The Public Utility Commission of Texas has spent nearly $56,000 fighting to keep public records secret, according to documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle. The Chronicle’s reporting found that the agency, which oversees the state’s electric utility industry, is paying mounting legal costs to appeal decisions requiring it to release information about power plant loans and cryptocurrency mining.
The spending covers three ongoing lawsuits filed this year on cases in which the PUC challenged orders from Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office to turn over requested records. One of the lawsuits involves data on cryptocurrency mining facilities requested by journalists at several news organizations including Straight Arrow News.
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What records are the Texas utility commission trying to hide?
Two of the lawsuits involve documents related to the Texas Energy Fund, a $7.2 billion program providing taxpayer-backed loans to build new natural gas power plants. The PUC is blocking release of applications, evaluations and internal discussions about loan applicants.
One records request centers on a fraudulent application that the PUC rejected in September 2024, after placing the applicant on a list of initial approvals. Once the false information was discovered, the PUC docked 10% from its consulting contract with Deloitte, the company that was tasked to manage the application process.
PUC lawyers argue that internal discussions about loan applications constitute protected policymaking deliberations. As of July, the PUC had spent about $43,000 on public records cases related to the Texas Energy Fund, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The lawsuit involving cryptocurrency mining stems from legislation passed in 2023 that required facilities that mine cryptocurrency to register with the commission. As part of registering, the companies that operate large cryptocurrency data centers had to submit information including facility locations and power consumption data.
The PUC argues releasing this information could create security risks for critical infrastructure. Paxton’s office countered that the PUC failed to demonstrate how the information would enable attacks. In a ruling that sided with news organizations including SAN, Paxton’s office ordered the PUC to release some of the information requested by journalists. The Chronicle found that the PUC has spent about $13,000 on lawyers in its case arguing against Paxton’s ruling.
