CPS Energy and SAWS plan and brace for growth from data centers

With data centers popping up across the state of Texas, including San Antonio, local power and water utilities are preparing.

CPS Energy Vice President of Corporate Development Jonathan Tijerina told KSAT the utility’s current system peaks at about 6,000 megawatts of power usage during the summer. By 2035, he said, they expect to add another 2,000 MW.

Though that number encompasses all different kinds of new customers, “large load” customers drawing more than 40 MW are expected to make up about half. The “majority” of them, he said, would likely be data centers.

“When you’re talking about growing by 30% to 33% over the next decade, and 50% of that’s coming potentially from a large user, like a data center or something equivalent, that is a big change to the planning, the assumptions, th