Bernstein said a state-ordered audit of Texas data center projects will throttle speculative development and increase the scarcity value of approved power capacity, boosting existing bitcoin miners and AI operators.
On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and grid operator ERCOT to audit all data center projects currently in the state's interconnection queue.
The order prompted ERCOT to pause its "Batch Zero" process, a review of the first group of large electricity users that was scheduled to release classification results this month.
Data center requests currently make up roughly 90% of ERCOT’s 474 GW interconnect queue.
In a note to clients on Tuesday, Bernstein analysts noted that while the regulatory review will likely create delays for select developers with pipeline assets pending grid approval, existing operations remain intact.
