NOTICE DATE: September 14, 2026

NOTICE TYPE: M-B091426-01 Legal

SHORT DESCRIPTION: Issuance of Request for Information Regarding Data Center State and Community Impacts; ERCOT and PUC Partnership with Texas Water Development Board on Questions Regarding Water Sources and Consumption

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Developers of Data Centers 25 MW and Larger, Transmission and/or Distribution Service Providers, and Market Participants

DAYS AFFECTED: September 14, 2026

LONG DESCRIPTION: As described in Market Notice M-A080326-01, Governor Greg Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT) on August 3, 2026 to conduct a verification and audit of data center projects before those projects are allowed to advance through ERCOT's interconnection process.  That letter also required ERCOT and the PUC to gather information about the impacts of data centers on the state and on local communities, including information about public financial assistance, dependency on grid power, water sources and consumption, cooling technologies, noise, light and traffic impacts, and ownership and controlling interests, among other topics.

State and Community Impact Request for Information

In accordance with this latter directive, ERCOT has today issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking information about the state and community impacts of data centers ("State and Community Impact RFI") to each of the following developers of data center projects:

• Any Interconnecting Large Load Entity (ILLE) that is developing a data center facility that has been conditionally classified by ERCOT as base load or studied load in ERCOT's Batch Zero interconnection process and that has not yet energized its facility or facility addition at transmission voltage (60 kV or above).
• Any developer of a proposed data center facility with a peak requested load of at least 25 MW but less than 75 MW that a Transmission Service Provider (TSP) or Distribution Service Provider (DSP) reported in response to ERCOT's August 19, 2026 Medium Load RFI, that has been classified by a TSP or DSP as a "Substantiated Load," as defined in ERCOT Protocols Section 2.1, and that has not yet energized its facility at any voltage level.

ERCOT has issued the RFIs to each TSP or DSP that submitted information about the data center developer's load to ERCOT through the Batch Zero interconnection process or in response to ERCOT's August 19, 2026 Medium Load RFI.  ERCOT will send the RFI to a primary contact designated by the TSP or DSP through a new purpose-built communication interface in ERCOT's Resource Integration and Ongoing Operations (RIOO) web-based platform.  

After receiving notice of the RFI, the TSP or DSP receiving the notice must log in to RIOO and submit the name and email address of at least one representative of the data center developer by the end of the second Business Day following the date on which the RFI is issued.  Once the TSP or DSP submits the name and email address of a developer representative, RIOO will automatically send a notification email to that representative. The email will provide a link to access the RFI and directions to log in to the RIOO interface. The data center developer representative may add other developer representatives to assist in completing the RFI response.

Complete responses, including any required supporting documentation and a notarized attestation from the data center developer, must be submitted through RIOO no later than 5 p.m. Central Prevailing Time (CPT) on October 12, 2026.  Once the response has been submitted by the TSP or DSP, the developer will receive an email confirming the submission.  ERCOT will notify the developer if additional information is needed once the RFI response has been submitted and reviewed. 

Failure to respond to the RFI or any part thereof will be reported to the PUC and the Office of the Governor.

ERCOT and PUC Partnership with Texas Water Development Board on Water Sources and Consumption Questions

On September 14, 2026, the Governor of Texas issued a letter requiring the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to "partner with ERCOT to audit water consumption, sources of water supply, and implementation of water-efficient technologies."  The letter further directs TWDB to "coordinate with PUC and ERCOT to ensure that covered entities provide critical water use information."  ERCOT has coordinated with the PUC and the TWDB to develop the questions in Section C of this RFI, which seeks information about water sources and consumption. The Executive Administrator of the TWDB has authorized ERCOT to issue the questions in Section C on TWDB's behalf, and ERCOT will forward the responses to these questions to TWDB.  In accordance with Texas Water Code 16.012, any failure to fully respond to the questions in Section C may subject an RFI recipient to criminal penalties and other potential consequences.  Respondents are not required to separately send their responses to TWDB.

ERCOT may issue additional RFIs seeking clarification or additional supporting information in connection with its review of the RFI response.  ERCOT will provide a deadline by which a response to each additional RFI must be provided. 

ERCOT has posted a user guide with instructions for logging in and using the RIOO interface to the Data Center State and Community Impact RFI page. 

Any questions about the RFI or the process for completing the RFI can be directed to DataCenterImpact@ercot.com. 

ERCOT will host a Webex on Thursday, September 17, 2026, to provide training on the use of the RIOO tool.  More information about the Webex is posted on the ERCOT Meeting Calendar. 

ERCOT will coordinate with the PUC to publish a report regarding conclusions based on its review of the information submitted in response to the State and Community Impact RFI.  ERCOT expects to publish this report no later than December 10, 2026.

Interconnecting Large Load Entities with Disputes

If ERCOT determines that, based on the outcome of any dispute process or its further investigation, any Interconnecting Large Load Entity (ILLE) that was not conditionally classified in Batch Zero should receive a classification in Batch Zero, ERCOT will issue the State and Community Impact RFI to that Customer at that time and establish an appropriate deadline.

This RFI is separate from the Batch Zero Eligibility RFI issued on September 9, 2026.  Each ILLE that received that RFI is required to submit a separate response to that RFI. 

ACTION REQUIRED: Each TSP or DSP that receives a State and Community Impact RFI notification must submit contact information in RIOO for the identified data center developer within two Business Days of receiving the notification.  Each data center developer that receives the State and Community Impact RFI must provide a complete response to the RFI, including a notarized attestation, in RIOO by 5pm CPT on October 12, 2026.  Each TSP or DSP must submit the RFI in RIOO on behalf of the data center developer. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: ERCOT has posted a user guide to the Data Center State and Community Impact RFI page on the ERCOT website.  ERCOT is working to create a pdf version of the RFI questions and will post this to this RFI page once it is available.   

CONTACT: For technical issues accessing or using the RFI portal in RIOO, or questions about how to complete and submit RFI responses in the tool, TSPs, DSPs, and data center developers should contact the ERCOT Service Desk at ServiceDesk@ercot.com.  TSPs and DSP registered as ERCOT Market Participants may also contact ERCOT Client Services at (512) 248-3900 or email ClientServices@ercot.com for technical assistance.  Questions regarding the RFI or verification process should be submitted to DataCenterImpact@ercot.com.

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