ERCOT Large Load Interconnection

Overview

Loads of 75 MW or More Go Through One ERCOT Study

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) treats any site with 75 MW or more of peak demand as a large load. Smaller loads connect through their utility, such as Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas or TNMP, under standard rules. Large-load requests reached about 474 GW by August 2026, more than five times the 91.1 GW record peak, and about 90 percent came from data centers.

Until 2026 each transmission provider studied large loads one at a time and sent results to ERCOT. The PUCT replaced that on June 18, 2026 with Batch Zero, which studies every qualifying load together and allocates transmission capacity across the batch.

Senate Bill 6

SB 6 Lets ERCOT Curtail Large Loads in Emergencies

Senate Bill 6 (SB 6), signed by Governor Greg Abbott on June 21, 2025, set uniform interconnection standards for loads of 75 MW or more and gave the PUCT authority to lower that threshold.

• Noncritical large loads must be able to curtail during a firm load-shed event.
• Sites with on-site backup generation covering at least 50 percent of demand must report it, and ERCOT can direct them to switch to it in an emergency after market services are exhausted.
• ERCOT must procure demand reductions from large loads ahead of emergencies through a competitive reliability service.
• Initial transmission screening studies carry a fee of at least $100,000.
• Pairing a new large load with an existing power plant requires notice to ERCOT, an independent system impact study and possible PUCT conditions.
• Applicants must disclose duplicate requests for interconnection elsewhere in Texas.

Batch Zero

Batch Zero Sorts Projects Into Base Load, Studied Load or Excluded

Base load projects met commitment criteria by July 10, 2026 and are modeled but not allocated capacity. Studied load projects met criteria by July 24, 2026, including site control, posted financial security and a notarized attestation, and receive megawatt allocations. Excluded projects cannot energize until a later batch.

Studied loads can take a curtailable option to energize up to full demand in exchange for following ERCOT dispatch, or pair with on-site generation at one point of interconnection. Financial security defaults to $50,000 per MW where upgrade costs are unknown.

State audit

Governor Abbott's Audit Paused Batch Zero and New Data Center Energization

On Aug 3, 2026 Governor Abbott ordered the PUCT and ERCOT to audit every data center in the interconnection process and deny connection to any that fail. Projects must report public incentives, power source, peak and annual use, water use and cooling, community impact and ownership. ERCOT paused the Batch Zero study and the energization of new data center and crypto mining loads of 75 MW or more; the PUCT approved modified procedures on Aug 20.

Community impact reporting extends to computational loads of 25 MW or more. Abbott added the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) on Sept 14, and on Sept 21 ordered the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to pause all data center permits until the audit ends, including air permits for on-site power plants. ERCOT has not set a new date for Batch Zero results. See Texas Data Center Moratorium.

Self-generation

The Largest Campuses Build Their Own Power Plants

Grid power is the slowest input a Texas campus can secure, so the largest projects generate on site and treat the grid as backup or a small export path. Examples include Fermi America's Project Matador in the Panhandle, GW Ranch in Pecos County, the Meitner Energy Center and Chevron's Energy Forge One near Pecos, which will not connect to the grid.

SB 6 curtailment applies to grid-connected load, and dispatchable plants qualify for the JETI Act school-tax limitation. The Sept 21 TCEQ pause now holds up those on-site plants too. See Behind-the-Meter Power.

Related coverage

Related Coverage

• Behind-the-Meter Power
• Texas Data Center Moratorium
• ERCOT Energy Sovereignty
• The JETI Act
• AI Data Center Exemplars
• Texas Energy Nexus