THE CURRENT

June 5, 2026

The greatest strength of Texas’ economy is its variety. While other states are struggling to absorb large commercial customers into their electric grids, Texas has decades of experience interconnecting large industries, including industrial manufacturing, microchip and technology development, and the oil & gas that our country depends on. Texas is named best state for business year after year because it takes a forward-thinking view towards attracting and growing the industries in our state. 

One example of that leadership was the adoption of the 2024 Regional Transmission Plan at ERCOT, which recognized that our entire state needs an upgrade to maintain a reliable, affordable electric system. While ERCOT has 52,000 miles of transmission lines, it lacks the central backbone connecting the corners of the grid, allowing all the electrons generators produce to find where they need to go. 



What’s often lost in the conversation about transmission development is the people.  

• Texas has two of the fastest-growing cities in the nation.  

• Texas has added 4.6 million residents in the past 10 years – that’s the entire population of Louisiana, Kentucky or Oregon.  



• Texas has added 1.4 million more residents over the past decade than any other state. 

Infrastructure development benefits every corner of the state. As the electric system grows, Texas continues to put itself further ahead of the rest of the nation, bringing prosperity to residents. 

ERCOT progress on Batch Zero

With hundreds of GW of large loads looking to interconnect to the ERCOT grid, each looking for power as quickly as possible, the PUC and ERCOT have worked closely with stakeholders all year to determine the most efficient and equitable way to choose who gets connected when. After direction from leadership, seven stakeholder workshops and rounds of meetings at the Protocol Subcommittee, the Reliability and Operations Subcommittee and the Technical Advisory Committee, the rules needed to implement “Batch Zero,” a one-time process to clear the initial backlog of interconnection requests were approved by the ERCOT Board in early June. The PUC will consider the rules for finalization in July.



ERCOT estimates that Batch Zero will include approximately 100 GW of new load on top of existing and planned load by 2032, joining load from industrial customers, oil & gas development and large commercial data development. ERCOT Board meeting materials can be found here.

Texas Energy Fund continues to support new power plant and resiliency investments

The Texas Energy Fund was established following the 2023 Legislative Session, providing $10 billion in loan guarantees and completion bonuses to promote dispatchable electric generation in ERCOT, and grants for resiliency projects in areas outside ERCOT. Recent announcements include:

• LCRA’s Timmerman Power Plant expansion, the first recipient of a Texas Energy Fund loan, went online in April 2026.

• NRG has received three loans to support 1,632 MW of natural gas-fired generation in Houston and Baytown, supporting the broader electric grid.



• SWEPCO received a $200 million grant to upgrade power equipment in northeast Texas to further enhance electric reliability for more than 192,000 customers.

Texas has grown faster than the rest of the nation, but electric rates remain flat.

Did you know that Texas’ electric demand has been growing faster than the rest of the nation’s for years? Since 2001, Texas’ load growth has increased by 25 percent, while the nation’s has increased by only 10 percent. 

Atlantic hurricane season began June 1st

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts a below-normal Atlantic hurricane season in 2026, but coastal electric utilities remain vigilant, preparing for storms that develop in the Gulf. A few recent activities from AECT member companies:

• CenterPoint Energy recently developed an online Community Progress Tracker to highlight resiliency efforts. 

• Entergy Texas continued modernizing its grid with stronger infrastructure and automation to promote resilience.

• TNMP highlighted recent grid-hardening projects and drill exercises, among other preparations.



Forecasts call for 13 named storms, including six hurricanes between now and November. Utilities remain vigilant, with vegetation management, infrastructure hardening and crew preparedness year-round.

Be sure to follow @aectnet on Twitter for regular updates on Texas’ electric performance, as well as news from our member companies and seasonal information related to electric usage and safety.