# Potter County, Texas: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy

Home to Amarillo

The data center boom is not abstract in Potter County: it is on the ground here. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 4 data centers in Potter County. Potter County is home to part of Amarillo (98,509 of its 205,130 residents). Electrical contractors employ 549, up 59.6% since 2019 against up 24.0% statewide, at an average $71,381 a year. 1 project is on the Delay Watchlist, including Project Matador (Amarillo) (11,000 MW). 168 MW of new generation is planned here across 1 unit, led by Carol Wind, LLC (wind).

4
data centers on the SAVRN Data Center Map

+59.6%
electrical contractor jobs since 2019, now 549

168 MW
of new generation planned here, wind leading

## Cities and towns in Potter County

Potter County is home to part of Amarillo (98,509 of its 205,130 residents).

Amarillo98,509 residents · 48% of the city
Bishop Hills195 residents
- Amarillo also extends into [Randall County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/randall-county).

Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Bushland.

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 Potter County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Texas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 118,353 | 114,453 | ▼ 3.3% | 43rd of 254 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 77,158 | 78,735 | ▲ 2.0% | 143rd of 254 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $47,140 | $61,490 | ▲ 30.4% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 3,637 | 4,083 | ▲ 12.3% | 91st of 155 by growth |
| Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 344 | 549 | ▲ 59.6% | — |
| Power line construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 96 | 117 | ▲ 21.9% | — |
| Electric utility jobs (2019 → 2025) | 410 | 766 | ▲ 86.8% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.9% | 4.4% | ▲ 1.5pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW |  | — |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW |  | — |
| Planned generation (Aug 2026) | — | 168 MW | 11% of today's fleet | 126th of 149 by size |

Owners plan to retire 475 MW more by 2035, led by Nichols in 2030. Construction employs 4,083, up 12.3% since 2019. Unemployment was 4.4% in August 2026, against 2.9% in 2019. Its power plants have 1,555 MW of capacity, 100% of it natural gas. Employers here counted 78,735 jobs in 2025, up 2.0% from 2019. Southwestern Public Service Co is the largest utility serving Potter County, one of 2 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 13.35¢/kWh in 2024, above the 12.81¢ median for Texas utilities. 114,453 people live here, down 3.3% since 2020.

## Who powers Potter County

### Utilities with service territory in Potter County

| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwestern Public Service Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 222,146 | 13.35¢ | 25% |
| Rita Blanca Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 1,255 | 8.28¢ | 96% |

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 |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 1,555 MW | 100% |

| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrington | Southwestern Public Service Co | Natural gas | 1,080 MW | 1976 |
| Nichols | Southwestern Public Service Co | Natural gas | 475 MW | 1960 |

### Planned generation 

| Plant | Technology | MW | Status | Year | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carol Wind, LLC | Onshore Wind Turbine | 168 MW | Approvals received | 2027 | Carol Wind, LLC |

### Scheduled to retire

| Plant | Technology | MW | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nichols | Natural gas | 248 MW | 2030 |
| Nichols | Natural gas | 114 MW | 2027 |
| Nichols | Natural gas | 114 MW | 2028 |

## The Potter County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 78,735 | $61,490 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 4,083 | $67,759 | 0.98 |
| Electrical contractors | 549 | $71,381 | 0.97 |
| Power and communication line construction | 117 | $81,061 | 0.92 |
| Electric utilities | 766 | $119,648 | 3.59 |

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 Potter County

4 data centers in Potter County are on the SAVRN Data Center Map.

### Delay Watchlist 

| Project | Status | Cause | MW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project Matador (Amarillo) | delayed | transformer supply | 11,000 MW |

## Potter County and its neighbors

Of the 7 counties that border Potter County, Carson 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potter County | 114,453 | ▲ 2.0% | 1,555 MW | 168 MW | 4 | — |
| Armstrong County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/armstrong-county) | 1,843 | ▲ 85.1% | 266 MW | 266 MW | 1 | — |
| Carson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/carson-county) | 5,805 | ▲ 40.5% | 1,212 MW | 16,147 MW | — | — |
| Deaf Smith County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/deaf-smith-county) | 18,626 | ▲ 6.4% | 710 MW | 1,686 MW | — | — |
| Hutchinson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/hutchinson-county) | 19,633 | ▼ 3.8% | 294 MW | — | — | — |
| Moore County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/moore-county) | 21,891 | ▲ 15.2% | 98 MW | — | — | — |
| Oldham County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/oldham-county) | 1,783 | ▼ 11.0% | 755 MW | — | — | — |
| Randall County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/randall-county) | 152,351 | ▲ 13.9% | 166 MW | — | — | — |

## More of Texas

[All Texas countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas)[Randall County152,351 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/randall-county)[Moore County21,891 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/moore-county)[Hutchinson County19,633 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/hutchinson-county)[Deaf Smith County18,626 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/deaf-smith-county)[Carson County5,805 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/carson-county)

## Potter County, answered from the record

### Who provides electricity in Potter County, Texas?

2 utilities have service territory in Potter County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Southwestern Public Service Co, Rita Blanca Electric Coop, Inc. The largest, Southwestern Public Service Co, charged residential customers 13.35¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### Is Amarillo in Potter County?

Partly. 98,509 of Amarillo's 205,130 residents (48%) live in Potter County; most of the city is in Randall County.

### What power plants are in Potter County?

2 operating plants with 1,555 MW of capacity. The largest is Harrington (1,080 MW, natural gas).

### How much new power is planned in Potter County?

168 MW across 1 units in the August 2026 EIA-860M inventory, 0 MW of it under construction or built. The largest owner is Carol Wind, LLC.

### Are there data centers in Potter County?

Yes. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 4 data centers in Potter County.

### Is Potter County adding jobs?

Employers counted 78,735 jobs in 2025 against 77,158 in 2019 (+2.0%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 3,637 to 4,083.

### Does Potter County have a data center moratorium?

No county-level measure is on record for Potter County. Texas has 25 local measures statewide, listed on the state page.

---
Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/potter-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/).