Houston Press; Was CenterPoint Prepared or Did They Just Get Lucky?
Feb. 5 — Harris County escaped two recent arctic blasts with a relatively low number of power outages, due in part to extensive preparation from CenterPoint Energy and also because the storm just wasn’t that bad, a utility company official said Wednesday.
https://www.houstonpress.com/news/was-centerpoint-prepared-or-did-they-just-get-lucky/
Fox7: ERCOT ranked D- for Texas power grid planning, among nation’s worst according to report
Feb. 4 — he Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages power for about 90% of the state’s electric load, received a D- grade in 2025, according to a Feb. 2025 transmission planning report by Grid Strategies and the nonprofit advocacy group Americans for a Clean Energy Grid.
https://www.fox7austin.com/news/ercot-receives-d-texas-power-grid-planning-among-nations-worst-according-report
Axios Houston: Texas grid gets low grades
Feb. 4 — “Planned transmission is not always constructed,” the report says. “So, the inclusion of high-capacity lines in planning does not guarantee that the projects will get built or the anticipated future need will be met.”
https://www.axios.com/local/houston/2026/02/04/texas-grid-gets-low-grades
KLTV: Lufkin City Council denies substation expansion, Oncor to appeal
Feb. 3 — The substation in question is nearly 60 years old and currently serves over 7,000 residents in Lufkin. Many Crown Colony residents spoke out against the expansion during the meeting. “Placing a high impact electrical facility from front door will reduce the value of her home, limit the pool of potential buyers, and significantly increase the time it sits on the market,” one Crown Colony resident said.
https://www.kltv.com/video/2026/02/03/lufkin-city-council-denies-substation-expansion-oncor-appeal/
CBS News: Hundreds rally in Glen Rose against proposed 200‑mile power line project
Feb. 3 — The standing-room-only gathering comes amid months of discussion and debate over Oncor’s Dinosaur–Longshore Project, which would build 765-kilovolt transmission lines stretching more than 200 miles across Texas, from Somervell County west to Howard County. Oncor says the project is designed to meet the state’s growing demand for reliable electricity.
https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/texas-power-line-project-dinosaur-valley-concerns/
NPR: All these data centers are gonna fry my electric bill … right?
Feb. 3 — Data centers are getting a lot of heat right now. There are protests against them, cities voting to keep them out. You even have both Bernie Sanders and Ron DeSantis speaking out against data centers, two men, I’m pretty sure wouldn’t even agree that, you know, water is wet.
https://www.npr.org/transcripts/nx-s1-5696566
Business Journals: San Antonio’s public utility is facing demand created by data centers head on
Feb. 2 — CPS Energy’s leader warns that failing to adapt could leave the municipally owned utility behind as data center companies explore alternatives, but he’s confident the organization has what it takes to stay competitive.
https://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/news/2026/02/02/data-center-cover-story-energy-demand-public-state.html
Public Citizen: Public Citizen Comments to the PUC Regarding the Backup Power Program
Jan. 29 — Cost-sharing would help ensure that awardees make a full effort to obtain competitive vendor prices. However, nonprofit and governmental entities may not have access to funds to enable a cost share. Therefore, we recommend that for-profit awardees be required to contribute 10% of the total project cost. Non-profit and government entities should not need to cost-share, since profit is not motivating their application and requiring cost-sharing in these sectors may unfairly limit access to back-up power.
https://www.citizen.org/article/public-citizen-comments-to-the-public-utility-commission-of-texas-regarding-the-texas-backup-power-program/
Energy News: Largest Power Project In US Approved For West Texas Amid Gas Plant And Data Center Buildout
Jan. 31 — In a landmark development for the U.S. energy sector, Pacifico Energy has secured approval for its GW Ranch project in Pecos County, West Texas. This 7.65 gigawatt (GW) gas-fired power campus, combined with 1.8 GW of battery storage and 750 MW of solar capacity, has been hailed as the largest permitted power project in the nation.
https://energynewsbeat.co/largest-power-project-in-us-approved-for-west-texas-amid-gas-plant-and-data-center-buildout/
Lubbock Lights: Oncor – biggest power delivery company in Texas – suing Lubbock and LP&L to stop ‘West Loop’ power connection
Jan. 30 — Oncor sued the City of Lubbock and Lubbock Power & Light on January 12 for a court order to stop part of a fourth connection between Lubbock and ERCOT in West Lubbock – nicknamed the “West Loop” in public records.
https://lubbocklights.com/oncor-biggest-power-delivery-company-in-texas-suing-lubbock-and-lpl-to-stop-west-loop-power-connection/
Utility Dive: NERC forecasts peak demand to rise 24% on new data center loads
Jan. 30 — “The system is changing faster than the infrastructure needed to support it,” said John Moura, NERC’s director of reliability assessments and performance analysis.
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/nerc-10-year-peak-demand-forecast-jumps-24-on-new-data-center-loads/810955/
KXAN: Austin’s power line upgrades on hold following ERCOT decision
Jan. 29 — The projects involve transmission lines, the high‑voltage paths that move power into Austin. Some of these projects were for expansion, while others were for maintenance. Austin Energy says these projects are meant to decrease local dependence on power.
https://www.kxan.com/news/austins-power-line-upgrades-on-hold-following-ercot-decision/
Bloomberg Law: Texas Data Centers, Crypto Miners Reduced Power During Storm
Jan. 29 — Electric Reliability Council of Texas Chairman Bill Flores said Thursday that some data centers and cryptocurrency miners voluntarily curtailed power use during the recent winter storm that strained the state’s grid and others across the country.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/crypto/texas-data-centers-crypto-miners-reduced-power-use-during-storm
BROADBAND NEWS
Texas Standard: Starlink poised to expand broadband footprint in Texas
Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, Starlink, is positioned to become the largest provider of federally supported broadband in underserved parts of Texas through the BEAD program. After changes to federal rules allowed satellite providers to compete, Starlink is now pushing back on pricing and coverage requirements.
https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/today-on-texas-standard-february-4-2026/
StateScoop: NTIA advises states against signing SpaceX’s request for BEAD program exemptions
Feb. 4 — The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is advising states against granting the internet service provider Starlink special exemptions to a federal broadband program.
https://statescoop.com/spacex-starlink-bead-state-exemptions-ntia/
Broadband Breakfast: Orbiting the Divide: How LEO Satellites Are Transforming State Broadband
February — Satellite broadband has entered a pivotal new phase, evolving from a niche technology into a strategic component of state broadband portfolios. Historically constrained by high latency and limited capacity, modern low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite networks have made significant performance gains, particularly in latency and peak download speeds.
https://broadbandbreakfast.com/orbiting-the-divide-how-leo-satellites-are-transforming-state-broadband-2/
ArsTechnica: SpaceX sends list of demands to US states giving broadband grants to Starlink
Jan 28 — SpaceX’s demands would also guarantee that it gets paid by the government even if it doesn’t reserve “large portions” of Starlink network capacity for homes in the areas that are supposed to receive government-subsidized Internet service. Moreover, SpaceX would not be responsible for ensuring that Starlink equipment is installed correctly at each customer location.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/01/starlink-demands-grant-money-from-states-even-when-residents-dont-buy-service/
Telecompetitor: Talkie asks FCC to reverse state and local pole prohibitions
Feb. 2 — The petition requests that the FCC enforce Section 253 of the Communications Act, which limits state and local requirements that prohibit or effectively prohibit the provision of telecommunications services. Talkie states that the County and MD DoIT are improperly attempting to impose inappropriate rights-of-way and resource-sharing requirements on (a) certain “commingled” services (e.g., a combination of various telecommunications, broadband, voice and cable services) and (b) Talkie’s fixed-wireless network.
https://www.telecompetitor.com/talkie-asks-fcc-to-reverse-state-and-local-pole-prohibitions/
Broadband Breakfast: SpaceX Seeks FCC Approval For One Million Satellites in Space
Feb. 2, 2026 – SpaceX, submitted an authorization request to the FCC to operate their orbital data center system on Friday, kicking off the race to bring data centers to support AI in space.
https://broadbandbreakfast.com/spacex-seeks-fcc-approval-for-one-million-satellites-in-space/
Data Center Dynamics: SpaceX seeks exemptions to US BEAD program requirements
Jan. 31 — SpaceX is pushing for US states to modify performance requirements for satellite service operators as part of the government’s $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.
https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/bead/
Endgadter: SpaceX wants to launch a constellation of a million satellites to power AI needs
Jan. 31 — Elon Musk and his aerospace company have requested to build a network that’s 100 times the number of satellites that are currently in orbit. On Friday, SpaceX filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch a million satellites meant to create an “orbital data center.” This isn’t the first time we’re hearing of Musk’s plans to build an orbital data center, as it was mentioned by company insiders following the news that the CEO was reportedly preparing to take SpaceX public.