Grid operator
Appears in 8 stories · Last updated Oct 31, 2026
Operator of the Texas grid served by Bocanova
Nightpeak Energy put its 150 MW Bocanova 2 battery phase into commercial operation on September 17, 2026, doubling the Bocanova site in Brazoria County, near Houston, to 300 MW. The company announced the phase on October 13. The first 150 MW phase began operating in August 2025.
Updated Oct 31
Auditing about 300 large loads, with a report due to regulators by December 10
Texas has widened its freeze on data centers from the power grid to environmental permits. On September 21, Governor Greg Abbott told the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to stop approving data center permits until the Electric Reliability Council of Texas finishes auditing the projects waiting to connect.
Updated Oct 23
As of September 2026: Will receive SunRoper's output
Shovels went into the ground September 1 for SunRoper, a 347-MW solar project in Wharton County, Texas, about 60 miles southwest of Houston. When it comes online in December 2027, it will deliver power to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state's grid operator.
Updated Sep 4
As of August 2026: Designed the reliability plan and carried the burden of proving need
Texas utility regulators unanimously approved more than 400 miles of 765,000-volt transmission lines on August 28. The vote clears Dallas-based Oncor to build two corridors crossing 30 counties from Bosque County southwest toward the Permian Basin, where oil and gas companies say operations are starved for electricity.
Updated Aug 29
As of August 2026: Forecasts demand and interconnection for the Texas grid
AEP Texas has closed a $3.26 billion federal loan to rebuild the state's power grid. The money funds roughly 100 projects covering 2,800 miles of transmission lines. Key corridors get double the carrying capacity, aimed at data centers and Permian Basin oil fields.
Updated Aug 24
As of July 2026: Managed the record-setting week without incident
In February 2021, a winter storm knocked out the Texas power grid and hundreds of people died in the cold. On July 22, 2026, that same grid pulled its heaviest load ever, about 91,089 megawatts, and nobody was asked to turn down the air conditioning.
Updated Jul 30
As of May 2026: Post-event analysis complete; batteries/renewables validated resilience amid $4-7B national losses
Winter Storm Fern killed over 150 people by early February 2026, following 106 deaths on January 28. The storm brought ice and heavy snow across a 2,000-mile path from Texas to Maine, prompting President Trump to declare federal emergencies in 10+ states as peak power outages exceeded 1 million, 14,000+ flights were canceled (the worst aviation disruption since COVID-19), and wind chills dropped to minus 50°F. Fatalities came from hypothermia, traffic accidents, and ice-related incidents: Tennessee reported 29 deaths, Mississippi 28, Louisiana 8, New York City 8 people frozen outdoors, with additional deaths in Kentucky and in Texas where 3 boys drowned after falling through pond ice.
Updated May 26
As of May 2026: Operates the grid where the crossover is happening
Coal has powered Texas for most of the past century. In 2026, for the first time on record, utility-scale solar is forecast to outproduce it for the full year in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
Updated May 14
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