Texas Faces Rising Winter Grid Risks As Massive Data Center Projects Drive Electricity Demand To New Seasonal Highs

Benzinga

Texas faces rising winter electricity demand as data centers rapidly expand, with projects like OpenAI’s Stargate potentially requiring massive power loads. ERCOT data shows grid connection requests surging, raising concerns about supply stress during extreme cold. Regulators warn that round-the-clock data center consumption could heighten risks similar to the failures seen during Winter Storm Uri.

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00:00It's Benzinga, bringing Wall Street to Main Street.

00:02The rapid build-out of data centers is driving winter electricity demand higher in Texas,

00:06increasing the risk of supply shortfalls during extreme cold, according to CNBC.

00:11OpenAI's planned Stargate campus in Abilene can require up to 1.2 gigawatts of power.

00:16And ERCOT data shows more than 220 gigawatts of projects have saw grid connections up from 83

00:21gigawatts in January. North American Electric Reliability Corporation warned that round-the-clock

00:26data center consumption will strain the grid during freezing temperatures,

00:30sending to catastrophic outages during winter storm early. Texas remains reliable under normal

00:35conditions, but elevator risks emerge during extreme winter weather.

00:38For all things money, visit Benzinga.com.

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