Texas legislators debate transmission lines and data centers

Texas legislators held a nine-hour House Committee on State Affairs hearing to address growing opposition to 765-kilovolt transmission lines and the expansion of data centers across the state. Protesters and grassroots organizations, many wearing yellow to symbolize their movement, gathered at the Texas Capitol to voice concerns regarding energy infrastructure and land use.

Local officials and landowners testified for increased local control over data center proposals and requested more time to reform the approval process for transmission lines. Advocates argued that the two issues are intrinsically linked due to the high energy demands of new data centers.

The debate follows previous legislative actions, including calls from Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Senator Charles Schwertner for the Public Utility Commission to scrap the 765-kV project, and an announcement by Governor Greg Abbott to pause approvals for data center grid connections.