By Gary BordersTexas Press AssocationThe chief of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas told state lawmakers recently that the state’s power demand could nearly double in just six years. The reasons: population growth, new requests for grid connections, and a rise in requests from data centers and other heavy users.ERCOT chief executive officer Pablo Vegas told lawmakers the grid operator has sharply increased its prediction of power demand in coming years, The Texas Tribune reported.“All of that is putting together a picture of a very significant, different demand growth that is forcing us to really re-think how we’re looking at ...