# Texas PUC Sues Paxton Over Data Center Records > Texas Public Utility Commission sues Attorney General Paxton's office to block release of data center and crypto mining facility records under homeland security laws. - Title: Texas PUC Sues Paxton Over Data Center Records | Shortify - Summary: Texas Public Utility Commission sues Attorney General Paxton's office to block release of data center and crypto mining facility records under homeland… - Keywords: texas, puc, data center, virtual currency mining, homeland security act, water planning, electricity demand, critical infrastructure, news, local, Sues, Paxton - Source: The Texas Tribune — https://feeds.texastribune.org/link/16799/17490894/texas-data-center-lawsuit-paxton-water - Author: Alejandra Martinez, Taylor Goldenstein - Published: 2026-10-06T22:34:14+00:00 - Read time: 2 min - Topics: texas, puc, data center, virtual currency mining, homeland security act, water planning, electricity demand, critical infrastructure, news, local ## PUC sues Paxton's office The Public Utility Commission of Texas filed a lawsuit asking a Travis County judge to block release of data center and virtual currency mining facility records. > The lawsuit filed Monday pits the state agency responsible for regulating utilities against Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office over the scope of Texas’ public-records law and the state’s protections for critical infrastructure. ## Geographic details at issue The dispute centers on two geographic details: the county where a facility is located and the regional water planning area in which it sits. > At the center of the dispute are two seemingly basic geographic details: the county where a facility is located and the regional water planning area in which it sits. ## PUC claims privileged information The PUC argues those details are "privileged information" that become sensitive when combined with electricity demand, water consumption, and infrastructure data. > The commission argues that those details are "privileged information" and become sensitive when combined with other information collected through its survey of the industry, including electricity demand, actual electricity consumption, projected peak demand, water consumption, water sources, cooling technology and the utilities and infrastructure serving a facility. ## Texas Homeland Security Act The PUC wants the court to rule that the two geographic fields are exempt from disclosure under the Texas Homeland Security Act. > The commission is not asking the court to declare the entire survey confidential. Instead, it wants the court to rule that the two geographic fields are exempt from disclosure under the Texas Homeland Security Act, which is meant to "protect against homeland security threats and hazards . . . and prevent significant criminal and terrorist attacks." ## PUC survey details The PUC developed a voluntary survey for 377 facilities to collect water and electricity use data, including location, county, water planning area, and cooling technology. > The survey was sent to 377 facilities and sought information including a facility’s location, county and regional water-planning area, electricity load and consumption, projected future peak demand, cooling technology, water consumption and sources and information about the facility’s connection to the electric grid. ## Low response rates Only 28 companies representing 92 facilities responded to the survey, described as "pathetic" by a state representative during a June legislative hearing. > PUC officials said 28 companies representing 92 facilities had responded to the survey. Lawmakers questioned whether the resulting data would be sufficient to support long-term policy decisions. ## PUC reopens survey The PUC reopened the survey for an additional 10 days in July, with 13 virtual currency mining and 77 data center facilities responding by August. > As of August, 13 virtual currency mining and 77 data center facilities had filled out the survey, according to an email from a PUC spokesperson. ## PUC challenges AG rulings The PUC challenged two rulings by the Attorney General’s office that it had not sufficiently established the survey information was protected under the Homeland Security Act. > The PUC is now challenging those rulings by asking a court to reach a different conclusion. The agency argues that the individual pieces of information in the survey cannot be considered in isolation. ## Terrorism risk claim The PUC argues combining county and water planning area with electricity and water data could reveal vulnerabilities for terrorist attacks on power grids and 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. ## Water planning relevance Texas uses regional water planning groups to project future water demand and identify infrastructure needs, making facility locations relevant for water planning. > Texas relies on regional water-planning groups to develop projections of future water demand and identify strategies for meeting those needs. The regional plans feed into the state’s broader water planning process. State law requires regional planning to account for projected water use. ## PUC's legal costs The PUC spent over $56,000 in taxpayer funds to hire outside lawyers to help withhold information, according to public records. > The agency spent more than $56,000 in taxpayer funds to hire outside lawyers to help them withhold information, according to invoices obtained by the Houston Chronicle through a public records request last year. ## Key takeaway Texas PUC seeks court order to prevent disclosure of data center locations and water use details, claiming they could aid terrorist attacks.