El Paso Electric McCloud Gas Plant for Meta: 813 Units, 366 MW

ERock (Enchanted Rock) said on Nov. 12, 2026, in its third-quarter results, that it has begun construction on El Paso Electric's 366 MW McCloud gas plant for Meta's El Paso data center campus, while Docket 59076 at the Public Utility Commission of Texas still shows no final order.

Voltgrid reported ERock's quarter on Nov. 12. This file draws on the proposal for decision that two administrative law judges at the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) filed on Sept. 23, 2026: what the plant is, who pays and how firm its supply would be. The plant is utility-owned gas generation that, during a proposed bridge period, would serve one customer: Wurldwide LLC, which the proposal says is owned by Meta Platforms Inc. and owns the data center next to the site.

For Meta, the supply is meant to be fast rather than cheap. El Paso Electric (EPE) expects to finish construction in May 2027 and to deliver continuous power to Wurldwide by June 2027, according to the proposed findings. ERock's chief executive, John Carrington, said the project is on track for completion in mid-2027, a company target. Neither date has a commission order behind it yet.

The technology

The proposal puts McCloud at a net peak generating capacity of approximately 366 MW, made up of 813 modular natural-gas generators with a peak capacity of 450 kW each. They are typically installed in groups of four or five, and each group feeds a step-up transformer. The enclosed units sit on a 31-acre site in northeast El Paso. They run only on pipeline gas, with no on-site fuel storage, through a dedicated lateral and meter station that El Paso Natural Gas Company plans to build.

The record calls McCloud a "dedicated, islanded generation resource" for what EPE proposes as a bridge period of up to five years. During that period the plant would connect only to Wurldwide's load, at 34.5 kV, and not to EPE's transmission system. A proposed finding puts the bridge-period supply at 225 MW of continuous power at about a 95% load factor. When EPE has extended transmission to the site, it plans to connect the plant to its grid, where EPE projects a firm capacity benefit. EPE witness James Schichtl testified that the bridge would probably last less than three years. EPE says the number of units lets some be taken out for maintenance while the plant keeps delivering 225 MW.

The judges flagged one technical risk in their proposed findings. McCloud would be the largest project Enchanted Rock has built, and it would be EPE's first experience with modular gas generation. The judges also found no track record of a large group of modular generators serving a customer almost constantly, which they said is a risk to reliable supply.

The deal and the money

The record names three parties. EPE would own the plant under an amended certificate of convenience and necessity (CCN). Wurldwide is its sole retail customer during the bridge period. Enchanted Rock would install and operate the plant. EPE engaged Enchanted Rock following Wurldwide's preference, the proposal says. EPE considered no other vendor, issued no request for proposals and ran no cost-benefit analysis for its other ratepayers. ERock's contract value has not been disclosed in the sources read.

EPE's estimate in the proposed findings is about $499.8 million. That is $473 million of cash construction cost, including a 10% contingency, plus about $26.8 million of allowance for funds used during construction. It covers generation only, with no transmission interconnection. The proposal's background section separately gives a capital cost of $551.8 million, or $1,609 per kW, citing testimony from City of El Paso witness Scott Norwood; elsewhere the proposal calls $551.8 million EPE's estimate, and EPE itself cites $1,609 per kW. The proposal does not reconcile that figure with the $499.8 million. The judges declined to recommend the city's proposed $565.6 million cost cap.

The parties also compared costs per kW. Intervenors set $1,609 per kW against $1,264 per kW for a generic combustion turbine in EPE's 2025 resource plan. EPE replied that turbine prices have risen since that plan. It pointed to two gas plants the commission recently approved for Entergy Texas, with estimated costs of $1,764 and $2,122 per kW, which EPE says show that McCloud's cost compares favorably.

During the bridge, Wurldwide takes all the output and pays all capital and operating costs through a rate that applies only to it. EPE left open the possibility that other customers could later pay part of the cost, which would need a separate commission case.

Licensing and timeline

EPE filed the CCN application on Dec. 8, 2025. The judges' Sept. 23 proposal is a recommendation, not an order. It finds that EPE showed a need for capacity to serve Wurldwide. It also finds that EPE did not show McCloud is cost-effective or reliable, or that it weighed alternatives properly. The judges recommend approval only if EPE holds its other customers harmless from the plant's costs, and denial otherwise. All intervenors sought denial or stronger protections. Commission staff made no affirmative recommendation.

After exceptions on Oct. 13 and replies on Oct. 20, the judges recommended widening that condition in an Oct. 21 letter. Under the new wording, EPE would shield retail customers other than Wurldwide from capital and operating costs, and from any other costs shown to be directly related to the plant. The protection would last for the plant's life unless EPE later shows that McCloud meets the state's CCN test for those customers. The judges wrote that the proposal is ready for the commissioners. The docket's latest filing is dated Nov. 3, and no vote date is listed. The Texas Tribune has reported that the plant also needs approval from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

What it means for Meta's El Paso campus

EPE's testimony describes a stepped load. Wurldwide first asked for 220 MW by 2027, which EPE says its existing system can serve. A second 220 MW block, which could also arrive in 2027, is the load McCloud would carry. Wurldwide has committed to a 1,000 MW peak by the end of 2029. The Texas Tribune, reporting with Inside Climate News, has described the campus as a 1-gigawatt, $1.5 billion data center.

EPE's testimony assigns the second 220 MW block to McCloud while transmission is built; the first block, it says, existing resources can serve. That suggests the rest of the 1,000 MW commitment would need supply beyond McCloud's 225 MW of bridge-period power. An EPE spokesperson told the Tribune that the customer asked for gas and is paying for it as the fastest available option. The spokesperson added that Meta has said the campus will be matched with 100% clean and renewable energy.

What to watch

First comes a commission open meeting on Docket 59076, not yet scheduled, which would decide the application and whether to adopt the judges' recommended life-of-plant hold-harmless condition. After that, watch the air permit and the gas lateral, then construction complete in May 2027 and continuous power in June 2027, both EPE targets. The transmission extension that ends the bridge comes later, along with any later case to spread McCloud's cost to EPE's other customers.