# Howard County, Texas: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Big Spring Howard County is not a build-out site today. It feels the boom through the grid it shares, the utilities that serve it and the work nearby. Electrical contractors employ 31, up 121.4% since 2019 against up 24.0% statewide, at an average $54,505 a year. Howard County is home to Big Spring and Coahoma. 200 MW of new generation is planned here across 1 unit, led by Cypress Creek Renewables (battery storage). Next door, Borden County has 945 MW of planned generation. Unemployment was 4.5% in August 2026, against 2.9% in 2019. 200 MW of new generation planned here, battery storage leading -12.5% total jobs since 2019, now 11,977 77 MW of generating capacity retired since 2019 ## Cities and towns in Howard County Howard County is home to Big Spring and Coahoma. Big Spring22,290 residents Coahoma938 residents Forsan207 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Sand Springs. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Howard County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Texas | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 34,811 | 30,504 | ▼ 12.4% | 95th of 254 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 13,691 | 11,977 | ▼ 12.5% | 231st of 254 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $52,657 | $66,437 | ▲ 26.2% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 729 | 735 | ▲ 0.8% | 118th of 155 by growth | | Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 14 | 31 | ▲ 121.4% | — | | Electric utility jobs (2019 → 2025) | 311 | 393 | ▲ 26.4% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.9% | 4.5% | ▲ 1.6pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 10 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 77 MW | | — | | Planned generation (Aug 2026) | — | 200 MW | 30% of today's fleet | 110th of 149 by size | Employers here counted 11,977 jobs in 2025, down 12.5% from 2019. 77 MW has retired here since 2019, including C R Wing Cogen Plant (natural gas, 75 MW, 2024). Construction employs 735, up 0.8% since 2019. Its power plants have 657 MW of capacity, 73% of it wind. 10 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. 30,504 people live here, down 12.4% since 2020. Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC is the largest utility serving Howard County, one of 2 with territory here. It delivers power that customers buy from competing retail providers. ## Who powers Howard County ### Utilities with service territory in Howard County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC | — | Delivery only (retail choice) | 3,477,215 | — | — | | Lyntegar Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 9,021 | 8.99¢ | 42% | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Wind | 478 MW | 73% | | Natural gas | 170 MW | 26% | | Solar | 10 MW | 2% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | C R Wing Cogen Plant | BHER Power Resources, Inc | Natural gas | 170 MW | 1987 | | Panther Creek Wind Farm I | RWE Clean Energy | Wind | 142 MW | 2008 | | Elbow Creek Wind Project LLC | Elbow Creek Wind Project LLC | Wind | 122 MW | 2008 | | Gunsight Mountain Wind Energy LLC | Invenergy Services LLC | Wind | 120 MW | 2016 | | Ocotillo Windpower | Deriva Energy | Wind | 59 MW | 2008 | | Big Spring Wind Power Facility | Terra-Gen Operating Co-Wind | Wind | 34 MW | 1998 | ### Planned generation | Plant | Technology | MW | Status | Year | Owner | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Bhalu | Batteries | 200 MW | Approvals pending | 2027 | Cypress Creek Renewables | ### Retired since 2019 | Plant | Technology | MW | Year | |---|---|---|---| | C R Wing Cogen Plant | Natural gas | 75 MW | 2024 | | NRG Elbow Creek Energy Storage Project | Battery storage | 2 MW | 2024 | ## The Howard County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 11,977 | $66,437 | 1.00 | | Construction | 735 | $81,088 | 1.16 | | Electrical contractors | 31 | $54,505 | 0.36 | | Electric utilities | 393 | $139,821 | 12.12 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Howard County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Howard County. Texas has 25 local measures on record statewide. ## Howard County and its neighbors Of the 6 counties that border Howard County, Borden County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Howard County | 30,504 | ▼ 12.5% | 657 MW | 200 MW | — | — | | Borden County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/borden-county) | 567 | ▲ 33.7% | 1,479 MW | 945 MW | — | — | | Dawson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/dawson-county) | 11,776 | ▼ 5.8% | 464 MW | — | — | — | | Glasscock County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/glasscock-county) | 1,128 | ▲ 60.7% | 743 MW | 613 MW | 1 | — | | Martin County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/martin-county) | 5,284 | ▼ 0.6% | 120 MW | — | — | — | | Mitchell County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/mitchell-county) | 8,947 | ▲ 10.1% | 688 MW | 276 MW | — | — | | Sterling County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/sterling-county) | 1,349 | ▼ 1.1% | 1,474 MW | 356 MW | — | — | ## More of Texas [All Texas countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas)[Dawson County11,776 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/dawson-county)[Mitchell County8,947 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/mitchell-county)[Martin County5,284 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/martin-county)[Sterling County1,349 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/sterling-county)[Glasscock County1,128 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/glasscock-county) ## Howard County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Howard County, Texas? 2 utilities have service territory in Howard County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC, Lyntegar Electric Coop, Inc. ### What county is Big Spring, TX in? Big Spring is in Howard County, Texas. About 22,290 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### What power plants are in Howard County? 7 operating plants with 657 MW of capacity. The largest is C R Wing Cogen Plant (170 MW, natural gas). ### How much new power is planned in Howard County? 200 MW across 1 units in the August 2026 EIA-860M inventory, 0 MW of it under construction or built. The largest owner is Cypress Creek Renewables. ### Are there data centers in Howard County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Howard County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Borden County. ### Is Howard County adding jobs? Employers counted 11,977 jobs in 2025 against 13,691 in 2019 (-12.5%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 729 to 735. ### Does Howard County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Howard County. Texas has 25 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/howard-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).