Data centers trip grid alarms from PJM to Texas — July 27, 2026

PJM saw more than 3 GW of data-center demand drop offline during a voltage event, while Texas moves to shield households from expansion costs and a California AI campus fights for Colorado River water, sharpening the grid-and-resource politics of AI infrastructure.

In this episode

1. Power Grids Reach Tipping Point as 100F Weather, US Data Center Boom Stress Aging Networks | Financial Post — Financial Post

   Power Grids Reach Tipping Point as 100F Weather, US Data Center Boom Stress Aging Networks | Financial Post Subscribe for $0.99/week Power lines during high temperatures in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, on July 2. Photo by Allison Joyce /Photographer: Allison Joyce/Bloo (Bloomberg) — Back-to-back heat waves across the US are straining electricity grids serving millions of households and…

2. Massive disconnect of power roils largest US electric grid — Reuters

   Massive disconnect of power roils largest US electric grid - AOL Updated Thu, July 23, 2026 at 1:02 AM UTC 14 By Tim McLaughlin July 22 (Reuters) - A massive amount of data center power abruptly disconnected from the largest U.S. electric grid on Wednesday, causing a voltage disturbance that could be felt from Washington, D.C., to Chicago, according to experts and data from grid operator…

3. Governor Abbott Announces PUC And ERCOT Actions Protecting Residential Ratepayers From Data Center Costs | Brownwood News — Brownwood News

   Governor Abbott Announces PUC And ERCOT Actions Protecting Residential Ratepayers From Data Center Costs | Brownwood News - Requiring data centers to not only pay for transmission infrastructure built to serve them but contribute toward meaningfully reducing residential electric bills. - Adopting rules to prevent large data centers from diverting existing power away from the ERCOT grid and…

4. IVCM Sues IID for 260M Gallons of Colorado River Water · TFTC — TFTC

   IVCM Sues IID for 260M Gallons of Colorado River Water · TFTC Share A $10 billion AI data center campus promised Imperial Valley it wouldn't draw a drop of Colorado River water. That promise is now a court exhibit. Key takeaways - Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing (IVCM) filed suit against the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) seeking 260 million gallons of Colorado River water per…

Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.