Texas Grid Operators and Regulators Iron Out New Rules for Data Centers
Even Texas needs the speed, innovation, and freedom of "Consumer Regulated Electricity" (CRE), as demonstrated by these statements from the linked article.
(1) Attorneys for Crusoe Energy Systems, the artificial intelligence infrastructure company behind the massive Stargate Project in Abilene, said in a state filing that it would be unfair for ERCOT to introduce another approval requirement for private power agreements between Stargate’s users and its power suppliers when they had no time to plan for it. It would subject project developers who have invested billions and have obligations to meet certain timelines to a 180-day delay, the attorneys wrote. The Stargate proposal, involving OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle, is set to become the largest data center project in the world.
(2) Crusoe’s attorneys are also seeking a definition of a new large load user from the PUC — asking whether those already in the interconnection queue with planned co-located generation will be subject to the new rules.
(3) Rulemaking on this contentious part of the law [recovery of transmission costs] is expected to continue until December 2026.
(4) Under S.B. 6, any new, private agreement between an existing standalone power plant connected to the grid and a new large load customer of 75 megawatts or more, must notify ERCOT and undergo a study and obtain PUC approval. The grid operator has 120 days to evaluate the grid impacts and submit the study to the PUC, along with any recommendations. Then the regulatory agency has 60 days to impose conditions on the agreement as necessary to maintain grid reliability and transmission security.
(5) In a submitted comment, Brock Petersen, the chief operating officer of Satoshi Energy, a data center and renewable energy developer, echoed the same concern about the unclear definition of a new large load user. Peterson also wrote that the rules for private power agreements between data center users and developers would disrupt project timelines and compromise investments made under the assumption of regulatory clarity.
