---
title: "Harris County wants power to slow the data centers behind CenterPoint's $66.7 billion plan"
description: "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."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Power"
published: 2026-10-18T19:08:47.594Z
modified: 2026-10-18T19:08:47.594Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/harris-county-wants-power-to-slow-the-data-centers-behind-centerpoint-s-66-7-billion-plan
language: en
keywords: "CenterPoint Energy, Data Centers, ERCOT, Texas, Utilities, Regulation"
---

# 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.

## 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](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/centerpoint-energy)'s 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 [1][2]. The county counts [46 operating data centers, 55 in all stages combined](https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2026/10/15/harris-county-has-46-data-centers-and-almost-now-power-to-regulate-them/) [2][1]. 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](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/CNP/pressreleases/3521269/centerpoint-energy-reaffirms-2026-earnings-guidance-expands-capex/), citing large-load demand [3][4]. It told investors it had filed over 17 gigawatts into [Batch Zero](https://theinference.org/article/texas-froze-474-gw-of-ai-power-requests-the-batteries-on-its-garage-walls-never-joined-the-queue), 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].

*Chart: **CenterPoint expects 14 GW to qualify, two-thirds of Houston's entire 21 GW peak** Column chart comparing gigawatts of electric load: today's Houston peak of 21 GW against 17 GW filed to ERCOT's Batch Zero, 14 GW expected eligible, 8 GW of new data-center load by 2029 and 4 GW more after.*

*Gigawatts of electric load. Peak and filings as reported by CenterPoint; bars marked est. are company projections, not built connections. [2][3]*

## 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](https://communityimpact.com/bay-area/government/some-harris-county-leaders-call-for-data-center-oversight/) 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](https://www.texastribune.org/2026/09/21/texas-data-center-moratorium-water-energy/) until ERCOT and the state water board finish audits; Kamin expects findings in December [5][1].

## 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](https://theinference.org/article/houston-bills-jump-28-percent-as-centerpoint-s-texas-profits-climb-32) 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](https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2026/10/14/more-than-1-million-texans-affected-by-centerpoint-data-breach-ag-report-shows/), names, addresses, Social Security numbers and driver's licenses among the data taken, with customer notifications still unsent [6][7].

*Chart: **CenterPoint has topped $1 billion of quarterly capex for seven straight quarters** Line chart of CenterPoint's quarterly capital spending from Q3 2023 to Q2 2026: about $1 billion a quarter through 2023, a dip in 2024, then a climb from Q4 2024 that has held above $1 billion, reaching about $1.4 billion in Q2 2026.*

*Quarterly capital expenditure in US dollars, per SEC filings. The July 2026 raise lifted the 2026-2035 plan to $66.7 billion. [3][8]*

## 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.

## Takeaway

Harris County, with 46 data centers and no zoning power, asked the legislature for authority over grid connections just as CenterPoint's $66.7 billion plan meets a pending Paxton opinion, December audit findings and an October 27 print.

## Sources

1. [Community Impact, "Some Harris County leaders call for data center oversight", October 15, 2026](https://communityimpact.com/bay-area/government/some-harris-county-leaders-call-for-data-center-oversight/)
2. [KPRC Click2Houston, "Harris County has 46 data centers and almost no power to regulate them", October 15, 2026](https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2026/10/15/harris-county-has-46-data-centers-and-almost-now-power-to-regulate-them/)
3. [Kalkine, "CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) Raises Its Capital Plan as Houston Demand Grows at This S&P 500 Stock", October 2026](https://kalkine.com/news/utilities/centerpoint-energy-nysecnp-raises-its-capital-plan-as-houston-demand-grows-at-this-sp-500-stock)
4. [The Globe and Mail (TipRanks syndication of CenterPoint Energy Q2 2026 release), "CenterPoint Energy Reaffirms 2026 Earnings Guidance, Expands Capex", July 29, 2026](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/CNP/pressreleases/3521269/centerpoint-energy-reaffirms-2026-earnings-guidance-expands-capex/)
5. [The Texas Tribune, "Gov. Greg Abbott broadens moratorium on data center approvals to include environmental permits", September 21, 2026](https://www.texastribune.org/2026/09/21/texas-data-center-moratorium-water-energy/)
6. [KPRC Click2Houston, "More than 1 million Texans affected by CenterPoint data breach, AG report shows", October 14, 2026](https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2026/10/14/more-than-1-million-texans-affected-by-centerpoint-data-breach-ag-report-shows/)
7. [SecurityWeek, "CenterPoint Energy Data Breach Impacts 1 Million Texans", October 15, 2026](https://www.securityweek.com/centerpoint-energy-data-breach-impacts-1-million-texans/)
8. [CenterPoint Energy, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved October 18, 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001130310)


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Harris County wants power to slow the data centers behind CenterPoint's $66.7 billion plan — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/harris-county-wants-power-to-slow-the-data-centers-behind-centerpoint-s-66-7-billion-plan