ERCOT Batch Zero Conditional Classifications: 66.4 GW Base, 127.9 GW Studied, December Verification Ahead
Serial interconnection studies break when the next applicant changes the base case of the one ahead of it. That is the physical problem ERCOT faced as hyperscale sites, crypto plants and heavy industry piled into the same transmission corridors. By mid-2026 the operator was tracking more than 438,000 MW of large-load requests, nearly 89 percent of them data centres in the 18 June press release framing, and nearly 90 percent in the companion Trending Topics mid-2026 framing, against an all-time peak demand record of 85,508 MW set on 10 August 2023.
The queue was not a forecast of what will energise. It was a signal that project-by-project Large Load Interconnection Studies could no longer keep a consistent picture of thermal limits, voltage support and contingent flows. On 18 June 2026 the Public Utility Commission of Texas approved ERCOT's Batch Zero framework under Planning Guide Revision Request 145 and Nodal Protocol Revision Request 1325. It replaces the legacy Large Load Interconnection Study path for the first cohort.
Withdrawal-Limited Private Use Networks let a customer offset grid draw with on-site generation. The approval-era calendar expected required technical submissions by 10 July 2026, classification notices on 7 August 2026, spring 2027 allocation amounts, mid-2027 developer commitment, a Fall 2027 transmission plan for the Zero cohort, and Batch 1 applications in Summer 2027. ERCOT data at approval showed the majority of requests expect to be operational by 2030. After Governor Greg Abbott's 3 August 2026 directive for a comprehensive verification and audit of data centres moving through interconnection, ERCOT paused the Batch Zero study process, delayed final classifications, and stopped approvals to energise new data-centre and crypto facilities at or above 75 MW.
On 3 September 2026 ERCOT provided provisional Batch Zero large-load project classification (base, studied, excluded) to the interconnecting transmission service providers. The Board of Directors materials for the 14-15 September 2026 meeting state the conditional totals with precision. ERCOT told its Board that it will file a Batch Zero Eligibility Verification Report with the Commission by 10 December 2026. Requests for information to interconnecting transmission and distribution service providers are the practical instrument. The energisation pause on new large-load data centres and crypto facilities continues until verification and community-impact review complete.
Load that wants firm service still arrives faster than wires and dispatchable capacity can be sited, permitted and commissioned. Other organised markets face the same mismatch of load speed versus build speed, but they sit under different jurisdictional tools. Until December's reports land, the live constraint for Texas large loads is not the next locational marginal price print.