Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to halt new data-center grid-connection approvals while regulators conduct a comprehensive verification and audit of pending projects. The review covers roughly 1,800 projects tied to about 474 gigawatts of interconnection requests—more than five times ERCOT’s all-time peak demand—with Abbott’s office saying about 90% is driven by data centers. The figure differs from an Apollo analysis putting Texas’ planned capacity at roughly 100 gigawatts, because interconnection requests include projects that may never be built. Texas has about 335 operating data centers and at least 248 more in development, while Virginia remains the largest operating market at 17 gigawatts. Abbott, once a leading industry promoter, now blames developers’ limited engagement with communities for opposition over electricity, water, noise and infrastructure. Fewer than 10% of data centers have complied with existing state reporting requirements, his office said. Power House Data Centers, CoreWeave and Emergent Data Centers have agreed to comply with new standards, while at least one prospective project abandoned its plans. The shift has put Abbott at odds with President Donald Trump and reflects a broader national backlash affecting elections, subsidies and permitting rules.