In a move designed to support the needs of the big upcoming Meta Platform data center in El Paso, the city’s longstanding public utility company is proposing construction of a $473 million gas-powered electric plant.
El Paso Electric, in an application to the Public Utility Commission of Texas, says the 366-megawatt facility will be built on the northeast side of the city on some 31 acres, and will be located adjacent to the Meta center.
If approved, construction of the new electric power plant is expected to begin later this year and be completed by sometime in 2027.
What is being called the McCloud facility will be “dedicated solely to serving the data center, and the customer, Meta, is fully responsible for all associated costs,” Jacob Reyes, an El Paso Electric spokesman, has told the publication El Paso Matters.
Members of the El Paso City Council last week voted to intervene in the utility’s application process, asking for more details about the project. According to some sources, that intervention also means that the council members are trying to ensure that residents don’t end up having to pay for the plant.
The fear is centered on the utility company’s admission that the power plant would be dedicated to serving the Meta center for only five years. After that period, it could become a part of the company’s regular grid, potentially supported by customers.
Work on the Meta center on around 1,000 acres off Stan Roberts Sr. Avenue launched last October.
January 20, 2026
By Garry Boulard
