Is the tech industry in Texas helping or hurting our electricity needs? – Houston Public Media

https://cdn.houstonpublicmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/20112529/crypto-power-grid-HM-062024.mp3?srcid=rss-feed

Last week, in an article on X, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick wrote about the growing demand for electricity in Texas, the role cryptocurrency mining and data centers will play in this growth, as well as concerns about the strain this will put on our power supply.

This comes after the State Senate Committee on Business and Commerce heard from ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas about a significant and anticipated increase in Texas’ electricity needs over the next six years (85,000 at 150,000 megawatts).

While this is just one voice reconsidering the future of our state’s relationship with the tech industry, could this be a sign of a shift in attitudes toward an industry that could take more supply than it gives?

In the audio above, Ed Hirs, an energy researcher at the University of Houston, discusses the presence of various tech operations in Texas, how and why they use so much electrical power, and what it all means for the future of our electricity network.