These days, it can be difficult to turn on the news without hearing these two words: Data Centers. With two data centers under development in Denton, Core Scientific and Qumulus, it’s understandable that our community has questions about how these facilities will interact with our electric and water systems.
Starting with how they interact with Denton Municipal Electric (DME), it’s important to note that the state’s electrical grid operator, ERCOT (the Electric Reliability Council of Texas), must evaluate and approve any project expected to use more than 75 megawatts of power to confirm it can be supported without placing strain on the grid. Of the two data centers, only Core Scientific qualified for this type of evaluation and ultimately received ERCOT approval.
Once these facilities officially go online in Denton, they will each pay DME for 100% of their energy usage, including their full power demand and the cost of delivering that power to their sites. Because of their size, their usage is handled separately from typical residential or commercial accounts. For those interested, ERCOT provides public resources and answers to frequently asked questions on its website, ercot.com…