Batch Zero
Texas's first cohort-based study for ERCOT's 438 GW large-load interconnection queue, approved June 2026.
Batch Zero is Texas's first cohort-based study for ERCOT's large-load interconnection queue, approved 18 June 2026, with submissions closed on 24 July.
Last refreshed: 4 August 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can Batch Zero process Texas's 438 GW queue before the backlog outgrows its autumn 2027 transmission plan?
Timeline for Batch Zero
Mentioned in: ERCOT freezes its 205 GW sorting job
Data Centres: Boom and BacklashMentioned in: ERCOT closes its Batch Zero queue window
Data Centres: Boom and BacklashTexas queue swells to 438 GW
Data Centres: Boom and BacklashBackground
Batch Zero is a cohort-based interconnection study method used by ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, to process its backlog of large electricity users, overwhelmingly data centres. Rather than assessing each application individually, ERCOT groups all current applicants into a single cohort and models the transmission impact of the batch as a whole, reducing duplicated engineering work and producing one coordinated transmission plan.
The Texas Public Utility Commission approved Batch Zero on 18 June 2026, when ERCOT's large-load queue stood at 438 GW, roughly five times the state's peak electricity demand and about 90% data centres; the queue had nearly doubled since Texas first tried to clear it at 225 GW. ERCOT closed the Batch Zero submission window on 24 July, with classification results due by 7 August.
The method's tradeoff is time: a final transmission plan is not due until autumn 2027, and the next application round, Batch 1, does not open until summer 2027. Most 2026 and early-2027 data-centre build programmes will be committed before any Batch Zero outcome is known, and since queue intake runs at tens of gigawatts per quarter while the study process takes years, the backlog grows faster than any single cohort can be processed.