Grid interconnection
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Grid interconnection Connecting large loads
ERCOT Says It Has Paused the Energization of New Large Load Data Centers and Crypto Mining Facilities Until Its Verification and Audit and Community Impact Review Are Complete
In an update for its board meeting of September 14 and 15, 2026, ERCOT says it has begun a verification and audit of the eligibility of all large loads provisionally included in its Batch Zero study, and that it is still determining the impact on the study's timeline.
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Grid interconnection Connecting large loads
FERC Accepts PJM's Large Load Definition and Registry, and Rejects Its Other Proposed Tariff Revisions
FERC accepted PJM's definition of a Large Load and its Large Load Registry, effective October 12, 2026, and rejected PJM's remaining proposed tariff revisions, among them the Interim Resource Adequacy Service and the rules for Bring Your Own New Capacity.
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Grid interconnection Grid constraints
PJM Says the Reprieve of the Milder Seasons Used for Maintenance Is Not What It Used to Be
In an article of October 15, 2026, PJM says the "once-dependable reprieve" of the milder seasons used for maintenance "is not what it used to be," in part because most of the new, rapidly growing demand is from data centers and other energy-intensive Large Load customers, whose consumption "does not fluctuate significantly with the weather."
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Grid interconnection Connecting large loads
Until Network Upgrades Are Complete: The California ISO's Proposed Interim Service for Large Loads
The California ISO's draft final proposal of September 24, 2026 sets out a Flexible Interim Load Interconnection service, under which a large load would "interconnect flexibly and receive service up to a certain level based on grid conditions and constraints until network upgrades are complete." The ISO says it will seek its board's approval on October 28, 2026.
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Grid interconnection Connecting large loads
Money Down Before the Study: The Texas Commission's Large Load Interconnection Standards
Texas now requires a large load customer to execute an intermediate agreement, provide certain disclosures and post financial security before it can be included in an ERCOT interconnection study. The commission's rule also sets out when that security is returned, and when it is forfeited.
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Grid interconnection Connecting large loads
New Capacity, or Reduce When Called: PJM Answers the Protests
On September 23, PJM answered the comments and protests on its proposal for new large loads. In the answer's words, such a load, or the entity serving it, must arrange for new capacity. Absent that, it must reduce its energy demands when called upon during system emergencies.
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Grid interconnection Grid constraints
Short of the Reliability Requirement: PJM's 2028/2029 Capacity Auction
PJM's capacity auction for the 2028/2029 Delivery Year cleared at the price cap, and the total capacity cleared is short of the reliability requirement. PJM's release says the shortfall was not unexpected.
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Grid interconnection Connecting large loads
Studied Together: ERCOT's New Batch Process for Connecting Large Electricity Users
An explainer by the grid operator ERCOT, dated June 18, 2026, describes how it will study connection requests from large electricity users together, in batches, and two optional pathways for users that bring their own generation or let ERCOT reduce their power consumption.
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Grid interconnection Grid constraints
Wait Times Remain Long: Berkeley Lab's Queued Up 2026 on Power Plants Seeking Interconnection
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's slide deck of June 2026 summarizes requests to connect power plants and storage to the transmission grid as of the end of 2025. It finds completion rates generally low and wait times long, natural gas capacity in the queues up, and more capacity withdrawn than newly requested.
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Grid interconnection Connecting large loads
Not Intended to Be Recommendations or a Roadmap: Berkeley Lab's Report on Speed to Power for Large Loads
In June 2026, a report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory identified 41 potential solutions for accelerating the connection of data centers and other large loads to the grid. It says they are not recommendations, that they range from relatively modest near-term changes to structural ones that would require a longer runway, and it leaves permitting reforms and faster construction timelines out of its scope.
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Grid interconnection Connecting large loads
A Place in Line and a Date to Connect: Dominion Energy's Report on Its Large-Load Customers
In a report dated May 2026, Dominion Energy says it keeps a queue for data centers and assigns energization dates, generally first in, first out. It also sets out what a data center signs and pays on the way to its meter, and the terms of a new rate class for the largest users.
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Grid interconnection Connecting large loads
Unless Approved by the Commission: The Texas Rule on Large Loads Co-Located With Existing Generation
A Texas rule filed on March 26, 2026 says an existing power plant registered with ERCOT may not net its output against a large load beside it unless the Public Utility Commission of Texas approves. ERCOT studies each arrangement, and the commission then approves it "with or without conditions," or denies it.
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Grid interconnection Connecting large loads
Without Compromising Speed to Power: The California ISO's Issue Paper on Large Loads
In an issue paper of January 30, 2026, the California ISO describes its current role in integrating large loads, such as data centers, on its grid, and names issues for future stakeholder talks. It says it is considering a policy initiative "to ensure maintenance of a reliable system without compromising economic development or speed to power."
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Grid interconnection Connecting large loads
Bring Your Own New Generation, or Connect and Manage: PJM's Board Letter on Large Load Additions
On January 16, 2026, PJM's Board of Managers wrote to stakeholders with its decision on large load additions. The letter encourages what it calls voluntary Bring Your Own New Generation. Where a load serving entity identifies a shortfall of new generation against its forecasted load additions, it directs the development of a framework under which that demand would be subject to curtailment before pre-emergency demand response. It also directs staff to develop a proposal for a backstop capacity procurement.
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Grid interconnection Connecting large loads
Identified For and Limited to Serving a Large Load: FERC Accepts SPP's Processes for High Impact Large Loads
On January 14, 2026, the federal regulator accepted, subject to condition, the Southwest Power Pool's new tariff processes for High Impact Large Loads and for generation that supports them. The order describes SPP's proposed generation process as significantly faster than its standard one, and says its requests will not be considered higher queued than those already waiting.
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Grid interconnection Connecting large loads
Generation and/or Storage Capacity: Ireland's Regulator on a New Connection Policy for Data Centers
On December 12, 2025, Ireland's Commission for Regulation of Utilities published its decision on a new electricity connection policy for data centers. Its release says new data centers will continue to be required to provide generation and/or storage capacity to match their maximum import demand, and sets a minimum share of their annual demand to be met with additional renewable electricity projects.
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Grid interconnection Grid constraints
Electricity Use Expected to Double: SPP's Board Approves Its 2025 Transmission Plan
On November 5, 2025, the Southwest Power Pool said its board had approved projects in its 2025 Integrated Transmission Plan. The release sets the plan beside a forecast that electricity use across its region is expected to double over the next decade, and names no line and no date for service.
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Grid interconnection Grid constraints
Lines to Import Power: ERCOT's Reliability Plan for the Permian Basin Region
In July 2024 ERCOT filed a plan for the transmission needed to serve forecast load in the Permian Basin region of West Texas. Its paper on the plan says significant lines will be needed to import power, and sets out the forecast load and cost estimates for options at different voltages.
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Grid interconnection Grid constraints
An Exceptionally Long Wait: The Energy Department's Report on Large Power Transformers
A July 2024 report to Congress from the U.S. Department of Energy says the wait for a large power transformer has "become exceptionally long." It sets out what stands between an order and delivery, from a factory's build slots to the rail route.
