Large Load Accelerated Action Plan

North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) CEO Jim Robb recently laid out an accelerated action plan for large loads to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as a follow-up to the earlier notice regarding the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANOPR) on large load integration in October (Docket No. RM26-4-000). Key elements include developing registration criteria for large computational loads and a set of Reliability Standards applicable to them, reflecting their importance in grid operations and to assure their reliable integration into the grid. NERC’s timeline calls for movement “at the speed of risk” and work is underway to complete registry criteria, glossary additions, and a set of Standards by the end of 2026. NERC’s Standards Committee accepted an initial Standard Authorization Request (SAR) for computational load on March 18, 2026, and appointed a Standard drafting team. The SAR is currently posted for public comment.

While this project unfolds, NERC and the Regions are also working to raise general awareness of this critical issue. On March 11, 2026, NERC’s Reliability and Security Technical Committee (RSTC) approved its Large Loads Working Group’s (LLWG) second whitepaper, Assessment of Gaps in Existing Practices, Requirements, and Reliability Standards for Emerging Large Loads, which lays out concerns posed by the rapid growth and characteristics of these facilities. Additionally, NERC’s public report on the Level 2 Alert on large loads further underscores the need for registry criteria and Reliability Standards updates.

Upcoming activities include a Level 3 NERC Alert to urge essential actions and provide guidance is planned for May issuance with responses due in August. Additionally, the LLWG’s Reliability Guideline on mitigation of large load risks is scheduled for release in April along with a Data Center Load Modelling Technical Reference paper slated for June from the Load Modeling Working Group (subject to RSTC approval).

Activity at the state level in Texas centers on developing a “batch” of large load interconnection processes to handle the volume of large load requests by mid-year, as well as incorporating last summer’s Texas Senate Bill 6 directives into Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and Electric Reliability Corporation of Texas (ERCOT) rules and procedures. As a hotbed of large load activity, insights from these Texas efforts will be an important contributor to the overall North American management of these new loads.