• Gov. Greg Abbott directed the PUCT and ERCOT on Aug. 3 to verify and audit every data center in the interconnection process, and the audit must finish before any project moves forward. ERCOT is holding roughly 474 GW of large-load requests — more than five times the grid’s record peak — and about 90% are data centers.

• Developers must disclose annual and peak demand, ownership and controlling interests, incentives, onsite generation by fuel type and status, and water use, sources and cooling technology. Projects that fail to comply can be denied interconnection. Nothing here bans data centers in Texas — it puts a price on holding a queue slot. (Texas.gov)

• Williams will pay up to $5.5B for 100% of Momentum Midstream — about $3.5B of cash and debt plus $2B of equity — at an implied 8.5x projected 2027 EBITDA on mostly fixed-fee cash flows. Momentum adds 4,000-plus miles of pipe, over 1 million dedicated acres, four Haynesville gathering areas at 6 Bcf/d, and three take-or-pay pipelines moving 4.05 Bcf/d to LNG, industrial and power markets.

• The $1.5B Delta Access project starts at 2.25 Bcf/d in Q1 2029; Shelby Trough Connector opens at 750 MMcf/d in Q2 2028, expandable to 1.5 Bcf/d. Williams lifted 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $8.3B–$8.5B, plans $7.3B–$7.9B of growth capex and puts pro forma leverage near 3.75x. Hart-Scott-Rodino clearance is outstanding; no closing date given. (Williams)

• TotalEnergies is buying Shell’s European renewables business — about 500 MW operating or under construction, mainly in Italy and the Netherlands, plus a 3.5 GW development pipeline across Italy, the UK and Spain. Closing is expected by end-2026, subject to regulatory approval. Shell exits; Total adds 4 GW.

• Separately, TotalEnergies sold KKR 50% of a 1.2 GW onshore solar and wind portfolio in Germany, Spain, France and Poland at a €1.8B enterprise value, keeping half and continuing to operate it. One deal buys development risk, the other sells down finished assets — same balance sheet, same week. (Business Wire)

• NRG aligned on principal commercial terms with an unnamed global cloud and AI hyperscaler for a 1.2 GW combined-cycle gas plant in Texas, structured so the customer funds the generation rather than the existing ratepayer base. Site, term, price, capex, ownership and COD are all undisclosed.

• The 415 MW T.H. Wharton unit reached commercial operation May 26, NRG’s first new build in nearly a decade, with a completion bonus up to $54.72M over ten annual installments. Texas Energy Fund projects add 1.5 GW by mid-2028. Q2 adjusted EBITDA was $1.217B on $1.025B of free cash flow before growth. (Business Wire)

• Prysmian will buy Atkore for $95 per share in cash, an enterprise value near $3.8B and a 23% premium to the 90-day VWAP — 9.8x FY2025 EBITDA, or 7.1x after roughly $150M of run-rate synergies targeted within three years.

• Atkore did $2.85B of revenue and $386M of EBITDA in fiscal 2025 across conduit, cable management, armoring and framing. Prysmian already sells the cable; this buys the unglamorous hardware every data center and substation puts around it. Closing is targeted by year-end 2026. (Prysmian)

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