Interconnection
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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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Not Well Documented: Berkeley Lab's 2025 Update on United States Data Center Energy Use
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's update of June 2026 estimates how much electricity data centers in the United States use, and could use by 2030. On how much of its grid connection a data center uses, it says the share "is not well documented."
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Financing and contracts Financing
To Secure Access to Power: Funding for AI in the Reserve Bank of Australia's Financial Stability Review of October 2026
The Reserve Bank of Australia's Financial Stability Review of October 2026 carries a box on how the AI build-out is funded. It says that "to secure access to power, data centre developers are increasingly obtaining large bank-sponsored letters of credit that guarantee the costs of grid and generation upgrades required to connect new facilities."
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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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Its Powered Land Bank: Harworth's Update on Its Data Center Pipeline
On August 19, 2026, Harworth, a land and development business, said it had entered into an exclusivity agreement with a data center provider for a powered land sale at a second site. Its update lists up to six hyperscale data center land sales it says it can target, and where their power stands, from accepted power connection offers to anticipated power availability.
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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
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
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 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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Partners Must Secure Utility Interconnection Agreements: NNSA Seeks Proposals for AI Data Centers at Savannah River Site
On September 30, 2025, the National Nuclear Security Administration asked U.S. private sector partners for proposals to "build and power" AI data centers on federal land at Savannah River Site. The partner is responsible for building, operating and decommissioning each project, and the release says partners "must secure utility interconnection agreements."
