UT Large Loads Symposium

On July 24, the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin convened the 2025 Large Loads Symposium with representatives from the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Texas RE, transmission service providers, load developers, artificial intelligence (AI) chip manufacturers, other technology providers, and regulatory and academic subject matter experts. The event began with presentations from Texas RE and ERCOT, followed by structured breakout sessions. Participants discussed growing concerns around the grid’s ability to manage near and medium-term large load growth. The goals were to:

(1) Define the scale and nature of challenges including voltage ability, thermal constraints, and resource adequacy
(2) Assess existing capabilities and risk mitigation technologies
(3) Identify actionable market and policy solutions 

Observations included the need to update interconnection processes, set clear performance standards, and coordinate across load developers, utilities, and system operators. Voltage and frequency ride-through capabilities emerged as the most urgent technical concern, along with the need for more clarity and certainty in studies and modeling for large loads.  A summary report by Dr. Brian A. Korgel and Tiffany Wu is available here.