El Paso County Commissioners Court questioned representatives from El Paso Electric about any potential impacts from the development of data centers in the region.
El Paso Electric and El Paso Water officials presented reports about infrastructure planning and its potential impacts on unincorporated areas during a special session on May 21. The special session of the commissioners court was held because of Memorial Day holiday weekend.
The meeting is part of a growing trend in Texas, where communities are asking local governments to slow down the development of data centers.
The El Paso region is considering stricter rules for data center construction and operation.
County Judge Ricardo Samaniego called on the representatives from El Paso Electric for transparency in the process and asked whether there is a saturation point. Commissioner Jackie Butler, Precinct 1, asked representatives about the expansion of transmission lines through her precinct and whether they would be needed regardless of the expansion of data centers. Commissioner David Stout asked representatives if there are any protections for consumers and rates payers if the data center fails.
Daniel Perez, the director of regulatory governmental affairs with El Paso Electric, assured Butler that the new transmission lines being built through Precinct 1 are not related to the new data center projects and that there are currently no data centers on the El Paso grid, but that the Meta project has had a connection installed.
Perez reiterate that they are dedicated to engaging the community as these projects are developed. He said there would be protections for customers if any of the large consumers failed.
Perez also told the commissioners that current rate increases are not related to the data centers.
The Borderland has seen a boom in the construction of data centers.
Two major projects are currently underway, including the $1.5 billion Meta data center in Northeast El Paso and a massive $165 billion Stargate Artificial Intelligence data center in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. A third 2.5 gigawatts data center project is planned to be built on Fort Bliss.
El Paso residents have raised concern over the projects.
Veronica Carbajal, an organizer with the Sembrando Esperanza Coalition, voiced her concerns about the data centers impact on the water supply.
“We have not been saving water for over 35 years for these billionaire tech companies and private electric companies to take our water and profit from our investment,” she said. “We need you to protect our water, and we need you to prioritize our people over private profit.”
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar calls for transparency and community engagement
As discussions over the construction and impacts of data centers in El Paso continue, U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, has sent a letter to the U.S. Army calling for transparency over the construction of the data center on Fort Bliss. She pointed out that the project continues to raise “significant questions from El Pasoans regarding potential impacts on local infrastructure, water and energy resources, household costs, environmental conditions, and community quality of life.”
Escobar called on the Army to engage the community as plans for the project advance.
“El Pasoans deserve a process that is transparent, thoughtful, and responsive to legitimate public scrutiny before irreversible decisions are made,” Escobar wrote in her letter to the U.S. Army. “I urge the Army and Carlyle Group to slow this process, provide greater transparency, and seriously reconsider the proposed location of the facility.”
Jeff Abbott covers the border for the El Paso Times and can be reached at:jdabbott@usatodayco.com; @palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso County Commissioners Court questions El Paso Electric over data centers
Reporting by Jeff Abbott, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
