TX Abbott directive Jun 10 / PUCT plus ERCOT joint memo due Jul 17 / PUCT residential transmission cost reduction action by Jul 31 / cost allocation track / data centers pay for own infrastructure / 2027 legislative agenda BYOG closed loop cooling annual reporting / triple July clock with Batch Zero PCLR Jul 10

Plain-English background. Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a formal data center directive on June 10, 2026, to the two state-level energy authorities: the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT — appointed by the governor, regulates retail electricity in ERCOT territory) and ERCOT (the grid operator itself). The directive has three pieces. **Cost allocation: data centers pay for their own infrastructure.** The directive instructs PUCT to require data centers to fully fund the cost of electric infrastructure (transmission lines, substations, distribution upgrades) that exists specifically to serve them. Residential and small-business ratepayers should not subsidize that build-out via socialized rates. This is the policy substance and matches what the Virginia SCC ordered in January 2026 via separate rate-class design. **Legislative agenda for the 2027 session.** Abbott listed specific bills he wants the 90th Texas Legislature (which convenes January 2027) to pass: (a) codify PUCT's cost-allocation actions in statute; (b) require new data centers to add to Texas generation capacity, not just demand (a 'bring your own generation' or 'BYOG' mandate similar to what ERCOT was already drafting via PGRR145); (c) require water-efficient cooling (closed-loop) for all new builds; (d) require large data centers to file annual electricity and water use reports with PUCT. The legislative items are 2027 work, not immediate. **Two operational deadlines that hit in July 2026** — and these are the new items relevant for today's edition. (1) PUCT and ERCOT must jointly submit a memorandum to the Governor by July 17, 2026, outlining the specific actions they will take under their existing statutory authority (i.e., without new legislation) to protect ratepayers from data center infrastructure costs. This is a 37-day turnaround from the directive (June 10 to July 17). (2) PUCT must separately initiate an action to reduce residential ratepayer transmission costs by July 31, 2026 — i.e., a specific rate-design proceeding that lowers the residential transmission rider, presumably by reallocating those costs onto large-load customers like data centers. What this means for the Texas calendar. The Texas data center policy track now has three hard July deadlines: - **July 10**: ERCOT Batch Zero PCLR applications due to DSP/TSP (interconnection track). - **July 17**: PUCT+ERCOT joint memo to the Governor on ratepayer protection actions (cost-allocation track). - **July 31**: PUCT initiates residential transmission cost-reduction action (rate-design track). All three are running in parallel, all three involve the same two agencies, and all three are operationally connected — the cost-allocation framework the joint memo describes will inform how Batch Zero applicants get charged for the transmission they cause, which informs the rate-design action. By the end of July, Texas will have produced the first integrated data-center-specific regulatory framework in the country, combining interconnection (Batch Zero), cost allocation (joint memo), and rate design (transmission reduction action) on a single calendar. Why this hasn't been front-page covered. The June 10 directive got a single news cycle, mostly framed as 'Abbott protects ratepayers,' and the specific July 17 and July 31 deadlines were buried in the directive text. They will become much more visible as July progresses and the documents publish.

Primary source · Office of the Texas Governor — Governor Abbott Directs PUC and ERCOT to Shield Texans from Data Center Infrastructure Costs (Jun 10 2026) + Shale Magazine — Governor Abbott Directs PUC and ERCOT to Protect Texas Ratepayers from Data Center Costs + Texas Scorecard — Abbott Directs Regulators to Make Data Centers Pay Their Own Infrastructure Costs + Community Impact — Gov. Abbott tells PUC, ERCOT to ensure Texas consumers do not foot the bill for data center growth (Jun 10 2026) + Alden Energy — Abbott Issues Directive to ERCOT, Public Utility Commission to Control Rising Data Center Costs ↗