Judges back El Paso Electric's gas plant for Meta only if other customers don't pay
El Paso Electric asked the Public Utility Commission of Texas to amend its certificate so it can build and own the McCloud facility. It is a 366 MW natural gas plant in northeast El Paso County made of 813 modular gas generators. It would primarily serve a data center being developed by Wurldwide LLC, which the case record says is owned by Meta Platforms. Meta calls the El Paso site an AI data center that can scale to one gigawatt. On September 23rd, 2026 two administrative law judges issued their proposal for decision. They found a need for capacity to serve the data center. They also found the utility did not show the plant is a cost-effective and reliable resource, and did not show it adequately considered alternatives. They recommend approval only if the utility's other retail customers are held harmless from the plant's capital and operating costs, and denial without that condition. The commission decides at an open meeting. El Paso City Council has since authorized a counteroffer seeking a full hold harmless for ratepayers. The utility serves outside the ERCOT region, so no ERCOT large load rule decides who pays here.
How to take part
The commission will put the case on an open meeting agenda and set deadlines for the parties' exceptions to the proposal. Every filing is public under Docket 59076 on the commission's Interchange system, and residents have filed public comments there.
Where
1 county. In El Paso.
Timeline
- filed
El Paso Electric files its application to amend its certificate for the McCloud facility
- hearing
Hearing on the merits before two administrative law judges
- filed
The judges file their proposal for decision with the commission
- Today
How this decision moved
One dated line per check, oldest first. A line that says nothing changed means somebody looked and it had not.
- 2026-09-29
Admitted on the judges' proposal for decision and the commission's own docket.
The evidence
Every fact above rests on one of these. The words are the source's own.
to construct, own, and operate a 366-megawatt (MW) natural gas generation facility (the McCloud facility or Project) that would primarily serve a data center being developed in El Paso County by Wurldwide LLC (Wurldwide).PUCT Docket 59076, SOAH Docket 473-26-14758, Proposal for Decision on El Paso Electric's application to amend its certificate for a 366 MW natural gas generation facility, filed September 23rd, 2026 Primary source, official · interchange.puc.texas.gov
Wurldwide is owned by Meta Platforms Inc.PUCT Docket 59076, SOAH Docket 473-26-14758, Proposal for Decision on El Paso Electric's application to amend its certificate for a 366 MW natural gas generation facility, filed September 23rd, 2026 Primary source, official · interchange.puc.texas.gov
EPE is proposing to purchase 813 modular 450-kilowatt (kW) gas generators.PUCT Docket 59076, SOAH Docket 473-26-14758, Proposal for Decision on El Paso Electric's application to amend its certificate for a 366 MW natural gas generation facility, filed September 23rd, 2026 Primary source, official · interchange.puc.texas.gov
These generators are typically installed in groups of four or five, each connected to a step-up transformer.PUCT Docket 59076, SOAH Docket 473-26-14758, Proposal for Decision on El Paso Electric's application to amend its certificate for a 366 MW natural gas generation facility, filed September 23rd, 2026 Primary source, official · interchange.puc.texas.gov
did not show that the McCloud facility is a cost-effective and reliable resource to meet either Wurldwide's need or the need of EPE's broader customer base.PUCT Docket 59076, SOAH Docket 473-26-14758, Proposal for Decision on El Paso Electric's application to amend its certificate for a 366 MW natural gas generation facility, filed September 23rd, 2026 Primary source, official · interchange.puc.texas.gov
EPE also failed to show that it adequately considered alternatives to the Project.PUCT Docket 59076, SOAH Docket 473-26-14758, Proposal for Decision on El Paso Electric's application to amend its certificate for a 366 MW natural gas generation facility, filed September 23rd, 2026 Primary source, official · interchange.puc.texas.gov
did not consider any other alternatives to Enchanted Rock for Wurldwide's generation needs, did not submit a request for proposals (RFP)PUCT Docket 59076, SOAH Docket 473-26-14758, Proposal for Decision on El Paso Electric's application to amend its certificate for a 366 MW natural gas generation facility, filed September 23rd, 2026 Primary source, official · interchange.puc.texas.gov
The total estimated cost of the McCloud facility is approximately $499.8 million, comprising an estimated cash construction cost of $473 million (including a 10% contingency) and approximately $26.8 million in allowance for funds used during construction.PUCT Docket 59076, SOAH Docket 473-26-14758, Proposal for Decision on El Paso Electric's application to amend its certificate for a 366 MW natural gas generation facility, filed September 23rd, 2026 Primary source, official · interchange.puc.texas.gov
Wurldwide has committed to a peak demand of one gigawatt (1,000 MW) by the end of 2029.PUCT Docket 59076, SOAH Docket 473-26-14758, Proposal for Decision on El Paso Electric's application to amend its certificate for a 366 MW natural gas generation facility, filed September 23rd, 2026 Primary source, official · interchange.puc.texas.gov
Without such a condition, the ALJs would recommend denial of the application.PUCT Docket 59076, SOAH Docket 473-26-14758, Proposal for Decision on El Paso Electric's application to amend its certificate for a 366 MW natural gas generation facility, filed September 23rd, 2026 Primary source, official · interchange.puc.texas.gov
For the life of the McCloud facility, EPE must hold harmless its retail customers other than Wurldwide from any capital or operating costs of the facility, unless and until EPE demonstrates that, at that time, the McCloud facility satisfies the factors in PURA § 37.056 with respect to its Texas retail customers.PUCT Docket 59076, SOAH Docket 473-26-14758, Proposal for Decision on El Paso Electric's application to amend its certificate for a 366 MW natural gas generation facility, filed September 23rd, 2026 Primary source, official · interchange.puc.texas.gov
After the bridge period, it may be beneficial to integrate the McCloud facility into EPE's generation resources and revise its rates accordingly, but no decision has been made on this issue at this time.PUCT Docket 59076, SOAH Docket 473-26-14758, Proposal for Decision on El Paso Electric's application to amend its certificate for a 366 MW natural gas generation facility, filed September 23rd, 2026 Primary source, official · interchange.puc.texas.gov
The Commission will place this case on an open meeting agenda for the Commissioners' consideration.PUCT Docket 59076, SOAH Docket 473-26-14758, Proposal for Decision on El Paso Electric's application to amend its certificate for a 366 MW natural gas generation facility, filed September 23rd, 2026 Primary source, official · interchange.puc.texas.gov
813 modular natural gas generators to be located in northeast El Paso County, Texas.PUCT Docket 59076, SOAH Docket 473-26-14758, Proposal for Decision on El Paso Electric's application to amend its certificate for a 366 MW natural gas generation facility, filed September 23rd, 2026 Primary source, official · interchange.puc.texas.gov
An electric utility operating solely outside of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) power region, like EPE, must obtain a CCNPUCT Docket 59076, SOAH Docket 473-26-14758, Proposal for Decision on El Paso Electric's application to amend its certificate for a 366 MW natural gas generation facility, filed September 23rd, 2026 Primary source, official · interchange.puc.texas.gov
Public Comment of Mario Gallegos, El Paso Electric Residential CustomerPUCT Interchange, filings in Docket 59076 Primary source, official · interchange.puc.texas.gov
Monday, the City of El Paso's City Council authorized the City Attorney, in consultation with the City Manager, to continue settlement negotiations and make a counteroffer for a "full hold harmless" for ratepayers from costs of the McCloud Generation facility.KVIA, City Council authorizes ongoing negotiations to protect ratepayers from Meta data center energy facility, September 28th, 2026 Journalism · kvia.com
El Paso, Texas, will be home to our newest AI-focused data center, which can scale to 1GW and will support our growing AI workload.Meta, Breaking Ground on Our New AI-Optimized Data Center in El Paso Primary source, the company · about.fb.com
Questions about this decision
Answered from the record itself. Every answer is assembled from stored fields, so an answer the record has no basis for is left out rather than guessed.
What is this decision?
El Paso Electric asked the Public Utility Commission of Texas to amend its certificate so it can build and own the McCloud facility. It is a 366 MW natural gas plant in northeast El Paso County made of 813 modular gas generators. It would primarily serve a data center being developed by Wurldwide LLC, which the case record says is owned by Meta Platforms. Meta calls the El Paso site an AI data center that can scale to one gigawatt. On September 23rd, 2026 two administrative law judges issued their proposal for decision. They found a need for capacity to serve the data center. They also found the utility did not show the plant is a cost-effective and reliable resource, and did not show it adequately considered alternatives. They recommend approval only if the utility's other retail customers are held harmless from the plant's capital and operating costs, and denial without that condition. The commission decides at an open meeting. El Paso City Council has since authorized a counteroffer seeking a full hold harmless for ratepayers. The utility serves outside the ERCOT region, so no ERCOT large load rule decides who pays here.
Who decides it?
Public Utility Commission of Texas decides. The record names the deciding body for every entry it carries.
Can the public take part?
The commission will put the case on an open meeting agenda and set deadlines for the parties' exceptions to the proposal. Every filing is public under Docket 59076 on the commission's Interchange system, and residents have filed public comments there.
Where in Texas does it apply?
It covers El Paso County.
Has it been decided?
It is pending. No final decision is on the record.
What happens next?
No future date is on the record. The last dated step on it was filed on September 23rd.
When did it start?
The earliest date on its record is December 8th, 2025.
What kind of decision is it?
It is filed under data centers.
What sources back it?
Four sources back it. Three of them are primary.
Is it on the ERCOT grid?
No. It sits outside the ERCOT interconnection.
When was it last checked?
Every fact on it was last verified against its source on September 29th, 2026.
Cite this
Texas AI Docket, Judges back El Paso Electric's gas plant for Meta only if other customers don't pay. Tracked since December 8th, 2025. Last verified September 29th, 2026. https://texasaidocket.com/item/tx-2026-0193/. Reuse permitted under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. The same entry is in the docket JSON as item tx-2026-0193.
Beat
Filed under Data centers, with every other decision on that beat.