ERCOT issues State and Community Impact RFI with an October 12 deadline
ERCOT Market Notice M-B091426-01, sent September 14 at 5:07 p.m., issued a State and Community Impact request for information (RFI, a formal questionnaire used to gather facts before a regulatory decision) to data-center developers in two cohorts: (1) Interconnecting Large Load Entities with Batch Zero base-load or studied-load conditional classifications that have not yet energized at transmission voltage (60 kilovolts or above), and (2) medium-load data centers of at least 25 megawatts but less than 75 megawatts that a transmission or distribution service provider reported as Substantiated Load in ERCOT’s August 19 Medium Load RFI and that have not yet energized at any voltage. ERCOT routes the RFI through the utility into its Resource Integration and Ongoing Operations (RIOO) portal; the utility must name a developer contact within two business days. Complete responses with a notarized attestation are due by 5:00 p.m. Central Prevailing Time on October 12, 2026. Failure to respond is reported to the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Governor’s office. Separately, a September 14 Governor letter directs the Texas Water Development Board to partner with ERCOT on water-source and consumption audits; Section C of the RFI is issued on the Board’s behalf, and incomplete Section C answers may trigger Texas Water Code §16.012 consequences. ERCOT expects a community-impact report no later than December 10, 2026. The notice states this RFI is separate from the September 9 Batch Zero Verification RFI. A RIOO training Webex is set for Thursday, September 17, at 2:30 p.m.
Why it matters
This is the second Abbott-directed compliance clock for Texas data-center campuses in Batch Zero and the medium-load cohort—now with an explicit water audit and an October 12 notarized-response deadline that can be escalated to the Commission and the Governor.
Companies
- IREN
- Core Scientific
- CleanSpark
- Hut 8
- Cipher Digital
- Riot Platforms
- MARA Holdings
- TeraWulf
- Keel Infrastructure
- Bitdeer
- HIVE
- Applied Digital
- Bit Digital
Risks
- Incomplete or late responses can be reported to the PUCT and Governor
- Section C water questions may carry Texas Water Code §16.012 penalties
- Notice does not restate the September 11 ~461 project count; cohort size for this RFI is not restated in M-B091426-01
- This RFI does not replace the separate Verification RFI due September 23