What it means
A small business gets power by calling the local utility. A very large user cannot. Its demand can be as big as a city, so the utility and the grid operator must study whether the grid can serve it and what must be built first.
The rules differ from the rules for connecting a power plant, even though the two are often discussed together.
The usual steps
- The customer sends a request with the site, the size in megawatts and the target date.
- The customer shows site control and pays study fees.
- The utility runs a load study.
- The parties sign agreements and the customer posts financial security.
- The utility builds the needed facilities and the site is energized.
Large loads in Texas
In ERCOT, a law known as Texas SB 6 and the rule the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) adopted under it set standard terms for large load requests. The adopted rule applies to a new or expanded interconnection of 75 MW or more at a single site. Check the PUCT and ERCOT for the current text.
Questions people ask
How big is a large load?
It depends on the region. Under the Texas rule adopted under SB 6, the threshold is 75 MW or more at a single site. Other regions and utilities set their own thresholds.
Is large load interconnection the same as generator interconnection?
No. Both connect a project to the grid, but they follow different processes and rules. A site that suits one may not suit the other.
Does Voltane file interconnection requests?
No. Voltane screens sites using public data. The interconnection request goes to the utility, which runs the official studies.
Related
More glossary
- What is time to power?
- What is powered land?
- What is a powered shell?
- What is a point of interconnection?
- What is an interconnection queue?
- What is queue position?
- What is ERCOT?
- What is an ERCOT load zone?
Need a site, or have one?
Tell us what you need and Voltane finds, reports on and prices candidate sites in ERCOT. Or bring a site you already have for a path-to-power report (by request for now).