CONSTRUCTION SIGNAL

CONSTRUCTION SIGNAL · EDITION

Energy / data centersSeptember 11, 2026

Energy / data centers — Conditional now comes with a ten-business-day evidence clock

ERCOT says it has begun issuing Batch Zero verification requests to a majority of large loads that were conditionally included in the process.

TODAY'S SIGNAL

ERCOT says it has begun issuing Batch Zero verification requests to a majority of large loads that were conditionally included in the process. Each issued request requires supporting documents and notarized attestations from the large-load entity, its transmission provider and, when applicable, its distribution provider within 10 business days. A single extension of no more than five business days may be requested.

That turns “conditional” from a label into a near-term coordination test. For data-center owners and their project teams, the immediate work is not celebrating gigawatts or assuming construction clearance. It is making sure the owner, TSP and DSP can produce one complete, internally consistent evidence package through ERCOT's RIOO system on the clock tied to that project's RFI.

ERCOT says incomplete or late responses can exclude a load from Batch Zero. The notice does not identify which projects have already received RFIs, confirm any project's eligibility, or establish an interconnection, construction award, backlog or margin result.

WHAT TO WATCH

Which conditionally included projects confirm receiving an RFI and their individual due dates. ERCOT's first eligibility determinations and any exclusions or additional information requests. The separate state-and-community-impact RFI that ERCOT says will follow.

Public information only. Not professional advice.