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Data centers needing power: how much, where, the rules, and how a generation project fits

53 sourced entries · Checked October 17, 2026

This page keeps the public figures on data-center load straight: what the grid operators and utilities say is being requested versus what is actually energized, the Texas rules that now govern loads of 75 MW and up, how the biggest buyers are contracting for power, which campuses have published a size, and the risks regulators have put on the record. For county moratoria and tariffs, see data centers and local rules.

Jump to: How much: queues, forecasts and what is energized · The rules: Texas SB 6, ERCOT Batch Zero, and other markets · How the deals are structured · Where: campuses with a published size · Risks regulators and operators have flagged

Requested is not built. Several entries below put a queue figure next to an eligible or energized figure from the same operator; read them as different things. PJM figures come from two PJM documents with different horizons (2030, 2035, 2036) and are listed as published.

How much: queues, forecasts and what is energized

Operator and utility figures for requested large load, long-term demand forecasts, and observed consumption.

Our reading, not a sourced statement. Read the requested figure, the eligible figure and the energized figure as three different things; the gap between them is the question to ask before counting on a load being there at commercial operation.

The rules: Texas SB 6, ERCOT Batch Zero, and other markets

Thresholds, fees, disclosure duties and study steps for large loads in ERCOT, with the SPP and FERC co-location proceedings alongside.

How the deals are structured

Co-location and net-metering approvals, front-of-the-meter supply agreements, hyperscaler clean-energy contracting, and utility large-load tariffs, as published by the parties or their regulators.

Our reading, not a sourced statement. The direction of travel in the published deals is from behind-the-meter arrangements toward front-of-the-meter supply with regulator sign-off. For a generation developer that means the counterparty is increasingly the utility or the market, with the data center's contract behind it.

Where: campuses with a published size

Announced campuses in Texas, Illinois, Arizona and Indiana where the company, the utility or a regulator has put a megawatt figure on the record.

Risks regulators and operators have flagged

Speculative or duplicate requests, curtailment obligations, transmission cost allocation, ratepayer cost and water.

  • Abbott directed PUCT/ERCOT to audit every data center in the interconnection queue before loads proceed. (POWER Magazine, Aug 4, 2026)
  • A data-center company executive told a Texas Senate committee (July 29, 2026) that inadequate criteria were letting speculators distort the ERCOT large-load queue. (POWER Magazine, Aug 4, 2026)
  • SB 6 requires applicants to disclose duplicate/similar service requests elsewhere in Texas. (Bracewell, July 9, 2025)
  • SB 6 requires large loads to install equipment letting ERCOT directly curtail them during firm load shed. (Bracewell, July 9, 2025)
  • SB 6 directs PUCT to review the 4CP transmission cost allocation method and creates a competitive demand-reduction reliability service for large loads. (Bracewell, July 9, 2025)
  • On September 21, 2026 the Governor asked TCEQ to suspend issuance of permits sought by data centers until ERCOT finishes its large-load audit and the Texas Water Development Board completes water-impact evaluations. (White & Case client alert, Sept 2026)
  • ComEd says requested demand would more than double its 120-year system peak by ~2040; CUB cites $24–37B in costs to serve Illinois data centers. (Capitol News Illinois, April 17, 2026)
  • HARC estimates Texas data centers used 25 billion gallons of water in 2025, rising to 29–161 billion gallons by 2030. (EnergyCapital HTX, March 11, 2026 (reporting HARC 'Thirsty Data' report))

How this page was made

Each entry is one statement tied to one public page; a second, independent pass loaded every cited page and kept only the statements that page supports. Secondary reports (trade press, law-firm alerts) are cited as what they are. Nothing here is advice, and this site does not rank, recommend or endorse any company; where a third party publishes a ranking, the entry says whose ranking it is. Found an error? Say so and it will be fixed.

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