As The Demand For Power To Fuel AI Explodes In US, One State Is Bucking The Trend

Sean Moran Investigative Reporter, Technology August 13, 2026 2:09 PM ET Texas’ data center moratorium will cut its projected electricity demand in half — as Lone Star State voters remain highly critical of the artificial intelligence centers.Data centers have increased American electricity demand nationwide, with one notable exception: Texas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA). The EIA lowered Texas’s projection for electricity demand from 14% to 6% due to Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s pause on data center development. Abbott in early August ordered a moratorium on data center development until the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Texas’s independent grid operator, audit data centers “advancing throug