The utility commission sues the Attorney General to keep the county and water planning area of each surveyed data center from release
The Public Utility Commission of Texas filed an original petition in Travis County district court on October 5th, 2026 against Attorney General Ken Paxton in his official capacity. It challenges two open records letter rulings, OR2026-038988 and OR2026-040171. They would require it to release two fields from the facility level responses to its Energy and Water Use Survey. The fields are the facility county and the facility state regional water planning area. The commission asks the court to declare both fields confidential under the Public Information Act and the Texas Homeland Security Act. The rulings answered six requests from five requestors, among them reporters at the Texas Tribune, the Texas Observer and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The petition says the requestors may intervene.
How to take part
The case is cause D-1-GN-26-010018 in the 200th District Court of Travis County. The petition says each requestor has the right to intervene in the suit. No hearing date was found.
Where
Statewide. This decision applies across Texas rather than to a named county.
Timeline
- filed
Original petition file stamped by the Travis County District Clerk, cause D-1-GN-26-010018, 200th District Court
- 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.
- 2026-10-18
Admitted on the file stamped petition. No hearing date or answer from the Attorney General was found.
The evidence
Every fact above rests on one of these. The words are the source's own.
OR2026-038988 issued on September 2, 2026, which the Commission received on September 3, 2026, and OR2026-040171 issued on September 11, 2026Public Utility Commission of Texas v. Ken Paxton, Plaintiff's Original Petition, cause D-1-GN-26-010018 Primary source, official · texaspolicyresearch.com
facility state regional water planning area (SRWPA) reported for each facility, identified as columns C and D in the Survey, respectivelyPublic Utility Commission of Texas v. Ken Paxton, Plaintiff's Original Petition, cause D-1-GN-26-010018 Primary source, official · texaspolicyresearch.com
The Letter Rulings address six (6) individual requests from five (5) requestorsPublic Utility Commission of Texas v. Ken Paxton, Plaintiff's Original Petition, cause D-1-GN-26-010018 Primary source, official · texaspolicyresearch.com
The Attorney General’s position is not supported by the PIA or the Texas Homeland Security ActPublic Utility Commission of Texas v. Ken Paxton, Plaintiff's Original Petition, cause D-1-GN-26-010018 Primary source, official · texaspolicyresearch.com
200th District CourtPublic Utility Commission of Texas v. Ken Paxton, Plaintiff's Original Petition, cause D-1-GN-26-010018 Primary source, official · texaspolicyresearch.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?
The Public Utility Commission of Texas filed an original petition in Travis County district court on October 5th, 2026 against Attorney General Ken Paxton in his official capacity. It challenges two open records letter rulings, OR2026-038988 and OR2026-040171. They would require it to release two fields from the facility level responses to its Energy and Water Use Survey. The fields are the facility county and the facility state regional water planning area. The commission asks the court to declare both fields confidential under the Public Information Act and the Texas Homeland Security Act. The rulings answered six requests from five requestors, among them reporters at the Texas Tribune, the Texas Observer and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The petition says the requestors may intervene.
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 case is cause D-1-GN-26-010018 in the 200th District Court of Travis County. The petition says each requestor has the right to intervene in the suit. No hearing date was found. No dated public window is on the record. The deciding body is named and reachable.
Where in Texas does it apply?
It applies statewide.
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 October 5th.
When did it start?
The earliest date on its record is October 5th, 2026.
What kind of decision is it?
It is filed under data centers.
What sources back it?
One source backs it. It is primary.
When was it last checked?
Every fact on it was last verified against its source on October 18th, 2026.
Cite this
Texas AI Docket, The utility commission sues the Attorney General to keep the county and water planning area of each surveyed data center from release. Tracked since October 5th, 2026. Last verified October 18th, 2026. https://texasaidocket.com/item/tx-2026-0219/. Reuse permitted under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. The same entry is in the docket JSON as item tx-2026-0219.
Beat
Filed under Data centers, with every other decision on that beat.