HD Intelligence Desk · October 26, 2026

TCEQ Writes Abbott. STEERS Goes Offline

Published October 26, 2026

What Happened

On October 19, 2026, TCEQ Interim Executive Director Steven Schar wrote Governor Abbott that the agency has paused issuance of all permits related to the construction or development of infrastructure directly supporting data centers, that staff are screening pending applications, and that, where possible, the agency is suspending claimed authorizations that do not require an affirmative permit. On October 21 the Texas Tribune reported that the agency said it had suspended specific data-center permits identified by watchdog groups, and spokesman Ryan Vise said applications must be physically provided so staff can determine whether they are related to data centers. TCEQ's page for STEERS, the State of Texas Environmental Electronic Reporting System, says the system is temporarily down so staff review all applications related to data centers. The news-release index, checked October 26, lists no data-center release.

Why It Matters

We hold ERCOT at A-. Time-to-power is 35% of the grade: ERCOT's September 14 notice still expects the state-and-community report by December 10, and the August 3 directive still holds advancement through interconnection until that review. The October 19 letter puts that review on the permit desk, and the STEERS outage closes the automatic path while staff screen. Trend stays down. The same shock is not cut twice.

The rest of the board

On October 23, 2026, FERC issued a notice in Docket Nos. ER26-3380-000 and EL26-108-000, accession 20261023-3114. The notice extends initial briefs in EL26-108-000 from November 13, 2026 to 5 p.m. on January 11, 2027, and reply briefs from December 3, 2026 to 5 p.m. on January 26, 2027. The ER26-3380 docket sheet for October 19 through October 26 shows that notice, an October 20 motion to intervene and protest by Tesla, Sunrun, and Renew Home, accession 20261020-5159, and no section 205 filing. We hold PJM at D. The September 29 order still suspends Reliability Backstop Procurement to February 28, 2027. The 2027/2028 Base Residual Auction cleared 6,623 MW short of the reliability requirement, and the 2028/2029 auction cleared 6,831 MW short. Trend stays down. The same shock is not cut twice. On October 23, CAISO released the revised final agenda for the October 28 Board of Governors general session. Item 5 is a decision on large load enhancements to satisfy the FERC order to show cause. Hold C+. The decision is still ahead.

Sources

  1. 01Letter from Interim Executive Director Steven Schar to Governor Greg Abbott — Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Oct 19 2026
  2. 02Texas environmental agency shuts down online permit filing system after data center controversy — The Texas Tribune, Oct 21 2026
  3. 03STEERS Is Temporarily Down — Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, checked Oct 26 2026
  4. 04News releases — Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, checked Oct 26 2026
  5. 05ERCOT Market Notice M-B091426-01 — State and Community Impact RFI, report expected by Dec 10, Sep 14 2026
  6. 06Notice Addressing Motion to Hold Proceeding in Abeyance, Docket Nos. ER26-3380-000 and EL26-108-000 — FERC, Oct 23 2026
  7. 07eLibrary accession 20261023-3114, Notice Addressing Motion to Hold Proceeding in Abeyance — FERC, Oct 23 2026
  8. 08Docket sheet, ER26-3380-000, filed Oct 19–26 2026 — FERC eLibrary
  9. 09eLibrary accession 20261020-5159, Motion to Intervene and Protest of Tesla, Inc. et al. — filed Oct 20 2026
  10. 10Order Accepting Reliability Backstop Procurement and Establishing Further Procedures, 196 FERC ¶ 61,245 — FERC, Sep 29 2026
  11. 11Revised final agenda, ISO Board of Governors meeting — California ISO, released Oct 23 2026