
The backlog has prompted alternative approaches. Companies have already ordered 75 gigawatts of behind-the-meter generation assets to bypass grid limitations 1. Research from Duke University suggests that if new loads voluntarily surrendered just 0.5 percent of their annual grid electricity, ERCOT could accommodate approximately 10 gigawatts in additional demand without building new generation capacity 1. A PJM market analysis found that when 20 percent of a new data center load operates flexibly, it generates $78 million in annual savings for other customers per gigawatt of new capacity 1.
Despite these strategies, the broader power supply picture remains constrained. The Energy Information Administration reports that planned new generation facilities—solar, wind, and natural gas plants operating at average capacity factors—would produce only about 150 terawatt-hours annually, representing one-sixth of the projected demand of 876 terawatt-hours 1. High-voltage transformer delivery times exceed two years, further delaying grid expansion 1.
The freeze reflects growing tension over data center expansion in Texas. A statewide poll conducted in August found that 56 percent of Texas voters believe additional data centers would harm local electricity rates 1. Some communities have embraced the facilities' potential benefits; Amazon's data center campus in New Carlisle, Indiana is projected to reduce household bills by approximately $100 annually through utility company revenues 1, while Tuscaloosa County, Alabama's campus will deliver $270 million in community benefits over twenty years in exchange for $314.5 million in tax relief 1.
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