ReferenceLarge-load power by market
Houston: what a 50 MW connection costs under CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric
What does a 50 MW connection cost in Houston?
In short. In Houston, CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric connects a 50 MW load under same ERCOT/PUCT regime as Oncor; facility extension agreements with deposits below 75 MW, docket PUCT Project 58481. Minimum bill: none. Term: none. Realistic energization: 2028 to 2029. Open Factory's Large-Load Cost Table, as of August 21, 2026.
Facts
| Market | Houston, TX (ERCOT) |
|---|---|
| Utility | CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric |
| Tariff or rule | same ERCOT/PUCT regime as Oncor; facility extension agreements with deposits below 75 MW |
| Docket | PUCT Project 58481; Batch Zero |
| Status | as Oncor |
| Large-load threshold | 75 MW (SB 6); 25 MW for community-impact review |
| Study fee | TDSP study (fee not published) |
| Security or collateral | facility extension agreements with customer cash commitments and deposits: about $900 million against 14 GW of Batch Zero-eligible load |
| Minimum bill | none |
| Contract term | none |
| Ramp | none required by rule |
| Exit fee | forfeiture terms in facility extension agreements (not public) |
| CIAC exposure | customer-funded extension facilities under the TDSP tariff; 100% direct interconnection CIAC at 75 MW+ (proposed) |
| Realistic energization, 50 MW | 2028 to 2029 |
| Verification | PARTIAL (company statements verified; tariff sheet not opened) |
| Data as of | August 21, 2026 |
Questions
What does a 50 MW connection cost in Houston?
CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric: study fee TDSP study (fee not published); collateral facility extension agreements with customer cash commitments and deposits: about $900 million against 14 GW of Batch Zero-eligible load; minimum bill none; term none.
When can a 50 MW load be energized in Houston?
2028 to 2029. CenterPoint: 3.5 GW under construction; 8 GW of data center load energized by 2029 and nearly all 14 GW by end-2030; 90% of projects at or under 500 MW sited near existing substations; JLL puts Texas (Dallas) at ~2.5 years for 50 MW.
Which tariff applies to large loads in Houston?
same ERCOT/PUCT regime as Oncor; facility extension agreements with deposits below 75 MW; docket PUCT Project 58481; Batch Zero; status: as Oncor.
Is this rate proposed or approved?
Approved or in effect as of the data date (as Oncor). PARTIAL (company statements verified; tariff sheet not opened).
Sources
Data as of August 21, 2026. This page is rebuilt from the same table the Large-Load Interconnection Cost, the API and the MCP server read, so the figures cannot differ. Also available as plain markdown. Cite as Open Factory, Houston: what a 50 MW connection costs under CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, August 21, 2026.
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