El Paso asks Texas regulators to extend data-center protections to El Paso Electric customers

The City of El Paso filed comments with the Public Utility Commission of Texas on July 29, asking the state to extend data-center ratepayer protections to customers served by utilities outside the ERCOT grid, including El Paso Electric.

The request could influence how future infrastructure costs for large new electric users are assigned in El Paso. The city is asking regulators to prevent residential and small-business customers from absorbing costs associated with infrastructure built to serve large data centers.

City seeks a non-ERCOT process

El Paso’s filing asks the PUCT to confirm that Gov. Greg Abbott’s June 10 directive applies to Texans outside ERCOT and to establish a parallel rulemaking process for non-ERCOT utilities, including El Paso Electric.

The city also asks the commission to apply the directive’s principles in pending and future proceedings involving El Paso Electric. In its announcement, the city identified nearly 700,000 customers served by the utility and said they should receive protections comparable to those being developed for customers elsewhere in Texas.

El Paso Electric serves a territory outside ERCOT. That distinction is central to the city’s request for comparable treatment through a separate non-ERCOT regulatory process.

Policy direction began with City Council

The filing follows a June 23 City Council action directing the city manager to amend El Paso’s state legislative agenda to support policies protecting residential ratepayers from utility costs associated with large data centers.

The council item also directed the city manager and city attorney to determine whether the electrical grid used by El Paso residents should be incorporated into the effort described in the governor’s directive.

The July filing reflects that policy direction but remains the city’s advocacy position and regulatory comment. It is not a final PUCT decision, an adopted rule or a finding that El Paso customers are currently paying data-center infrastructure costs.

What the governor directed

Abbott’s June 10 directive told the PUCT to require data centers to fully fund the electric infrastructure needed to serve their operations, with the stated goal of preventing those costs from being passed to residential ratepayers.

The directive also told the PUCT and ERCOT to identify additional protections for residential and small-business customers. Abbott said he would work with lawmakers on legislation to codify the protections during a future legislative session.

What happens next

The PUCT must still decide whether to establish a non-ERCOT process or apply comparable protections in proceedings involving El Paso Electric. The city’s filing does not immediately change electric bills, decide whether a data center will be built or determine how a specific project will be financed.

The issue is separate from proceedings involving El Paso Electric’s proposed generation facility for a planned Meta data center in Northeast El Paso. Those proceedings offer local context for the debate over infrastructure costs, but the July 29 filing addresses broader regulatory treatment for non-ERCOT utilities.

Sources

• City of El Paso filing announcement, July 29, 2026
• El Paso City Council agenda item 26-0771
• Texas governor's June 10, 2026 data-center directive
• KVIA report on El Paso Electric's proposed plant for a Meta data center