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Story perspectives

Texas orders audit after data-center queue hits 474GW

8/24/2026

42 9 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

GE Vernova is receiving down-payment deposits for turbines that may never be built.
Exelon cut its high-probability data-center load forecast to about 11 GW on July 30.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered an audit of all data-center requests after the queue hit 474 GW on Aug 3.
PJM’s July 14 auction cleared at $325 per megawatt-day, procuring 138,318 MW but leaving a 6,831 MW reliability gap.

History

Historical Context

The August 14, 2003 Northeast blackout left about 55 million customers without power and spurred the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which made NERC reliability standards mandatory under FERC oversight. Decades later, GE Vernova’s turbine deposits, Exelon’s 11 GW data-center cut, and PJM’s $325/MW-day auction echo the same capacity-shortage pressures, prompting officials like Texas Governor Greg Abbott to audit data-center impacts.

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Story summary

GE Vernova is receiving down-payment deposits for turbines that may never be built.
Exelon cut its high-probability data-center load forecast to about 11 GW on July 30.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered an audit of all data-center requests after the queue hit 474 GW on Aug 3.
PJM’s July 14 auction cleared at $325 per megawatt-day, procuring 138,318 MW but leaving a 6,831 MW reliability gap.

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