ERCOT Large Load Working Group posts Q4 reliability IROL plans and Batch 1+ / CTP process update
ERCOT (the Electric Reliability Council of Texas — the grid operator for most of the state) published Large Load Working Group materials dated September 16. One deck sets out Q4 2026 large-load reliability mitigation plans around three IROL groups — Interconnection Reliability Operating Limits, meaning operating ceilings the grid operator uses to keep the system stable — labeled North (5,465 MW), Central (5,240 MW), and Far West (4,198 MW). ERCOT would activate plans around 2,500 MW and manage to a 2,720 MW operating limit. A second update outlines initial priorities for the post–Batch Zero Comprehensive Transmission Planning (CTP) / Batch 1+ process: resubmitting unmet ramp requests, carrying non-committed loads into later batches, governance for project changes, financial-security alignment with PUCT Project 58481, enhanced reporting, and Bring Your Own Generation / Provisional Controllable Load Resource rules. Workshop #2 remains scheduled for September 24.
Why it matters
These are primary operating and process documents for how large data-center loads will be constrained and sequenced in ERCOT after Batch Zero.
Companies
- Industry-wide ERCOT campus owners
Risks
- Figures are planning/operating constructs, not interconnection awards.
- Batch 1+ rules are still being workshopped.