U.S. states crack down on phantom power requests from AI data centers, Texas leads with a freeze

路透社调查：美国 AI 数据中心现大量幽灵用电需求，得州等多州出手整治

A Reuters investigation shows U.S. data center power requests have topped 700 GW—over 10x actual usage. In Texas, grid applications surged from 48 GW in 2023 to 474 GW. Many are duplicates or from firms that can't build. Texas froze new interconnections and ordered audits requiring disclosure of ultimate owners and water plans. Ohio's $100K study fee cut AEP Ohio's pipeline by more than half. Exelon slashed its high-probability demand forecast by ~40% after tightening guarantees. PJM capacity costs rose $29.4B due to projected data center growth. Pennsylvania imposed stricter permits for projects over 25 MW in August.

Why it matters: Reuters' 700 GW phantom demand figure is a solid data point, and Texas freezing new grid connections has real policy impact. Score isn't higher because this is infrastructure-layer reporting, not a model or product update—less immediate punch for readers tracking model progres...