Texas grid planners are overhauling how the state handles enormous new power demands from data centers, crypto mines and other electricity-hungry industries, as state grid operator ERCOT warns that the traditional interconnection system cannot keep pace with the number of large-load requests.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is replacing its old approach of studying each project that requests an interconnection with a new process, known as Batch Zero, that will lump requests that are 75MW or larger into groups for evaluation.
"ERCOT is experiencing significant and rapid growth in large data-center load, often concentrated in specific regions and on similar development timelines," the grid operator said in an e-mail to Argus. "This accelerated activity places added pressure on the traditional interconnection study process."
The shift marks the most significant change to Texas' large-load interconnection process in decades, as ERCOT tries to keep up with a wave of data-centers whose electricity needs can rival those of mid-sized cities. The new process is intended to bring more predictability and cut through a backlog that has grown to more than 200GW of large-load requests, said ERCOT.
Under the batch approach, ERCOT will group projects roughly every six months, study them using the same assumptions, and reserve transmission capacity for those that clear the review, preventing them from being pushed back every time a new project enters the queue.
The one-by-one method created what ERCOT calls a "restudy loop", repeatedly invalidating earlier studies when new large-load requests appeared.
Flood control
Experts agree the volume now hitting ERCOT cannot be managed under the old model.
"The flood of interconnection requests by many very large loads is currently unworkable under current processes," said Beth Garza, an Austin-based energy consultant and former director of ERCOT's Independent Market Monitor, in an email. "The total of these requests amounts to a tripling of the ERCOT grid proposed within the next several years. I believe that is unrealistic."
Several issues remain to be settled. In public meetings with ERCOT, stakeholders have asked how the batch will treat controllable load resources, or large-scale users that would allow ERCOT to decrease its power consumption to reduce strain during peak demand, and projects that are bringing their own generation.
ERCOT is accepting market feedback and plans to bring the Batch Zero proposal to its June 2026 board meeting, with a fully redesigned process targeted for board consideration in September 2026.
