Public paper · October 3, 2026 · Energy desk
Texas data centers have to answer ERCOT by October 12
Data centers of 25 megawatts or more that are trying to connect to the ERCOT grid have a State and Community Impact questionnaire due at 5 p.m. Central on October 12, 2026. ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of Texas plan a report on or before December 10, 2026.
noticenearby.com/papers/texas-ercot-data-center-impact-questionnaire-oct-12.pdf
Some data centers that want to hook up to the Texas electric grid have a questionnaire due on October 12, 2026. The grid operator is ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. ERCOT calls the form the State and Community Impact questionnaire. It also calls it a request for information, or RFI.
The due time is 5 p.m. Central Time on October 12, 2026. ERCOT writes that clock as Central Prevailing Time. The form is for data centers of 25 megawatts or more that are trying to connect to ERCOT. That group includes some Batch Zero projects and medium projects in the 25 to 75 megawatt range.
Who has to send it in
ERCOT’s September 14, 2026 market notice names two groups that received the questionnaire.
One group is some Batch Zero data centers. Those are large projects ERCOT has conditionally classed as base load or studied load, when the site is not yet turned on at transmission voltage (60 kilovolts or higher).
The other group is medium data centers. A medium project here has a peak requested load of at least 25 megawatts and less than 75 megawatts. A transmission or distribution utility listed it as substantiated load in answer to ERCOT’s August 19, 2026 medium-load request, and the site is not yet turned on.
The public RFI page says ERCOT is asking developers of data centers of 25 megawatts or more that are pursuing a connection to the ERCOT system. Read the September 14 notice for the exact list of who was sent the form. This paper does not name any project, company, city, or street.
What the questions cover
The questions cover public money and tax breaks, power from the grid versus power made on the site, where water comes from and how it is used, cooling, noise, light, traffic, and who owns or controls the project.
The person who signs has to swear to the answers in front of a notary public in and for the State of Texas. That line is on ERCOT’s attestation form dated September 14, 2026. The finished packet, including the notarized attestation, goes in through ERCOT’s RIOO system by the October 12 deadline.
Questions about the form itself go to DataCenterImpact@ercot.com.
The report after the answers
ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of Texas plan to study the answers and publish a report on or before December 10, 2026. The ERCOT page says the two will work together on that report. The September 14 notice says ERCOT expects to publish it no later than that date.
A short voluntary window
Some medium projects were classed as substantiated load only after a utility sent its August medium-load response. ERCOT’s September 24, 2026 notice says those newer projects do not have to answer. They may ask to answer.
The ask has to be in by Monday, October 5, 2026. If ERCOT then sends the form, the answers are still due at 5 p.m. Central on October 12, 2026. ERCOT will not start any new voluntary questionnaire after October 5.
The September 24 notice says the utility sends the load information to DataCenterImpact@ercot.com, in the same format used for the medium-load response. A medium project that was already on a utility’s August 19 list still has to answer. The voluntary path is not a way out of that.
A different Batch Zero check
This community questionnaire is not the Batch Zero verification request. ERCOT sent that other request on September 9, 2026. The September 14 notice says each project that got the verification request still has to answer it separately.
The verification answer is due 10 business days after ERCOT sends it. A project can ask for one extension of no more than 5 business days. The September 9 notice says to email that ask to LargeLoadVerification@ercot.com.
A late or incomplete verification answer can take the load out of Batch Zero. The September 9 notice says failure to send a complete response on time, or failure to meet the verification rules, will result in the large load being excluded from Batch Zero.
Official pages
ERCOT State and Community Impact RFI page: https://www.ercot.com/about/legal/data-center-impact-rfi
September 14, 2026 market notice M-B091426-01 (the questionnaire and the October 12 and December 10 clocks): https://www.ercot.com/services/comm/mkt_notices/M-B091426-01
September 24, 2026 market notice M-B091426-02 (voluntary medium projects; ask by October 5; no new voluntary after that date): https://www.ercot.com/services/comm/mkt_notices/M-B091426-02
September 9, 2026 market notice M-A090926-01 (Batch Zero verification; 10 business days, plus up to 5): https://www.ercot.com/services/comm/mkt_notices/M-A090926-01
Attestation form (Texas notary line): https://www.ercot.com/files/docs/2026/09/14/Community-Impact-RFI-Attestation.pdf
Texas shelves on this site
Notice Nearby keeps a Texas page and an energy desk. The county links below are public-notice shelves for some large counties in the ERCOT region. They are not a map of data centers. This paper does not place a pin, and it does not say a data center is in any of those counties.
Texas: https://noticenearby.com/tx
Energy desk: https://noticenearby.com/energy
Dallas County: https://noticenearby.com/tx/dallas
Harris County: https://noticenearby.com/tx/harris
Travis County: https://noticenearby.com/tx/travis
Tarrant County: https://noticenearby.com/tx/tarrant
Bexar County: https://noticenearby.com/tx/bexar
Collin County: https://noticenearby.com/tx/collin
Williamson County: https://noticenearby.com/tx/williamson
What this note is
This is a plain-language note from public records. It is not ERCOT, not the Public Utility Commission of Texas, and not legal advice. If an official page and this note disagree, the official page wins.
Not legal advice. Not a newspaper. Not Legal Publication. Record of Sale, LLC (Oregon).
Notes and sources
- Author: Ryan Standley / Record of Sale, LLC / Notice Nearby.
- Discussed on @NoticeNearYou: (pending — fill xPostUrl after a live post).
- Not legal advice. Not a newspaper. Not Legal Publication. Record of Sale, LLC (Oregon).
Energy desk · Texas page · county shelves for Dallas, Harris, Travis, Tarrant, Bexar, Collin, and Williamson. Those shelves are not a data-center map. @NoticeNearYou post pending.
Not legal advice. Not a newspaper. Not Legal Publication. Record of Sale, LLC (Oregon).