The Power Connection Digest Issue #60

June 18, 2026

Peter Cook, Editor

The 2nd Annual Permian Power Connection Conference is in the books, but that does not mean your work is done. If you attended, there is still time to do warm follow ups with your new contacts. Schedule calls, set up coffees, and keep the momentum going. We want the conference to an important component of your business development plans, but much of that depends on you doing your follow up. Get on it! We’re all depending on you!

Pretty interesting mix of news and analysis this week. Check it out.

And now, the news…

Texas Grid Actions: Gov. Abbott Approves $200M Infrastructure Grant, Issues PUC and ERCOT Data Center Directives

Building on sweeping PUC and ERCOT directives regarding data centers following a recent report, Gov. Abbott unveiled a $200 million infrastructure grant to boost Texas grid reliability.

Texas slows electric transmission review process

The state Public Utility Commission moved Wednesday to push back a decision on a project that would cut through rural areas.

West Texas Pushes to Become AI's Next Power Center? Bay Area Startups Collectively Secured $14B+ in June MTD

The AI buildout is already colliding with the limits of the traditional grid-centric model, and the market is now looking for regions that can respond with pragmatism and speed. Based on the discussion in Midland last week, West Texas intends to be one of them.

US natgas prices at Waha turn positive for first time since February as pipeline constraints ease

U.S. spot natural gas prices for Tuesday at the Waha Hub ‌in West Texas turned positive for the first time since early February as demand for the fuel rises with the coming of the summer air conditioning season and energy firms start to wrap up spring pipeline maintenance.

Cummins to Power Circe Energy’s West Texas AI Data Centers With 2 GW

The flagship 1,950-acre West Texas AI Infrastructure Campus in the Permian Basin starts at 10 MW in 2026 and scales toward 1.1 GW by 2030, running as a prime-power microgrid without reliance on the utility grid.

Google’s Unique Approach to Getting Data Centers Built

Google is developing one of the more sophisticated strategies to clear the hurdles, particularly with its ability to secure the huge amounts of energy AI infrastructure requires.

One Last Look Back at the Permian Power Connection Conference

Check out this sampling of what attendees posted about the conference.

Bitdeer looks to develop 750MW data center campus in Ohio

Cryptomine and AI firm eyes major Ohio data center campus amid local moratorium.

Dark Megawatts: What the AI Power Story Gets Wrong

The energy era of AI is here — but the scarce thing isn’t the electron, it’s the right to deliver it. On dark megawatts, and the half of the bottleneck almost everyone is describing wrong.

A solution to data center backlash? Put them in oil fields.

Good article, but I think this readership is a bit ahead of the writer.

Republican senator proposes federal control over data centers’ access to the power grid

Sen. Cynthia Lummis’ POWER Up Act would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authority to approve or reject data centers’ connections to some grids.

Data Center Tax Breaks at Risk as States Rethink Cost and Impact

State lawmakers, while largely siding with industry so far this year, have sought to impose restrictions and reporting requirements on energy and water use to obtain sales tax exemptions that together have saved billions of dollars for tech giants such as Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft.

Power, Chips and a Tale of Pipelines: A look at the Texas industrial market

The pipelines look different and the vacancy curves look different, but the buildings winning deals across four major Texas markets increasingly share the same traits: immediate occupancy, significant power capacity and the scale to accommodate manufacturing and infrastructure users that barely factored into Texas industrial demand a decade ago.

Data Centers in Texas

Interesting interactive map. Explore operating and planned data center projects in Texas.

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