Harris County wants power to slow the data centers behind CenterPoint's $66.7 billion plan
On October 15 Harris County's attorney quoted CenterPoint's own forecast, 8 gigawatts of new data-center load by 2029, back at the utility and asked the legislature for the power to slow it. The Q3 print lands October 27, and the politics now sit inside the growth math.
Vincent Jiang · 3 min read
The county read the utility's forecast aloud
Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin stood with Commissioners Lesley Briones and Adrian Garcia on October 15 and quoted CenterPoint Energy's+1.88% — CenterPoint Energy, up 1.88 percent today own numbers back at it: 8 gigawatts of new data-center load in the Houston area by 2029, about 4 gigawatts more after, enough to lift peak demand across the utility's service area by roughly half 12. The county counts 46 operating data centers, 55 in all stages combined 21. Kamin wants the legislature to give counties authority over what connects, and where.
A growth story priced one way, governed another
CenterPoint, the regulated utility delivering power across Houston to more than seven million metered customers, raised its 2026-2035 capital plan by $1.2 billion to $66.7 billion in July, citing large-load demand 34. It told investors it had filed over 17 gigawatts into Batch Zero, the queue ERCOT, Texas's grid operator, uses to study large new loads, and expects about 14 gigawatts eligible against a 21-gigawatt Houston peak, growth of more than 65% by 2031 3. A regulated utility earns its return on what it builds. Third-quarter results land before the open on October 27 3.
CenterPoint expects 14 GW to qualify, two-thirds of Houston's entire 21 GW peak
- Gigawatts
- Estimate
Data
| Gigawatts | |
|---|---|
| Peak demand today | 21 GW |
| Filed to Batch Zero | 17 GW |
| Expected eligible (estimate) | 14 GW |
| New load by 2029 (estimate) | 8 GW |
| More after 2029 (estimate) | 4 GW |
Almost no authority, and a state already moving
Texas counties have no zoning, and Kamin says state law leaves Harris County "little to no authority" to stop data centers 2. The Commissioners Court voted October 15 to require departments to flag major data-center permit applications and to draft statutory asks for the session that opens in January 1. An opinion from Attorney General Ken Paxton on whether counties can impose a moratorium is pending 2. Governor Greg Abbott has already acted, ordering the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on September 21 to halt all data-center permits until ERCOT and the state water board finish audits; Kamin expects findings in December 51.
The other side of the meter
CenterPoint's answer to ratepayers is arithmetic: more load spreads fixed costs, and management forecasts the new connections would cut residential and commercial delivery charges by at least $5 billion over a decade 3. That forecast depends on the same megawatts the county wants power to slow. Kamin framed the ask as accountability: "growth has to go hand in hand with accountability" 1. The same week, the state attorney general's breach database put the CenterPoint data breach at 1,062,060 Texans, names, addresses, Social Security numbers and driver's licenses among the data taken, with customer notifications still unsent 67.
CenterPoint has topped $1 billion of quarterly capex for seven straight quarters
Data
| Capital spending | |
|---|---|
| Q3 '23 | $1.06B |
| Q4 '23 | $1.08B |
| Q1 '24 | $0.85B |
| Q2 '24 | $0.81B |
| Q3 '24 | $0.84B |
| Q4 '24 | $2.01B |
| Q1 '25 | $1.04B |
| Q2 '25 | $1.13B |
| Q3 '25 | $1.22B |
| Q4 '25 | $1.48B |
| Q1 '26 | $1.2B |
| Q2 '26 | $1.37B |
The print comes first, the politics after
October 27 prices the plan as filed. Then Paxton's opinion, the December audit findings and the January session decide how much of that queue is allowed to connect. Nothing has been stopped and no county power has changed; the queue turned political anyway. CenterPoint built its growth math on Houston, and Houston's county just asked for a hand on the throttle.
Deepdive
AI-generated from this story and its cited sources. Not investment advice.
