"A lawsuit will test whether Texas officials can withhold data center location details under the state Homeland Security Act."
"The Public Utility Commission of Texas is asking a Travis County judge to block the release of information showing where data centers and virtual currency mines operate, saying those details could aid terrorists.
The lawsuit filed Monday pits the state agency responsible for regulating utilities against Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office over the scope of Texas’ public-records law and the state’s protections for critical infrastructure.
At the center of the dispute are two seemingly basic geographic details: the county where a facility is located and the regional water planning area in which it sits.
The PUC argues that those details are “privileged information” and become sensitive when combined with other information collected through its survey of the industry, including electricity demand, actual electricity consumption, projected peak demand, water consumption, water sources, cooling technology and the utilities and infrastructure serving a facility."
Alejandra Martinez reports for the Texas Tribune October 6, 2026.
