ERCOT / Batch Zero / July 10 sunset / Abbott July 17 + 31 / outside FERC jurisdiction

Plain-English context. ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas — the grid operator for ~90% of Texas load) is the only major U.S. grid operator that is NOT subject to FERC's interstate jurisdiction, because Texas runs its grid as an intrastate island. That means the six show-cause orders FERC issued yesterday do not touch ERCOT. ERCOT is on its own parallel timeline driven by the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUCT). The current vetting regime for large loads (anything 75 MW or larger — which captures every serious data center) is the Large Load Interconnection Study (LLIS), processed one project at a time. That regime sunsets July 10, 2026. After that date, the only way for a new >75 MW load to be studied in ERCOT is the new Batch Zero process — projects are queued, vetted, and approved in batches rather than individually. The Texas Tribune confirmed on June 17 that PUCT is 'close to approving' the Batch Zero design. The operational pinch point is the dynamic generator model submission window: any project that wants to be in the first Batch Zero cohort has to file its model by July 10. Miss the window and the project waits for the next batch, which means months of additional pre-approval time. The Abbott directive of June 10 added two more Texas-specific deadlines that hit in the same window: July 17, 2026 for a joint PUCT+ERCOT memo to the Governor on actions taken under SB 6 (the 2025 law that requires upfront financial commitments from large loads), and July 31, 2026 for PUCT action to cut residential transmission costs.

Primary source · Texas Tribune — June 17, 2026 confirmation of Batch Zero approval imminence ↗