Texas has long been defined by oil, heat, and huge infrastructure projects. Now, it’s also at the center of a growing environmental debate. Microsoft’s Stargate campus in Abilene is leading a data center boom that is drawing concern over water use, right in the middle of a prolonged drought. According to a July 2025 investigation
Once you get out of Austin Energy’s service area, the market is deregulated and competitive … so, yeah, I had a choice of like 30 different providers. AE is a monopoly that the city uses to boost the overall budget instead of providing power to residents at cost (obviously, there’s admin overhead and lineman salaries) the way every other city I’ve lived in with municipal electric service does it.
Austin Energy doesn’t serve Round Rock…
You must be thinking of another electric utility, my friend.
Once you get out of Austin Energy’s service area, the market is deregulated and competitive … so, yeah, I had a choice of like 30 different providers. AE is a monopoly that the city uses to boost the overall budget instead of providing power to residents at cost (obviously, there’s admin overhead and lineman salaries) the way every other city I’ve lived in with municipal electric service does it.