Datacenter-driven load growth has been top of mind for the last two years, but the most rapid expansion in demand over the last decade has been in ERCOT's Far West Weather Zone. This quadrupling of demand started well before the AI-driven datacenter bonanza, and also predates Texas' spurt of crypto-mining load growth. Instead, it has been anchored in the latest expression of a traditional Texas industry: oil and gas. Anyone who's sited a battery project in West Texas can tell you about the criss-crossing mess of wires as you attempt to nail down a particular line, tap, and voltage while dodging or dealing with the extensive land holdings of a handful of powerful entities that aren't particularly interested in someone else's infrastructure. Conversely, efforts to expand cheaper and more reliable electric power across basin operations have been welcomed with open arms. Three other tidbits to call out: Demand is almost completely flat hour-over-hour, which speaks to the predominance of industrial load across all seasons as opposed to the typical rise and fall of areas with higher populations. Starting in 2024, a mid-day bump appears as battery capacity expanded across the region. This has completely disappeared since the implementation of RTC+B, as wholesale storage load is no longer included in real-time load reporting from ERCOT. Summer months, where AC load was able to produce a small evening peak, shifted to a morning peak from the battery demand. This should shift back in 2026 with the aforementioned RTC+B change.
Datacenter load growth has been top of mind, but the most rapid demand expansion over the last decade was in ERCOT's Far West Weather Zone
This quadrupling of demand started before AI, and predates Texas' spurt of crypto growth. Instead, it's anchored in a traditional Texas industry: oil and gas 🔌💡
