El Paso Electric Company to Build $473M Gas-Fired Plant for Meta’s Data Centers

El Paso Electric Company wants to build a new $473 million natural gas-fired plant to power Meta’s data centers.

The proposed 366 MW plant is still undergoing review by the Public Utility Commission of Texas. If approved, the McCloud facility will be solely used by and paid for by Meta for the first 5 years of operation.

During this five year “bridge period”, the plant will not be connected to the grid, instead feeding power directly to the data center campus. It is expected to come online by 2027.

However, some are concerned about what happens after this initial bridge period. City representatives are pushing to ensure that increased rates don’t fall on other electricity customers.