Plain-English background on why the PJM 2028/29 auction closing today matters more than a routine capacity procurement. PJM Interconnection operates the regional grid across 13 states and DC (roughly PA/NJ/MD/DE/VA/WV/OH/IL/IN/KY/NC/TN/MI and DC) — 65 million...
PJM Inside Lines — PJM Capacity Auction for 2028/2029 Delivery Year Opens (Jun 30 2026) + PJM Inside Lines — The Capacity Auction Is Coming. Here's What We're Doing Now + PA Environment Digest — FERC Approves Extension Of PJM Capacity Auction Price Cap Floor For Next 2 Auctions (Apr 30 2026) + PJM 2027/2028 Base Residual Auction Report (Dec 17 2025) + Enel North America — PJM 2027/2028 Capacity Auction Results + ESAI Power — PJM Capacity Auction Calendar ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCVirginiaMoratoriumInterconnectionCapacity market
Read why it matters →Plain-English background on why the Prince George's vote today matters as more than a local ordinance. Prince George's County is the second-largest county in Maryland by population (~955k residents), immediately east of Washington DC. It sits inside the PJM...
WUSA9 — Prince George's County debates 2-year data center development moratorium + WJLA — Data center protest held in Prince George's County as council considers 2-year moratorium + NBC4 Washington — Local Maryland governments pause data center development + Prince George's Suite — Data Centers On Hold + The Cool Down — Maryland anti-data-center rally draws counterprotesters before moratorium vote + Baltimore Banner — Prince George's County data centers may hinge on Election Day + Maryland Daily Record — Western MD county approves data center moratorium ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCVirginiaMoratoriumAir permitInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English recap of what actually happened at Lakeland City Hall Monday morning. Commissioners were scheduled to hold a first reading and public hearing on a proposed 12-month moratorium covering any data center or 'large load electric customer' using >50...
WFLA — Project Swan debate over Lakeland AI data center moratorium continues + LkldNow — Lakeland Takes First Step Toward Data Center Moratorium + WUSF — Lakeland releases proposed data center moratorium ordinance + Tampa Bay 28 — Lakeland begins drafting one-year moratorium for large-scale data centers + FOX 13 Tampa Bay — Lakeland City Commission to hold first public hearing on proposed data center moratorium + City of Lakeland — Notice of Proposed Moratorium on Data Centers and Large Load Customers ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCGeorgiaMoratoriumInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English background on why 'statewide' and '1 MW threshold' are the two most important words in this item. Until this week, every US data center moratorium was either a county ordinance (Linn IA, Washington MD, Prince George's MD, Whitley IN, Clark IN,...
Source New Mexico — New Mexico lawmakers announce proposed statewide moratorium on data centers (Jul 3 2026) + Santa Fe New Mexican — Santa Fe County approves 18-month data center moratorium + KRQE — Santa Fe County commissioners approve 18-month moratorium on data centers + KOB — Santa Fe County approves 18-month moratorium on data center development + Albuquerque Journal — Santa Fe County becomes latest New Mexico community to adopt data center moratorium + Los Alamos Daily Post — State Lawmakers To Introduce Data Center Moratorium In Upcoming Legislative Session + Santa Fe New Mexican — Four New Mexico lawmakers plan to propose statewide data center moratorium ↗
ERCOTVirginiaIllinoisMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Plain-English background on why this lawsuit matters more than a single facility dispute. Multiple states have enacted or are enacting 'ratepayer protection' rules for hyperscaler-scale customers in 2025-2026: Virginia's SCC rate class (approved Nov 2025,...
Wisconsin Law Journal — Oracle sues PSC over Wisconsin data center rules (Jun 24 2026) + Wisconsin Public Radio — Oracle sues Wisconsin utility regulators over financial requirements for data centers + WisPolitics — Oracle sues PSC seeking to relax data center rules + Freeman/Waukesha Business — Oracle sues over $100M PSC ruling on data center tariffs + Ozaukee Press — Oracle files suit in county over PSC rate decision + TMJ4 — Port Washington neighbors push back on Oracle lawsuit + Latitude Media — Does Oracle actually have a case against Wisconsin's data center rule? ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCTexasInterconnectionRatepayer protectionFERC action
Read why it matters →Plain-English rollup of what didn't change over the July 4 weekend and what's coming next week.
**ERCOT Batch Zero Form W Part A — T-6 to Thursday July 10.** No change since Thursday. The Interconnecting Large Load Entity (data center operator) must...
ERCOT — Large Load Integration Page + PJM Inside Lines — PJM Capacity Auction for 2028/2029 Delivery Year Opens (Jun 30 2026) + ESAI Power — PJM Capacity Auction Calendar + City of Lakeland — Notice of Proposed Moratorium on Data Centers and Large Load Customers + WUSA9 — Prince George's County debates 2-year data center development moratorium + WJLA — Data center protest held in Prince George's County + Utility Dive — FERC extends comment deadline on PJM data center transmission complaint + Lexington Institute — Gov Hochul's Data Center Moratorium Veto Deliberations ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCTexasMoratoriumInterconnectionCapacity market
Read why it matters →Plain-English background on why county moratoriums matter more than they look. A county moratorium is a temporary local ordinance that suspends new development permits or rezoning applications for a specific category of use (in this case, data centers) for a...
Wave3 Louisville — Clark County could consider moratorium on data center zoning (Jul 3 2026) + News and Tribune — Clark County officials considering data center moratorium + Post and Mail — Whitley County putting moratorium on data centers + City of Lakeland — Notice of Proposed Moratorium on Data Centers and Large Load Customers + LkldNow — City Releases Proposed Data Center Moratorium Ordinance + LkldNow — Lakeland Takes First Step Toward Data Center Moratorium + FOX 13 Tampa Bay — Lakeland moves forward with drafting 12-month moratorium on large-scale data centers + WUSF — Zephyrhills City Council puts a one-year moratorium on data centers (Jun 24 2026) ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOOhioMoratoriumInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English background on why the four operational-track deadlines all matter this month. Each of these deadlines drives a specific action by developers, hyperscalers, or state parties, and each represents a concrete moment where Cliff can produce a...
ERCOT — Large Load Integration Page + PJM Inside Lines — PJM Capacity Auction for 2028/2029 Delivery Year Opens (Jun 30 2026) + PJM — 2028/2029 Base Residual Auction Documents (Jun 30 2026) + Utility Dive — Maryland lawmakers back data center transmission cost complaint at FERC + Utility Dive — FERC extends comment deadline on PJM data center transmission complaint + Greenberg Traurig — New York Legislature Passes Data Center Moratorium; Bill Awaits Governor's Approval + Harris Beach Murtha — New York State Legislature Passes First-in-the-Nation Data Center Moratorium ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOCAISOMoratoriumInterconnectionCapacity market
Read why it matters →Plain-English background. Illinois is a 'blue trifecta' state — Democratic governor, Democratic-majority state Senate, Democratic-majority state House. The Democratic coalition in Illinois has three major internal constituencies: (a) organized labor,...
Capitol News Illinois — Gov. JB Pritzker Suspends Tax Breaks for Data Centers, Urging More Discussion + The Hill — Pritzker Pauses Data Center Tax Incentives in Illinois + E&E News — Pritzker Hits Pause on Illinois Data Center Subsidies + American Public Power Association — Illinois Governor Pauses New Data Center Tax Incentives + Union Bulletin — Gov. JB Pritzker Pauses Tax Incentives for Data Centers After Regulation Efforts Stall in Illinois Legislature + Illinois Governor's Newsroom — Gov. Pritzker Pauses New Data Center Tax Incentives (Jun 30 2026) ↗
ERCOTPJMVirginiaOhioMoratoriumInterconnectionRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →Plain-English background on the operational track. Yesterday's newsletter covered the regulatory calendar (VA tax, IL DCIP freeze, FL SB 484, Trump EO 14318, PJM auction open, ERCOT Batch Zero deadlines, Abbott Texas memo). Today's operational read is about...
ERCOT — Large Load Integration Page + ERCOT Market Notice M-B062326-01 Implementation of the Batch Zero Process + ERCOT Trending Topic New Batch Connection Process for Large Electricity Users (Jun 18 2026 PDF) + EPE Consulting — New Pathway and Deadlines in ERCOT's Large Load Batch Zero PCLR + Willkie Farr & Gallagher — ERCOT Approves Implementing New Batch Zero Process for Large Load Interconnections + Foley & Lardner — ERCOT's Proposed Batch Zero Process What Developers of Large Loads Need to Know + Microsoft Source — Microsoft Completes Construction on First Datacenter Facility in Mount Pleasant Wisconsin (Jun 23 2026) + WEDC — Gov. Evers Microsoft Officials Announce New $4 Billion Investment in Mount Pleasant Datacenter ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOTexasMoratoriumInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English background. Four separate regulatory clocks all reach 12:01 AM Wednesday July 1, 2026 at the same instant. Three are state-level and point toward friction — they increase cost or reduce access for hyperscalers building in that state. One is...
Greenberg Traurig — Virginia Legislature Approves Tax on Data Center Electricity Consumption (Jun 2026) + Data Center Knowledge — Virginia Approves First-Ever Data Center Power Tax + Illinois Governor's Newsroom — Gov. Pritzker Pauses New Data Center Tax Incentives + Capitol News Illinois — Gov. JB Pritzker to Suspend Tax Breaks for Data Centers, Urging More Discussion + The Hill — Pritzker Pauses Data Center Tax Incentives in Illinois + MultiState — State Data Center Policy Shifts as Governors Impose New Restrictions (Jun 22 2026) + Whitehouse.gov — Executive Order 14318 Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security (Jun 2026) + AI Governance Institute — EO 14318 Accelerating Federal Permitting Data Center Infrastructure 2026 + Henrico Citizen — Virginia Has a New Two-Year Budget. Here's What Lawmakers Now Require of Data Centers + Kiplinger — Virginia Approves First Data Center Power Tax ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOEPAMoratoriumTax incentiveInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English background. In deregulated wholesale electricity markets, capacity is auctioned three years ahead of when it delivers. PJM (the grid operator for 13 states from Illinois to Virginia covering ~65 million people, the largest electricity market in...
Utility Dive — PJM Accelerates Backstop Reliability Auction Amid Uncertainty Over Data Cen[ters] + ERCOT Market Notice M-B062326-01 (Jun 23 2026) + ERCOT Trending Topic New Batch Connection Process for Large Electricity Users (Jun 18 2026 PDF) + PUCT Press Release Jun 18 2026 — PUCT Approves ERCOT's Batch Zero Rules + EPE Consulting — New Pathway and Deadlines in ERCOT's Large Load Batch Zero Provisional Controllable Load Resource (PCLR) + Willkie Farr & Gallagher — ERCOT Approves Implementing New Batch Zero Process for Large Load Interconnections + Governor Abbott Press Release Jun 10 2026 — Directs PUC and ERCOT to Shield Texans from Data Center Infrastructure Costs + ZeroEmissionGrid Workshop Summary Jun 11 2026 — Batch Zero Readiness + OPUC Order 26-154 Oregon Schedule 96 (May 2026) ↗
ERCOTPJMTexasVirginiaInterconnectionCapacity marketRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →Plain-English background. Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a formal data center directive on June 10, 2026, to the two state-level energy authorities: the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT — appointed by the governor, regulates retail electricity in...
Office of the Texas Governor — Governor Abbott Directs PUC and ERCOT to Shield Texans from Data Center Infrastructure Costs (Jun 10 2026) + Shale Magazine — Governor Abbott Directs PUC and ERCOT to Protect Texas Ratepayers from Data Center Costs + Texas Scorecard — Abbott Directs Regulators to Make Data Centers Pay Their Own Infrastructure Costs + Community Impact — Gov. Abbott tells PUC, ERCOT to ensure Texas consumers do not foot the bill for data center growth (Jun 10 2026) + Alden Energy — Abbott Issues Directive to ERCOT, Public Utility Commission to Control Rising Data Center Costs ↗
ERCOTTexasVirginiaIllinoisInterconnectionRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →Plain-English version. Yesterday's edition framed July 10 as the ERCOT Batch Zero application deadline for large loads (≥75 MW). Today we have the actual scale number, which ERCOT's June 18 'Trending Topic: New Batch Connection Process for Large Electricity...
ERCOT — Trending Topic: New Batch Connection Process for Large Electricity Users (Jun 18 2026) + Texas Energy and Power — How Texas decides which data centers to connect (438,000 MW figure, ~90% data centers) + EPE Consulting — New Pathway and Deadlines in ERCOT's Batch Zero PCLR + Keentel Engineering Batch Zero Compliance & Large Load Guide + Zero Emission Grid — ERCOT Batch Zero Workshop 6 (June 11 2026 readiness summary) ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOSPPInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English background. ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) runs the Texas grid that covers about 90% of the state's load — everything except a few corners that sit on SPP or Eastern Interconnection. ERCOT is unique among US grid operators because...
ERCOT — Trending Topic: New Batch Connection Process for Large Electricity Users (Jun 18 2026) + ERCOT Press Release — PUCT Approves ERCOT's Batch Zero Process (Jun 18 2026) + EPE Consulting — New Pathway and Deadlines in ERCOT's Batch Zero PCLR + Keentel Engineering Batch Zero Guide ↗
ERCOTPJMSPPFERCInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English version of what happened. Tuesday, June 23 was the single most active moratorium day Florida has had — three county boards moved separate ordinances forward in a coordinated wave. Clay County (just south of Jacksonville, ~220,000 residents) gave...
Florida Politics — Three counties moving forward with one-year data center moratoriums (Jun 24 2026) ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOCAISOMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Plain-English version. Knox County is the eastern Tennessee county containing Knoxville (population ~480,000 in the metro). On June 23, the County Commission voted 10-0 — with Commissioner Courtney Durrett recusing because she works at Xfinity (a Comcast...
WATE 6 Knoxville — Knox County puts new data center projects on hold for 1 year (Jun 23 2026) ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOFERCMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English version of what Project Kilby is. Microsoft and Chevron jointly announced on June 22 that they are co-developing a roughly 2.67 gigawatt natural gas power plant in the Permian Basin near Pecos, Texas (about 200 miles east of El Paso), paired...
Chevron newsroom — Chevron signs 20-year power agreement with Microsoft for West Texas data center (Jun 22 2026) ↗
ERCOTMISOFERCTexasMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Plain-English version of what Abbott actually directed. On June 10, 2026 — twelve days before the Project Kilby announcement — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent a formal directive letter to the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT, the state utility regulator)...
Office of the Texas Governor — Governor Abbott Directs PUC and ERCOT to Shield Texans from Data Center Infrastructure Costs ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCTexasInterconnectionBehind-the-meterRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →Plain-English version of what Spartanburg did and why the procedural mechanic matters. Spartanburg County, in the Upstate region of South Carolina, called a 9 a.m. special meeting on June 22 to introduce a 12-month moratorium on all new data center...
WSPA — Spartanburg County Council gives first approval of data center moratorium ↗
ERCOTFERCTexasNorth CarolinaMoratoriumInterconnectionRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →Plain-English version of the geography. North Carolina's data center backlash has concentrated in two adjacent regions: the Charlotte metro (Mecklenburg + Rowan) and the Research Triangle (Durham, Wake, Orange, Chatham). In roughly five weeks, at least nine...
WFAE (Charlotte's NPR) — Charlotte City Council approves 150-day data center moratorium ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOFERCMoratorium
Read why it matters →Plain-English version of what happened and why it matters more than a single county. Hill County is a rural county south of Fort Worth, in ERCOT territory. On May 12 its commissioners passed — 3 to 2 — a one-year moratorium on new large battery storage, power...
The Texas Tribune — Texas county rescinds data center moratorium after lawsuit ↗
ERCOTTexasNorth CarolinaMarylandMoratoriumInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English version of what changed. Texas's electric grid is run by ERCOT under the oversight of the PUCT (Public Utility Commission of Texas). ERCOT writes its own operating rules, called 'protocols.' Protocol Revision Requests (PRRs) and Nodal Protocol...
ERCOT — PUCT approves Batch Zero process press release ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOCAISOInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English version of what FERC actually did. The expected path was a single final rule (or a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) under Docket RM26-4-000 that would have set one national answer to 'who pays for the grid upgrades large data centers force.' FERC...
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — press release on June 18, 2026 action ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOCAISOInterconnectionRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →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....
Texas Tribune — June 17, 2026 confirmation of Batch Zero approval imminence ↗
ERCOTFERCTexasInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English version. Crusoe is a data center developer that originated in Bitcoin-flared-gas-to-compute and pivoted into AI-specific hyperscale campuses, most notably the Abilene Texas site that anchors a leg of the Stargate program. Meta is one of the four...
Data Center Dynamics — covering the original Bloomberg report ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOFERCMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Google will spend $1.5 billion through 2027 expanding the data center it has operated in Jackson County since 2018 (cumulative investment now over $2 billion), creating 1,000+ construction jobs. The campus sits on the site of TVA's retired Widows Creek coal...
Alabama Daily News ↗
ERCOTTexasOklahomaMoratoriumInterconnectionRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing of two related deadlines. ERCOT (the Texas grid operator) has historically used a process called the Large Load Interconnection Study, or LLIS, to evaluate new electrical loads above 75 MW. A developer building a new hyperscale data...
ZeroEmissionGrid (Batch Zero Readiness 06-11-26) / EPE Consulting / Foley & Lardner / Keentel Engineering ↗
ERCOTTexasVirginiaAir permitInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. A 'backup generator' at a hyperscale data center is a diesel or natural-gas engine that turns on if utility power fails. A typical 100 MW hyperscale campus has 40-80 of them. Historically, these were treated as 'emergency' generators —...
Virginia DEQ Guidance Memo APG-578 / HB 507 / Data Center Knowledge / Hunton Andrews Kurth / DediRock ↗
ERCOTEPATexasVirginiaAir permitInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing of the South Dakota context. South Dakota tried in February-March 2026 to pass a statewide data-center moratorium and failed; the legislature instead passed SB 135, which authorized counties and municipalities to regulate or ban data...
Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan / Buffalo's Fire / South Dakota Searchlight / Yankton County Commission agenda ↗
ERCOTTexasMoratorium
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing for an outsider. The PUCT (Public Utility Commission of Texas) is the appointed state regulator that governs ERCOT (the Texas grid operator). 'Batch Zero' is the new procedure for how very large new loads — primarily data centers above...
PUCT calendar / RTO Insider / ERCOT meeting calendar / EPE Consulting ↗
ERCOTTexasMinnesotaInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. A 'preliminary injunction' is the next legal step after a TRO (temporary restraining order, which expires in 14 days unless extended). It freezes construction until the underlying lawsuit is decided on its merits, which typically takes...
Post Bulletin / Construction Dive / MPR News / Star Tribune / Construction Review Online ↗
ERCOTTexasMinnesotaMoratoriumInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. The Clean Air Act's New Source Review (NSR) program requires that a 'major source' of air pollution obtain a pre-construction permit before construction begins. The phrase 'begin actual construction' has been interpreted (since the 1980...
EPA proposed rule / Gibson Dunn / Butler Snow / Inside Climate News / Troutman Pepper Locke ↗
ERCOTPJMEPAOhioAir permitInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. Monterey Park is a city of ~60,000 in Los Angeles County (San Gabriel Valley). 'Measure NDC' was put on a special-election ballot after a January 2026 city council 45-day moratorium and a March 2026 10-month extension — the moratoriums...
ABC7 Los Angeles / Fox Business / Planetizen / Data Center Knowledge / Monterey Park City Council ↗
ERCOTPJMTexasColoradoMoratorium
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. The PUCT (Public Utility Commission of Texas) and ERCOT are the appointed regulator and the grid operator, respectively. The Governor of Texas does not directly run either one but appoints PUCT commissioners and signs ERCOT-related...
Governor's Office press release / Houston Public Media / Community Impact / Texas Scorecard ↗
ERCOTFERCTexasVirginiaInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. 'Behind the meter' (BTM) means generation that sits on the customer's side of the utility meter and never injects power into the grid. It bypasses every interconnection-queue rule, every capacity-market rule, every transmission-cost...
DCD / Power Magazine / Power Engineering ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCEPAMoratoriumAir permitInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. Schedule 96 is Oregon's version of the separate-rate-class concept that New York's S10642 mandates: a tariff schedule specifically for data center loads with longer contract terms (typically 15-20 years), demand-charge floors, and...
OPB / Utility Dive / KOIN ↗
ERCOTTexasOregonMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) is the three-member state regulator that approves ERCOT's market rules. PUCT meetings happen every two weeks. June 18 is the next scheduled meeting, and the agenda was posted today (June 13)...
PUCT June 18 agenda / EPE Consulting / Keentel Engineering ↗
ERCOTFERCTexasInterconnectionBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. (Recap from yesterday for new context.) FERC committed in April to act by end of June on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking covering large-load interconnection to the interstate transmission system. The substantive ruling could...
FERC / Holland & Knight / Power Magazine ↗
ERCOTMISONYISOFERCInterconnectionBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD) is a midsize US data-center developer that focuses specifically on hyperscale 'AI factory' colocation — large-block, single-tenant, GPU-dense campuses on greenfield sites with dedicated power. The $5.2B /...
Tech Times / Applied Digital 8-K / Stock Titan ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOTexasMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. ERCOT is the state-run grid operator for most of Texas (everything except El Paso, the Panhandle, and a chunk of East Texas). Until SB 6 passed in 2025, there was no real process for hooking up a 500 MW data center quickly — every large...
EPE Consulting / Houston Public Media / Keentel Engineering ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) is the federal body that regulates interstate transmission and wholesale electricity markets. State PUCs handle retail rates and local distribution; FERC handles the high-voltage grid...
FERC / Holland & Knight / Troutman / TDWorld ↗
ERCOTFERCOhioOregonInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. ERCOT is the Texas grid operator. Two years ago it was receiving about 24 large-load interconnection requests per year. In the most recent two-year window it received 519. Those 519 requests sum to 438,595 megawatts of requested grid...
Texas Tribune ↗
ERCOTTexasMoratoriumInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. 'Co-located load' is the structure where a generator (a power plant) and a load (a data center) sit on the same site, behind the same point of interconnection, so the data center is electrically 'hidden' from the rest of the grid....
White & Case / FERC / Mayer Brown / PJM ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCTexasInterconnectionBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. Texas's energy regulator is composed of three commissioners. Thomas Gleeson is the chair. When the chair publicly commits to a vote date on the record, the vote happens unless something extraordinary intervenes — staff don't usually...
Houston Public Media / KEDT / RTO Insider ↗
ERCOTPJMTexasInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. ERCOT runs the Texas grid. The waitlist for very large new electric loads — almost all data centers — is now larger than the entire current ERCOT system peak. Batch Zero is a one-time process to clear that backlog under shared rules...
Houston Public Media / RTO Insider / EPE Consulting ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. FERC regulates the interstate transmission grid. Until now, interconnection rules for loads (as opposed to generators) have been overwhelmingly state-level — a developer interconnects through whichever state PUC and utility happens to...
FERC / Utility Dive / Snell & Wilmer / White & Case ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOCAISOInterconnectionBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing: ERCOT runs the Texas grid. The waitlist for new very-large electric loads (mostly data centers and crypto) is over 230 GW — more than the entire current ERCOT system peak. Batch Zero is a one-time amnesty-style process to clear that...
EPE Consulting / Zero Emission Grid / ERCOT / RTO Insider / Seyfarth Shaw ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing: ERCOT runs the Texas grid. It received so many giant new load requests (the queue is over 230 GW, more than 70% data centers) that the normal process — make every project wait years for full transmission upgrades — would freeze the...
EPE Consulting / ERCOT / Zero Emission Grid / Seyfarth Shaw ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing: SB 6 is the Texas legislature's response to ERCOT receiving 225 new large-load interconnection requests in 2025 (vs. 152 total from 2022-2024) and tracking ~238.6 GW of large-load requests as of December 2025. The law says: any new load...
PUCT / Perkins Coie / Greenberg Traurig / Bracewell / EPE Consulting / Seyfarth Shaw ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnection
Read why it matters →Two parallel Texas tracks. (1) Batch Zero (PGRR145 + NPRR1325) is ERCOT's proposed replacement for the existing one-at-a-time Large Load Interconnection Study (LLIS) process — instead of studying each new large-load request individually, Batch Zero would...
Cliff repo / ERCOT PGRR145 + NPRR1325 / ZeroEmissionGrid / EPE Consulting / SK Energy / Perkins Coie / Mayer Brown / Greenberg Traurig / Baker Botts ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOFERCInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Hyperion is the largest single-site hyperscaler gas-fleet buildout in US history. The 10-gas-plant, 7+ GW figure is roughly 2x the next-largest hyperscaler gas commitment on the public tape (Microsoft's Quincy WA campus, ~3.5 GW gas commitment) and roughly...
Yahoo Finance / The Cool Down / WinBuzzer / EnergyNow / Energy Connects / Utility Dive ↗
ERCOTTexasVirginiaTennesseeMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Cheyenne is the first city anywhere west of the Mississippi to introduce a data-center moratorium ordinance at the council level in 2026 (the Wisconsin/Michigan/Ohio/Indiana cluster is Midwest; the GA/NC/FL/AL cluster is Sun Belt; Texas has no moratorium tape...
Cowboy State Daily / KGAB / Cap City News / Wyoming News / Casper Star-Tribune ↗
ERCOTTexasVirginiaColoradoMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Pending-item resolution for May 11. Colorado SB 102 (Sen. Cathy Kipp, March 18 introduction): the bill would have banned utility economic agreements incentivizing data centers and required 100% new-renewable sourcing by 2031. Per Colorado Politics ('Despite...
Colorado Politics / CPR / Seehafer News / 9News Denver / WBTV / ERCOT ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCColoradoMoratoriumInterconnectionRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →Three regulatory events in the same 24-hour window on May 8 — Pennsylvania PUC's model-tariff vote, PPL Electric's pending rate-case settlement (filed March 13, ALJ recommendation April 17, effective July 1), and Oregon PUC's PGE Schedule 96 directive —...
WHYY / WESA / Utility Dive / KGW / KOIN / Beaver County Radio / RTO Insider ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCWisconsinMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →NVIDIA and IREN announced the partnership on May 7 with two simultaneous structural elements. The first is a $2.1B equity warrant: NVIDIA receives a 5-year right to purchase up to 30 million IREN ordinary shares at an exercise price of $70 per share (subject...
NVIDIA Newsroom / CNBC / DCD / Globenewswire ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Hut 8 Corp (Nasdaq: HUT) — formerly a Bitcoin miner, similar pivot trajectory to IREN — announced on May 6 the commercialization of the first phase of its Beacon Point AI data center campus on a 525-acre site in Nueces County, Texas (near Corpus Christi). The...
Hut 8 / PRNewswire / DCD / KRIS-TV / CoinDesk ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnectionBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →HB 1030 was Colorado's primary 2026 attempt to attract data-center investment via tax incentives — the bill was first introduced in January and modeled loosely on the sales-and-use exemption regimes that Texas, Virginia, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, and...
KUNC / CPR News / The Colorado Sun / The Durango Herald ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOTexasMoratoriumTax incentiveRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →PGRR145 (Planning Guide Revision Request 145) and NPRR1325 (Nodal Protocol Revision Request 1325) are the two governance instruments that establish ERCOT's 'Batch Zero' large-load interconnection process — PGRR145 sets the planning-guide framework and...
ERCOT NPRR1325 + PGRR145 issue pages ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnection
Read why it matters →NPRR1325 — Nodal Protocol Revision Request 1325 — operationalizes the Provisional Controllable Load Resource framework, which lets large loads (data centers in particular) commit to a partial-firm + curtailable service profile in exchange for a faster path...
ERCOT NPRR1325 issue page / EPE Consulting tracker ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnection
Read why it matters →SpaceX filed an application for property tax abatements with Grimes County, Texas, for a semiconductor fabrication and advanced-packaging facility branded 'Terafab' that would cost $55 billion in initial phases and up to $119 billion if all planned expansions...
Tom's Hardware / KBTX / TechCrunch / ERCOT ↗
ERCOTTexasTax incentiveInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →PJM filed its Expedited Interconnection Track (EIT) proposal February 27, 2026 in response to FERC Order EL25-49 (issued December 18, 2025) directing PJM to revise its Open Access Transmission Tariff to address co-located load and behind-the-meter generation...
FERC / PJM / Day Pitney / Digitimes ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCTexasInterconnectionBehind-the-meterFERC action
Read why it matters →Box Elder County commissioners voted unanimously to approve two resolutions in support of a 40,000-acre data center campus on an unincorporated site in northern Utah. The project, dubbed Stratos and developed by O'Leary Digital, would span 40,000 acres of...
Utah News Dispatch / KSL.com ↗
ERCOTPJMMISONorth CarolinaMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Meta Platforms is working with Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase on a roughly $13 billion financing package for its El Paso, Texas data center, sources told Bloomberg and Reuters. The majority of the package is expected to be structured as debt, with the...
Bloomberg / Reuters via Investing.com ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →ERCOT's PRS is scheduled to vote on PGRR145 and NPRR1325 today, with the companion ROS vote tomorrow (May 7) and the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) final stakeholder vote May 19-20. PGRR145, filed March 4, would create the Batch Zero process for large...
ERCOT / Zero Emission Grid ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →WRAL and Data Center Knowledge confirm North Carolina lawmakers have moved HB 1004, the Ratepayer and Resource Protection Act, into the 2025-2026 General Assembly. Filed April 27, 2026. Threshold: facilities with peak electricity demand of ≥40 MW...
Data Center Knowledge ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCTexasMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →PJM Interconnection's Critical Issue Fast Path Reliability Backstop Procurement (CIFP-RBP) proposal, released April 10 and detailed in its April 16 stakeholder package, calls for a one-time two-phase backstop procurement of 14.9 GW of new resources to serve...
Utility Dive ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCMoratoriumInterconnectionFERC action
Read why it matters →Bloomberg, DCD, and CoStar all confirmed April 29–30 that Compass Datacenters is pulling out of the Prince William Digital Gateway data center corridor in Northern Virginia. Sequence: Virginia Court of Appeals blocked the project March 31 after years of...
Bloomberg ↗
ERCOTVirginia
Read why it matters →Fleet Data Centers filed applications with Nevada state energy regulators April 20 to construct more than 350 MW of behind-the-meter natural gas and diesel power for two data center campuses at Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRIC) in Storey County, NV. South...
Carson Now ↗
ERCOTTexasUtahKansasMoratoriumAir permitInterconnection
Read why it matters →Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission unanimously approved the I&M / Google demand-response agreement for the $2B Fort Wayne campus. Google agreed to cut load when the grid is strained and to share clean-energy capacity with the system; I&M will discount...
21Alive News ↗
ERCOTTexasIndianaInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →The Data Center Consumer Ratepayer Protection Act of 2026 cleared the OK Senate unanimously and now returns to the House. Bill defines 'large load customers' as new facilities ≥75 MW grid demand; requires those customers cover their share of electricity +...
Oklahoma Farm Report ↗
ERCOTTexasOklahomaMoratoriumInterconnectionRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →Q1 2026 earnings dropped Apr 29. Microsoft outlined $190B in CY2026 capex (vs. ~$152B analyst consensus). Alphabet raised the full-year range to $180-190B from $175-185B and CFO Anat Ashkenazi said 2027 will 'significantly increase' from there. Meta raised to...
Fortune ↗
ERCOTInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →BloombergNEF (released Apr 24, covered Apr 27): CCGT capex jumped from <$1,500/kW (2023) to $2,157/kW (2025). Global turbine orders at 110 GW vs 60–70 GW manufacturing capacity at the Big Three. This is the BTM-economics input to every de-rate-calculator...
TechCrunch ↗
ERCOTInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →APLD's Delta Forge 1 (430 MW campus) leased 300 MW to a US-based 'high investment-grade' hyperscaler — $7.5B contracted value over ~15 years. Backs into ~$24/kW-month, which is the right reference point for any 'what does a megawatt sell for' conversation...
Applied Digital ↗
ERCOT
Read why it matters →