El Paso Electric’s application for natural gas plant clears first hurdle

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) - The El Paso Electric Company’s plan to build a 366-megawatt natural gas plant for a new data center in El Paso county has cleared a major regulatory hurdle.

The panel of Administrative Law Judges (ALJ) reviewed EPE's application and recommended its approval.

The application now heads to the Texas Public Utility Commission for review.

The $550 million McCloud facility would serve the Meta Data center in northeast El Paso. EPE said the developer, Wurldwide, LLC, would pay all costs.

The ALJ recommended project only be approved if stipulations are added ensuring that Meta pays all costs and that ratepayers do not shoulder the burden.

The PUC will make the final decision in the coming weeks.