Weekly Power Brief · No. 1
Large loads meet the rulebook
Who studies, pays for, and connects the next wave of data centers? Six public items from FERC, NERC, ERCOT, and EIA — each linked to the source.
The thread this week is large loads. Across PJM, NERC, and Texas, regulators and operators are writing the same rulebook from different directions: who studies the next wave of data centers, who pays for the upgrades, and who gets to energize first.
That is not a side show. For people building companies in power, grid, generation, construction, and infrastructure — and for the operators and founders using AI inside those businesses — these dockets set schedules, collateral, and which projects survive the queue.
Why builders should care
- Capacity and cost allocation are open. PJM's reliability backstop was accepted, then paused. Cost allocation and bid timing are still in play before February 2027.
- Queue discipline is getting stricter. FERC's Oklo order is a signal: application deadlines mean what they say. Speculative filings get less benefit of the doubt.
- Reliability standards are coming for computational load. NERC's initial ballot passed. Expect clearer expectations for how large AI and crypto loads behave on the system.
- Texas is sorting real load from requests. Batch Zero classifications and the energization pause are how one of the fastest-growing grids tries to keep planning honest.
- Gas is answering the same demand signal. Eighty gigawatts of gas requests in ERCOT does not mean eighty gigawatts get built. It does mean delivery timelines and equipment lead times matter more than press releases.
- National sales still rise; Texas growth was marked down. EIA's September STEO keeps record U.S. power sales, with a sharper pencil on Texas after the pause.
What to watch next: EIA's October Short-Term Energy Outlook (scheduled October 6). ERCOT's Batch Zero verification and community-impact reports to the Texas PUC (due December 10). NERC's path from ballot comments to a Q4 filing on computational-load standards.
Every item below links to the public source. Read the original before you bet a schedule on a summary.
FERC accepts PJM's backstop capacity procurement, then suspends it until February 2027
FERC accepted PJM's one-time Reliability Backstop Procurement, aimed at roughly 6.8 GW of new capacity after the 2028/29 auction shortfall, but suspended it for five months pending changes, including to how costs are allocated. PJM did not open the bid window it had planned for September 30.
FERC denies Oklo's complaint over a PJM queue withdrawal
FERC rejected Oklo's complaint that PJM wrongly withdrew its 750 MW mixed-technology project from interconnection Cycle 01, and dismissed the related waiver request as moot. Queue application deadlines are being enforced as written.
NERC's first computational-load reliability standards pass initial ballot
Preliminary results show NERC's foundational standards for large computational loads, such as AI data centers and crypto facilities, passed initial ballot on September 19. NERC plans to work through comments and file the standards in the fourth quarter.
ERCOT conditionally sorts its Batch Zero large loads; data-center energization stays paused
ERCOT told its board that 204 large-load projects (66.4 GW) qualify conditionally as base load and 158 as studied load in its one-time Batch Zero study. New data centers and crypto loads of 75 MW or more stay paused pending a state-directed audit, with reports due December 10.
Gas requests in ERCOT's generation queue climb to 80 GW
Gas-fired interconnection requests in ERCOT are up 23% since June, to 80 GW, though solar and batteries still make up most of the queue. ERCOT also plans a rule limiting large-load power swings to 10 MW per 5 seconds to protect synchronous generators.
ERCOT Board of Directors, Interconnection and Grid Analysis update
EIA still sees record U.S. power sales, with a lower Texas outlook
EIA's September outlook puts U.S. electricity sales at a record 4,135 billion kWh in 2026 and 4,211 billion kWh in 2027, led by data centers and manufacturing. After the Texas data-center pause, it cut 2027 Texas load growth to 6% from 14%.
U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook (September 2026)
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