Graded Substantial and tightening on how it connects a new large load. 1 states, 6 actions with sources, reviewed 10 October 2026.
The governor's August 3, 2026 audit directive put Batch Zero and energization of new data center loads on hold until at least December 10, 2026.
SB 6 (June 2025) sets a 75 MW regime of fees and security; the June 2026 full-cost directive awaits legislation per the PUCT's July 17, 2026 reply.
SB 6 (June 2025) makes 75 MW loads disclose backup generation and accept mandatory curtailment in grid emergencies, with no penalty terms stated.
SB 6 (June 2025) requires review of co-location with existing plants, and the audit directive covers power sourcing for every queued data center.
ERCOT's August 2026 notice halts Batch Zero and energization of new large data center loads until the audit ends in mid-December 2026, with 470 GW queued.
Scored on rules in force, 1 to 5. 5 is the most regulated. Pending rules set the arrow.
474 GW tracked as of June 2026 (Senate deck). Batch Zero Sept 2026 classification: 66.4 GW base (204 projects), 127.9 GW studied (158), 302.2 GW excluded (373). Approved to energize 9,456 MW; ~4.1 GW operational Sept 2026. Audit due Dec 10, 2026. ERCOT preliminary long-term load forecast (Apr 15, 2026) projects ~367,790 MW of demand in the ERCOT region by 2032 vs 85,508 MW all-time peak; ERCOT cautions it may be inflated ercot.com Pace: Growth in large load with ERCOT Approval to Energize, 6,874 MW (May 2025) to 9,456 MW (Sep 2026), about 1,940 MW a year; Jan to Sep 2026 alone ran at about 890 MW a year under the August 2026 approvals pause ercot.com
ERCOT has about 474 GW of large-load requests, roughly 90 percent of them data centers and more than five times its record peak. Senate Bill 6 of 2025 set a 75 MW threshold with disclosure and emergency curtailment duties, and ERCOT built a one-time batch study, Batch Zero, to sort the queue. On 3 August 2026 the governor ordered an audit of every data center in the queue, and ERCOT paused the study and the energization of new data center and crypto loads until it is done.
ERCOT's verification and community impact reports are due to the Public Utility Commission by 10 December 2026, with final Batch Zero classifications expected that month and the April 2027 study date in doubt. The Legislature convenes in January 2027 and the commission is expected to ask for more authority over data centers.
ERCOT is graded Substantial and tightening on how it connects a new large load: Large-load study paused for a governor-ordered audit until at least December ERCOT has about 474 GW of large-load requests, roughly 90 percent of them data centers and more than five times its record peak. Senate Bill 6 of 2025 set a 75 MW threshold with disclosure and emergency curtailment duties, and ERCOT built a one-time batch study, Batch Zero, to sort the queue. On 3 August 2026 the governor ordered an audit of every data center in the queue, and ERCOT paused the study and the energization of new data center and crypto loads until it is done.
474.0 GW of large-load interconnection requests as of Sep 2026, of which 9.5 GW approved or contracted and 4.1 GW energized. 474 GW tracked as of June 2026 (Senate deck). Batch Zero Sept 2026 classification: 66.4 GW base (204 projects), 127.9 GW studied (158), 302.2 GW excluded (373). Approved to energize 9,456 MW; ~4.1 GW operational Sept 2026. Audit due Dec 10, 2026. At the recent pace of about 1.9 GW a year (Growth in large load with ERCOT Approval to Energize, 6,874 MW (May 2025) to 9,456 MW (Sep 2026), about 1,940 MW a year; Jan to Sep 2026 alone ran at about 890 MW a year under the August 2026 approvals pause), the queue represents roughly 244 years of connections, which is why most of it will never be built.
Texas. Each state page gives that state's own laws, incentives and local actions, which sit under the grid's connection rules.
1 of 1: Texas.
ERCOT's verification and community impact reports are due to the Public Utility Commission by 10 December 2026, with final Batch Zero classifications expected that month and the April 2027 study date in doubt. The Legislature convenes in January 2027 and the commission is expected to ask for more authority over data centers.
6 items: each is a law, order, tariff, ruling, utility action or local decision that changes what a data center must do, pay or disclose, or where it may be built. Failed and pending measures are marked. Each links to its source.
ERCOT said in early September 2026 that it intends to finish the data center audit by 10 December 2026 and will send a report to the Public Utility Commission a week before that month's open meeting. First information requests went out in late August and early September, and ERCOT said more rounds may follow in October and November. About 300 planned data centers are covered. Batch Zero and new large-load connections stay on hold until the audit is done.
Source: datacenterdynamics.comAs of ERCOT's mid-September 2026 board update, 362 large loads were provisionally in the study: 204 base-case projects of 66.4 GW and 158 studied projects of about 125 GW, with 373 projects of 302 GW excluded. Final classification moved from 7 August to December 2026, the effect on the 9 April 2027 study deadline is undetermined, and energization of new large data center and crypto loads is paused until the audit and community impact review finish.
Source: ercot.comThe 3 August 2026 letter requires verification of all data centers in the interconnection process before any more advance, covering incentives, power sourcing, water, community impact and ownership; projects found in violation are to be denied connection and loads that do not respond are classed ineligible. ERCOT is sending mandatory information requests to Batch Zero loads and to about 8,766 MW of loads between 25 and 75 MW. ERCOT asked the Public Utility Commission for deadline waivers on 10 August, and its long-term load forecast is delayed.
Source: gibsondunn.comIn June 2026 the governor directed that data centers bear the full cost of the lines, substations and upgrades built for them. The Public Utility Commission chair replied on 17 July 2026 that the commission had acted within its existing authority but that comprehensive regulation needs new legislation.
Source: troutman.comOrder 202-26-01 of 24 January 2026 authorized ERCOT to direct backup generation at data centers and other large sites to run as a last resort before load shedding during the winter storm, through 27 January.
Source: energy.govSigned in June 2025. Loads of 75 MW or more must disclose on-site backup generation to ERCOT and can be curtailed in grid emergencies. ERCOT's Batch Zero study applies the same 75 MW threshold.
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