Grid operator asks the water board's questions and gives data centers until October 12th
ERCOT issued Market Notice M-B091426-01 on September 14th, 2026, opening a Request for Information on the state and community impacts of data centers. Its stated audience is developers of data centers of 25 MW and larger. The body narrows the actual recipients to two defined groups rather than every developer of that size. It is issued jointly with the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Water Development Board. Section C carries the water questions. The water board's Executive Administrator authorized the grid operator to ask them on the board's behalf, and the grid operator forwards the answers back. A developer does not file its own response. Its transmission or distribution provider files it, with a notarized attestation, through the operator's own web platform. Responses are due at 5 p.m. Central Prevailing Time on October 12th, 2026. Not responding is reported to the commission and to the Office of the Governor, and under Texas Water Code 16.012 an incomplete answer to Section C carries criminal exposure. The notice states in its own words that this is a separate request from the Batch Zero eligibility one issued on September 9th, 2026. A report on what the answers show is expected by December 10th, 2026.
How to take part
The notice is published in full on the grid operator's own market notice archive and names an address for questions about the request. The window is not a public comment window. It is a response requirement on named data center developers, filed for them by their transmission or distribution provider. A member of the public reads the notice and waits for the report the operator says it will publish.
Where
Statewide. This decision applies across Texas rather than to a named county.
Timeline
- filed
Market Notice M-B091426-01 issued
- Today
- administrative deadline
Complete responses due at 5 p.m. Central Prevailing Time
15 days out - expires
Date by which the operator expects to publish a report on the responses
How this decision moved
One dated line per check, oldest first. A line that says nothing changed means somebody looked and it had not.
- 2026-09-19
The request is open and the answers are not due yet. Nothing about what the water questions return is known today.
- 2026-09-23
The grid operator's questionnaire still runs to October 12th, and a data center that lets that date pass still answers for it.
- 2026-09-26
The grid operator's deadline for the water board's questions still stands.
The evidence
Every fact above rests on one of these. The words are the source's own.
M-B091426-01 Issuance of Request for Information Regarding Data Center State and Community ImpactsERCOT Market Notice M-B091426-01 Primary source, official · ercot.com
Developers of Data Centers 25 MW and LargerERCOT Market Notice M-B091426-01 Primary source, official · ercot.com
In accordance with Texas Water Code 16.012, any failure to fully respond to the questions in Section C may subject an RFI recipient to criminal penalties and other potential consequences.ERCOT Market Notice M-B091426-01 Primary source, official · ercot.com
5 p.m. Central Prevailing Time (CPT) on October 12, 2026ERCOT Market Notice M-B091426-01 Primary source, official · ercot.com
Failure to respond to the RFI or any part thereof will be reported to the PUC and the Office of the Governor.ERCOT Market Notice M-B091426-01 Primary source, official · ercot.com
The Executive Administrator of the TWDB has authorized ERCOT to issue the questions in Section C on TWDB's behalf, and ERCOT will forward the responses to these questions to TWDB.ERCOT Market Notice M-B091426-01 Primary source, official · ercot.com
This RFI is separate from the Batch Zero Eligibility RFI issued on September 9, 2026.ERCOT Market Notice M-B091426-01 Primary source, official · ercot.com
a notarized attestation from the data center developerERCOT Market Notice M-B091426-01 Primary source, official · ercot.com
ERCOT expects to publish this report no later than December 10, 2026.ERCOT Market Notice M-B091426-01 Primary source, official · ercot.com
Each TSP or DSP must submit the RFI in RIOO on behalf of the data center developer.ERCOT Market Notice M-B091426-01 Primary source, official · ercot.com
Questions about this decision
Answered from the record itself. Every answer is assembled from stored fields, so an answer the record has no basis for is left out rather than guessed.
What is this decision?
ERCOT issued Market Notice M-B091426-01 on September 14th, 2026, opening a Request for Information on the state and community impacts of data centers. Its stated audience is developers of data centers of 25 MW and larger. The body narrows the actual recipients to two defined groups rather than every developer of that size. It is issued jointly with the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Water Development Board. Section C carries the water questions. The water board's Executive Administrator authorized the grid operator to ask them on the board's behalf, and the grid operator forwards the answers back. A developer does not file its own response. Its transmission or distribution provider files it, with a notarized attestation, through the operator's own web platform. Responses are due at 5 p.m. Central Prevailing Time on October 12th, 2026. Not responding is reported to the commission and to the Office of the Governor, and under Texas Water Code 16.012 an incomplete answer to Section C carries criminal exposure. The notice states in its own words that this is a separate request from the Batch Zero eligibility one issued on September 9th, 2026. A report on what the answers show is expected by December 10th, 2026.
Who decides it?
Electric Reliability Council of Texas decides. The record names the deciding body for every entry it carries.
Can the public take part?
The notice is published in full on the grid operator's own market notice archive and names an address for questions about the request. The window is not a public comment window. It is a response requirement on named data center developers, filed for them by their transmission or distribution provider. A member of the public reads the notice and waits for the report the operator says it will publish. No dated public window is on the record. The deciding body is named and reachable.
Where in Texas does it apply?
It is a statewide body's action and it governs the ERCOT region rather than every county.
Has it been decided?
Its status on the record is open.
What happens next?
The next dated step is administrative deadline, on October 12th, in 15 days.
When did it start?
The earliest date on its record is September 14th, 2026.
What kind of decision is it?
It is filed under land, water and permitting.
What sources back it?
One source backs it. It is primary.
Is it on the ERCOT grid?
Yes. It sits inside the ERCOT interconnection.
When was it last checked?
Every fact on it was last verified against its source on September 26th, 2026.
Cite this
Texas AI Docket, Grid operator asks the water board's questions and gives data centers until October 12th. Tracked since September 14th, 2026. Last verified September 26th, 2026. https://texasaidocket.com/item/tx-2026-0172/. Reuse permitted under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. The same entry is in the docket JSON as item tx-2026-0172.
Beat
Filed under Land, water and permitting, with every other decision on that beat.