Abbott backs broad data-center regulation, ends tax breaks

Gov. Greg Abbott unveiled sweeping 2027 legislative recommendations to regulate Texas data centers, including requiring new facilities to add power generation, paying for grid interconnection and infrastructure, mandating closed-loop water systems, annual reporting on electricity and water use, and repealing sales tax exemptions, while directing regulators to minimize residential costs on the ERCOT grid; the plan aims to curb infrastructure costs from rapid data-center growth amid energy and water-resource concerns, facing local opposition even as the industry says it already follows many best practices.