TX Grid Operator Facing 205 Gigawatts Of New Demand From AI - Nearly 4X The Grid's All-Time Peak Demand Of 85.5 GW 8/23

[hatrack]

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In September 2024, ERCOT was tracking 56 gigawatts in large load interconnection requests. Now, that number has almost quadrupled to 205 gigawatts. Energy experts are quick to point out that requested interconnection is no guarantee that construction will happen—and that 205 gigawatts is a huge number, more than twice as high as ERCOT’s peak demand record of 85.5 gigawatts in August 2023. Still, ERCOT is tasked with planning transmission and ensuring that they can serve both existing and incoming customers at all times, Hobbs said.

Prior to the explosive growth of data centers to power AI, cloud computing and cryptomines, a jump in power demand from, for example, residential growth, meant the load would be distributed across the state. Texas, the largest state in the mainland United States, now sees a demand that is entirely different. “When you look at companies that want to come and consume more power than cities in a single location—it’s hard to forecast and plan for that in the future,” Hobbs said of the state’s growing electricity demands.

As a result, ERCOT is looking to grant incoming large energy users a quicker interconnection if they are willing to commit to reducing their power use from the grid during certain grid or transmission conditions. Cooperating with shut-offs would help the grid operator incorporate more large data centers onto the grid while ERCOT works to bridge grid upgrades, and resource and load improvements, Hobbs said.

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The grid operator is now tracking 205 gigawatts of large load interconnection requests. More than 70 percent of the 205 gigawatts of current large load interconnection requests are from data centers and another roughly 10 percent are from cryptocurrency mines. It’s a massive jump from 56 gigawatts just over a year ago, according to the latest data from ERCOT.

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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/28102025/texas-data-center-grid-planning-struggles/

[CoopersDad]

1. Seems like a fair deal: delivery with conditions.

the data centers could invest in enough on-site or off-site storage so as to be assured the power they need during any periods they reduce demand on the grid.