LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Lubbock Power and Light is planning new infrastructure to meet growing demand as the city\u2019s population increases, while data center developers continue to eye West Texas as a potential home.<\/p>\n
LP&L spokesperson Matt Rose said the utility is already in conversations at the state level about building a new transmission line on the West Loop. He said that project is based solely on existing customer demand and recent growth \u2014 not to accommodate potential data centers.<\/p>\n
Rose said any large data center would have to clear several steps before drawing power from Lubbock lines. First, the company would have to conduct a study with LP&L \u2014 at its own expense \u2014 to determine how much infrastructure would be needed to power the facility. From there, the company would need to seek state approvals from ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if they have achieved every single one of their government approvals, LP&L has an obligation to serve,\u201d Rose said.<\/p>\n
Rose said data center companies would be required to pay for their infrastructure up front, and that building out those facilities would take time.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut ultimately for the rest of our customers, when it comes to LP&L, you will be held harmless because that company is going to pay the freight of their infrastructure and we don\u2019t have to figure out how to build it up ahead of it,\u201d Rose said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have to worry about if they\u2019re going to be as big or small as they say they\u2019re going to be. It\u2019s on their dime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose said projects like the West Loop transmission line are based on the native load \u2014 not data centers specifically.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know those could come on the horizon, but we know that before somebody hooks online, we will have studied that,\u201d Rose said. \u201cWe\u2019ll know exactly how many poles and wires we need to put in the ground and substations, and we will have sent them an invoice for what they owe for us putting that into place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose said LP&L regularly evaluates a number of large industrial or manufacturing customers considering a move to Lubbock, though many never locate there. He said data centers have previously gone through the inquiry process.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust like every other utility across Texas, across the United States in the last few years, we have had data centers that have come and looked at Lubbock and gone through the process of what it would be to hook on,\u201d Rose said.<\/p>\n
Rose said there are data centers hoping to build in the region that are currently going through the state-level approval process. That process is expected to move slowly after the governor requested an audit of all entities hoping to connect to the state grid.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re really at a point right now where we\u2019re continuing to do studies on anybody that comes to Lubbock and kicks the tires because we\u2019re going to make sure that if one of these gets approved at some point in time, that we\u2019re not caught off guard, that we\u2019re ready, and that we can build out these facilities to serve them in a way that does not impact any other customer that we currently serve,\u201d Rose said. <\/p>\n
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