HD Intelligence Desk · August 31, 2026

ERCOT Freezes Large-Load Energization as the Batch Zero Audit Bites

Published August 31, 2026

What Happened

ERCOT skipped its scheduled August 7 Batch Zero classifications and will not authorize any data center or crypto load at or above 75 MW to energize until it completes a project-by-project verification of MW, site control, financial security, and ownership — the operational teeth of Governor Abbott's August 3 audit directive. At least six projects targeting Q1 2027 energization, and up to seventeen more slated for Q2 2027, now face slippage; ERCOT has asked the PUCT for narrow exceptions to let some join its stability assessments, but those explicitly do not authorize energization. Separately, the PUCT affirmed its curtailment authority over co-located data centers in the first net-metering case under Senate Bill 6.

Why It Matters

Time-to-power (35% of our scorecard) and large-load tariff/moratorium climate (20%) — 55% of the grade combined — both just deteriorated in the one market we rate A-. This is a filter, not a ban: it culls speculative queue entries and rewards vetted, financeable, site-controlled projects, which is precisely HD's profile — but the near-term reality is a frozen energization gate and genuine schedule risk for anything not already through. NRG's $3.2B, 1.2-GW "bring-your-own-power" deal shows capital still clears in Texas, and BYOP structures that sidestep the shared-grid queue look increasingly advantaged. Powered land with locked interconnection status and clean attestations now carries a premium; raw, unvetted queue position is worth less than it was a month ago. The fuel thesis under Texas gas-fired supply is intact — Henry Hub settled at $2.81/MMBtu on August 19, still below $3.

ERCOT Freezes Large-Load Energization as the Batch Zero Audit Bites

What Happened

Why It Matters

Sources