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Power decisions for data centers in Texas
AI and hosting campuses carry large, steady loads, backup engines that rarely run and batteries that mostly wait. The plan puts them to work in the hours when grid power is dearest, within the uptime limits you set.
- Markets
- ERCOT; Milan (NORD) modeled
- Site size
- 20 to 300 MW
- Assets
- Gas engines, batteries, UPS, flexible compute
- Decisions
- Run on site, discharge, curtail, buy from grid
- To start
- One meter export and an equipment list
Summer peaks
Four intervals a year set your transmission charge
In ERCOT, a site's load during the system's highest 15-minute interval in each of June, July, August and September sets its transmission charge for the following year. Shed load in those intervals and the charge falls.
Transmission charge calculator
ERCOT 2025, real peaks
The calculation is load times rate, before and after shedding. It assumes you know the peak day in advance, which nobody does for certain. The console estimates each day's chance of being the peak and plans to it.
| Month | Peak hour | ERCOT load |
|---|---|---|
| June | 19 Jun 2025, 16:00 | 77.3 GW |
| July | 30 Jul 2025, 17:00 | 81.7 GW |
| August | 18 Aug 2025, 17:00 | 83.6 GW |
| September | 4 Sep 2025, 17:00 | 79.9 GW |
The peak hours above come from hourly EIA-930 system load, hour beginning. ERCOT settles on 15-minute intervals, so the exact interval can differ.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas is reviewing whether to move from four summer peaks to twelve monthly peaks. Under twelve, shedding in four summer hours is no longer enough, and a plan tuned for four peaks can cost far more. The console prices both.
Replay 30 July 2025, the day of July's peak, hour by hour.
Backup equipment
Engines and batteries that earn their keep
Backup generation is sized for the worst day and idles the rest of the year. Where permits allow, the plan runs it when the grid costs more than the fuel, and keeps the battery ready for the spikes.
- Curtail only when it pays. Compute is shed only in hours where grid power costs more than the site says a megawatt-hour of compute is worth.
- Permits first. Run hours, starts and NOx are counted against your permit limits.
- SB 6 ready. Where backup covers at least half of the load, ERCOT may direct a site to run it or curtail in an emergency. The console shows how each hour would be covered.
Contract and rules
Savings only count if your contract passes them on
Peak charges reach you under almost any supply contract. Energy savings depend on its structure. The bill view tests index, block-and-index and fixed all-in contracts, and the regulation view checks the Texas rules that apply to your site.
Backtest
AI campuses, 476 days of real prices
Energy cost including peak charges, 1 May 2025 to 23 August 2026. Sites are modeled; campuses A to C from public announcements.
| Site (modeled) | International Batteries | Spark-spread rule | Grid first | Saving vs rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reference AI campus, 100 MW | $32.53M | $33.75M | $42.10M | 3.6% |
| West Texas AI campus A | $20.75M | $23.12M | $90.40M | 10.3% |
| West Texas AI campus B | $54.60M | $56.45M | $105.28M | 3.3% |
| West Texas AI campus C | $29.94M | $30.70M | $47.34M | 2.5% |
Not customer results. Campuses A to C use partly assumed equipment and hub prices.
Next step
Find your load in last summer's peaks
Drop your meter export into the meter check. It finds your load in each 2025 peak hour and prices your year at real-time hub prices, in your browser.