Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) on Monday placed a moratorium on new data center development in Texas, sparking a variety of reactions in the Lone Star state. Abbott said he was halting approvals for new data center projects until the state’s Public Utility Commission and Electric Reliability Council complete an audit on all data centers wanting to connect to the state’s power grid. ERCOT is considering approximately 474 gigawatts of requests to connect to the Texas grid, more than five times the state’s record peak electricity demand for ERCOT, Abbott wrote in a letter to the regulators, adding that around 90% of the new power requests are from data centers.Abbott said any project that fails to comply with the requirements set forth by the PUCT and ERCOT will be denied connection to the grid, warning that “unprecedented load growth could endanger the reliability and stability of the Texas electric grid.” He said regulators will scrutinize developers for whether they are providing their own power or depending on the ERCOT grid, bringing their own water or reusing their own water — as opposed to using community resources — and looking at the extent to which data centers are paying their own way or depending on the state for financial assistance, including through state and local tax incentives.