News Round-Up: September 2026

Texas Tribune: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick calls on ERCOT to reverse 30% pay raise for board members
Sept. 17 — Patrick has also rebuked ERCOT’s board for approving and then backtracking on a contract that would allow ERCOT’s CEO to earn $6.4 million in 2027.
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/09/17/texas-dan-patrick-ercot-board-pay-increase/

CBS Austin: ERCOT group meets in Austin to plan for AI, data center power demand on grid
Sept. 17 — Texas power officials are meeting in Austin this morning to grapple with a growing challenge: how to connect massive new electricity users tied to AI and data centers without overloading the grid during peak demand and emergencies.
https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/ercot-group-meets-in-austin-to-plan-for-ai-data-center-power-demand-on-grid

Texas Energy and Power Newsletter: Everything moving on the Texas grid
Sept. 16 — Michael Webber on the 765 kV remand, the case nobody has made for AI, and why he thinks building more is the cheaper option.
https://www.texasenergyandpower.com/p/everything-moving-on-the-texas-grid

CW39: CenterPoint Energy says some customer information was in data breach
Sept. 16 — According to an SEC filing made by the Houston-based utility, CenterPoint learned that a third party claimed online to have accessed data containing customer information.
https://cw39.com/news/business/centerpoint-energy-data-breach-confirmed/amp/

KVUE: ERCOT backs away from $6.4M CEO contract after Lt. Gov. Patrick criticism
Sept. 16 — ERCOT backs away from a $6.4 million CEO contract after criticism from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
https://www.kvue.com/video/news/local/texas/ercot-backs-away-from-64m-ceo-contract-after-lt-gov-patrick-criticism/269-beb99316-3f48-4e24-87ed-b4f0e4cfd445

The Hill: Abbott orders penalties for Texas data centers that fail to report water use
Sept. 16 — The governor’s office said that some major water users, including data centers, appear to have violated state law by failing to provide required information about their water use. Abbott directed the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to impose legal consequences for past and future reporting failures.
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/6091529-abbott-texas-data-centers-water-use/

KHOU11: CenterPoint Energy confirms a customer data breach
Sept. 15 — CenterPoint Energy says they are working to investigate exactly how a customer data breach occurred and what data was compromised.
https://www.khou.com/video/news/local/centerpoint-energy-confirms-a-customer-data-breach/285-50582b1d-4ec8-4c0e-920d-3a84405080c1

The Texas Tribune: ERCOT quickly backtracks after approving contract that would let CEO earn $6.4 million in 2027
Sept. 15 — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick balked at the contract two boards approved for Pablo Vegas. The ERCOT chief said officials then decided not to execute the deal.
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/09/15/texas-ercot-energy-grid-ceo-salary-prices/

Utility Dive: ‘Second-life’ battery project is B2U’s second in ERCOT, with more on the way
Sept. 15 — A strategic supply agreement with Waymo and rising EV adoption rates will expand the company’s access to older batteries still fit for use in stationary storage, CEO Freeman Hall said.
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/second-life-battery-project-is-b2us-second-in-ercot-with-more-on-the-wa/830409/

KERA News:  ERCOT to survey more than 400 data centers as part of Gov. Abbott’s audit
Sept. 14 — The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, which manages the state’s main power grid, said data centers will have until mid-October to complete the roughly 130-question survey. The survey includes questions about “financial assistance, power self-sufficiency, water and cooling, community impact, and ownership,” according to ERCOT.
https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2026-09-14/ercot-to-survey-more-than-400-data-centers-as-part-of-gov-abbotts-audit

The Texas Tribune: Gov. Greg Abbott orders Texas water agency to penalize data centers that don’t report their water usage
Sept 14 — Last year, less than 30% of data centers responded to a state-mandated water usage survey conducted by the Texas Water Development Board.
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/09/14/texas-data-centers-abbott-water-survey-enforcement/

Spectrum News: Dallas ranks No. 1 for data centers, report says
Sept. 14 — Real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield says for the first time, Dallas is the No. 1 data center location in the world.
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/austin/news/2026/09/14/dallas-ranks-high-data-center-market

Houston Chronicle: CenterPoint energy hit with multiple proposed class actions over alleged data breach
Sept. 13 — Three lawsuits were filed last week against CenterPoint in federal court by the Florida law firm Shamis and Gentile, which is representing customers Laurie Eirwin, Latoya Wyche and Christa Floyd. The company is facing two other lawsuits in federal court filed by Dallas law firm Lippe and Associates, which is representing customers Joyce Curry and Nathaniel Sonia.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/centerpoint-energy-hit-multiple-proposed-235213317.html

San Antonio Current: After public pressure, Texas OKs more 765 lines, directing companies to work with landowners
Sept. 12 — The Public Utility Commission voted to greenlight some proposals to build first-of-their-kind transmission lines after approving two massive lines last month.
https://www.sacurrent.com/news/texas-news/after-public-pressure-texas-oks-more-765-lines-directing-companies-to-work-with-landowners/

KPRC: Data centers are coming to Texas. What could it mean for your electric bill, water and neighborhood?
Sept.  11 — Now, as Texas prepares for a major expansion of data centers — including larger facilities designed to support artificial intelligence — many people have questions about what that growth could mean for their communities.
https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2026/09/09/data-centers-are-coming-to-texas-what-could-they-mean-for-your-electric-bill-water-and-neighborhood/

The Texas Tribune: After public pressure, Texas OKs more 765 lines, directing companies to work with landowners
Sept. 11 — The Public Utility Commission voted to greenlight some proposals to build first-of-their-kind transmission lines after approving two massive lines last month.
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/09/11/transmission-lines-landowners-oil-industry-outcry/

Energy & Policy Institute; Two of Texas’ biggest investor-owned utilities record a big boost in profits during the second quarter of 2026
Sept. 10 — Two of Texas’ biggest transmission and distribution utilities reported sharply higher profits in the second quarter of 2026. Dallas-based Oncor Electric Delivery Company and CenterPoint Energy’s Texas subsidiary reported a 65% and 43% increase in profits respectively, for the three months ending June 30, compared to the same period in 2025.
https://energyandpolicy.org/two-of-texas-biggest-investor-owned-utilities-record-a-big-boost-in-profits-during-the-second-quarter-of-2026/

Texas Scorecard: Top Regulator Recommends Remanding Transmission Project to Administrative Law Judges
Sept. 10 — Thomas Gleeson wrote judges did not address questions of state and federal standards and congestion cost savings.
https://texasscorecard.com/state/top-regulator-recommends-remanding-transmission-project-to-administrative-law-judges/