The Public Utility Commission of Texas is taking Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office to court over public records that could reveal where data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities operate across the state.
Texas utility regulators are fighting to keep the locations of data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations out of public view, arguing that releasing the information could expose critical infrastructure to terrorist attacks and other security threats.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) filed a lawsuit Monday in Travis County seeking to overturn two open-records rulings from Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office.
At the center of the legal fight are two pieces of information: the county where a facility operates and the regional water planning area where it is located.
While those details might seem harmless on their own, the PUC argues they could become dangerous when combined with information about a facility's electricity demand, water consumption, cooling systems and connections to the state's infrastructure.
The dispute comes as Texas faces growing questions about how the rapid expansion of data centers could affect electricity supplies and water resources.
Why Texas wants to keep data center locations confidential
The PUC is asking a judge to determine whether certain geographic information collected through a state survey should be protected under the Texas Homeland Security Act.
The law is designed to "protect against homeland security threats and hazards . . . and prevent significant criminal and terrorist attacks."
According to the lawsuit, identifying a facility's location could allow someone to connect its physical site to detailed information about its electricity and water needs.
Regulators argue that such information could potentially expose weaknesses in infrastructure serving data centers, creating opportunities for physical attacks or cyberattacks that could disrupt electricity or drinking water systems.
“This combined disclosure would give a person intending an act of terrorism or a hostile act by a foreign adversary of the United States what the released fields alone do not,” the lawsuit states.
The commission is not asking the court to declare the entire survey confidential in this lawsuit. Instead, it is specifically seeking protection for county names and regional water planning areas.
No judge has ruled on the lawsuit, meaning the legal battle over whether those records must be released remains unresolved.
Survey reveals limited participation from data centers
The information at the center of the dispute comes from a survey Texas lawmakers ordered in 2025 to better understand how much electricity and water data centers and virtual currency mining facilities consume.
The PUC worked with the Texas Water Development Board to develop the survey, which was sent to 377 facilities across the state.
The questionnaire requested information about electricity consumption, projected peak demand, water sources, cooling technology and connections to utility infrastructure.
State officials hoped the findings would help them better understand the industry's growing demand for resources and make more informed decisions about future infrastructure needs.
But getting companies to participate proved difficult.
During a June legislative hearing, PUC officials reported that just 28 companies representing 92 facilities had responded.
One state lawmaker described the response as "pathetic," raising concerns about whether the state had enough information to accurately assess the industry's impact.
The commission reopened the voluntary survey for another 10 days in July.
By August, 77 data centers and 13 cryptocurrency mining facilities had completed the questionnaire, according to information provided by a PUC spokesperson.
The limited participation raised questions about whether state agencies could develop reliable projections of future electricity and water demand without more complete industry data.
Public records requests spark legal battle
The dispute began after a McLennan County resident and four journalists, requested the survey responses under the Texas Public Information Act.
The PUC initially sought to withhold the records in their entirety, arguing that the information was protected under state law.
Under Texas' public records system, government agencies seeking to withhold certain information can request a ruling from the attorney general's office.
The commission took that step, citing provisions of the Texas Homeland Security Act that protect certain information about vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure.
However, the attorney general's office issued two rulings finding that the PUC had not adequately demonstrated that the information qualified for the claimed exemption.
The commission is now asking a Travis County court to overturn those decisions.
The disagreement centers on whether information that appears relatively harmless by itself could become a security threat when combined with other records.
For example, knowing which county contains a data center might not reveal much about its operations. But the PUC contends that pairing that location with electricity consumption, water sources and infrastructure connections could make it easier to identify potential vulnerabilities.
The agency maintains that those risks justify withholding the geographic information.
The attorney general's rulings, however, found that the commission had not sufficiently established that the records revealed the technical vulnerabilities protected by the law.
The people who requested the information may also participate in the legal proceedings.
Data center growth raises concerns about Texas water supplies
The legal fight comes at a time when Texas officials are taking a closer look at the resources needed to support the state's expanding data center industry.
Large data centers house thousands of servers that operate around the clock, requiring substantial amounts of electricity.
Many facilities also use water to cool their equipment, although consumption varies significantly depending on the technology used.
Those demands have drawn attention from state lawmakers, particularly as Texas continues to experience population growth, industrial expansion and concerns about long-term water availability.
Gov. Greg Abbott has directed state agencies to conduct additional reviews of data centers seeking connections to the state's electric grid.
Those reviews include examining electricity demand, water consumption, cooling systems and other operational information.
Abbott has also directed the Texas Water Development Board to pursue enforcement action against data centers that fail to comply with mandatory water-use reporting requirements.
Unlike the PUC's voluntary questionnaire, the Water Development Board conducts a separate annual water-use survey that carries reporting requirements.
That survey has also experienced relatively low participation from data centers.
The issue is especially important for regional water planners, who must estimate future demand and determine whether communities and industries will have sufficient water supplies.
Knowing where major water users operate can help planners identify which regions may face additional pressure on existing resources.
Without accurate location and consumption information, officials could face challenges forecasting future needs.
Texas regulators have fought disclosure before
This is not the first time the PUC and the attorney general's office have disagreed over whether utility-related information should be made public.
The two agencies previously clashed over records involving a state power plant loan program and cryptocurrency mining facilities registered in Texas.
Those disputes also raised questions about how much information the public should be able to access concerning the state's energy infrastructure.
According to invoices obtained by the Houston Chronicle through a public records request last year, the PUC spent more than $56,000 in taxpayer money hiring outside attorneys to help defend its efforts to withhold information.
The commission defended that spending at the time, describing the practice as common.
In the latest dispute, the PUC has declined to comment beyond its court filings. A spokesperson said the agency does not discuss pending litigation.
It remains unclear whether other portions of the data center survey, including facility names and water consumption figures, will eventually become public.
What's next for the lawsuit?
A Travis County judge will now be asked to decide whether the PUC has established a legal basis for withholding the disputed geographic information.
The outcome could have implications beyond the survey itself, potentially affecting how Texas agencies handle public records involving critical infrastructure.
For state regulators, the argument is about protecting facilities and the systems that support them from potential threats.
For journalists, residents and others seeking the records, the dispute raises questions about transparency as an increasingly powerful industry places new demands on Texas' electricity and water supplies.
And with state officials pushing for more information about data center development, the lawsuit presents a central question: How much can Texans learn about the facilities consuming their state's resources when regulators argue that revealing their locations could pose a security risk?
