Oncor Electric Delivery, which operates the largest transmission and distribution system in Texas, reported third-quarter 2026 results on Nov. 5. The headline numbers were earnings and capital spending. The figures that matter most to anyone following the Texas data center buildout were further down the release: how much large-load demand is waiting in Oncor's transmission queue, and what the utility expects to spend to serve it.
According to Oncor's release, its active transmission queue for large commercial and industrial (LC&I) customers held 795 requests as of Sept. 30. Those requests included about 293 GW from data centers and about 19 GW from other industrial sectors, 4 GW of it from cryptocurrency mining. For scale, Oncor's own system set an all-time peak of 33.3 GW this summer.
The Queue, by the Numbers
A queue request is not a commitment to build. Sempra's presentation says as much, noting that a request is not a guarantee the load will ever materialize. Still, the company gave several figures on the size and seriousness of the pipeline:
- Large-load requests: 795 active LC&I transmission requests, including about 293 GW from data centers and about 19 GW from other industrial sectors (including 4 GW of crypto), per Oncor.
- Growth: Active transmission point-of-interconnection (POI) requests were up 10% year over year, Oncor said.
- Collateral: Oncor said it held about $6.0 billion of customer collateral against active generation and LC&I transmission POI requests. Oncor said the collateral is intended to reduce the risk of ratepayers bearing costs for projects that are cancelled after Oncor has spent money toward building the infrastructure.
- Generation queue: Oncor reported 504 active generation POI requests. By its breakdown, about 45% were storage, 40% solar, 8% wind and 7% gas.
Parent company Sempra's third-quarter earnings presentation, filed with the SEC the same day, broke down the non-data-center part of the queue further. Of the roughly 19 GW, the deck lists manufacturing at 6 GW, oil and gas at 5 GW, utility and government at 4 GW and other at 4 GW. Sempra describes that non-data-center load as a potential 57% increase over Oncor's current peak load of 33.3 GW, assuming all of it materializes and excluding data centers.
The 293-GW figure may not be directly comparable with figures Oncor gave earlier this year. In August, Utility Dive reported that CEO Allen Nye said Oncor's service requests rose from 289 GW at the end of the first quarter to 298 GW in the second. The Nov. 5 release separates out data centers and other industrial sectors, and the sources reviewed do not say how the earlier total was defined.
A Record Summer Peak
Oncor said its system hit a record 33.3 GW on Aug. 24, 2026, above the prior record of 31.4 GW set in 2025. The ERCOT grid as a whole set a record peak of 91.1 GW on July 22, 2026, according to the release.
Read against that 33.3-GW peak, the data center portion of the queue is roughly nine times the peak load Oncor's system has served (293 divided by 33.3 is about 8.8). Queue requests are not load that will necessarily be built.
Batch Zero: 45 GW Submitted
Batch Zero is ERCOT's new interconnection process for large loads. Per Utility Dive, ERCOT's criteria apply to loads with a peak demand of 75 MW or greater, and Sempra's chief executive said the batch approach is intended to align the interconnection of large loads with the construction of new generation. On slide 14 of Sempra's deck, Oncor's Batch Zero submissions represent potential incremental load of 45 GW, which Sempra describes as an increase of about 135% over Oncor's 33-GW system peak. The figure in the second quarter was 44 GW.
Oncor's release adds that ERCOT has conditionally classified customer loads submitted by Oncor: about 24 GW as base load, including 10 GW already energized, and 21 GW as studied load. Oncor said the classification is conditional pending an ERCOT audit of customer qualifications and community impacts, expected in December 2026, and that it holds about $2.0 billion of large-load customer collateral tied to Batch Zero projects, part of the roughly $6.0 billion total.
The slide also includes a timeline with these dates: 7/24/2026, 9/3/2026, 12/10/2026, 2/2027, 4/9/2027, Summer 2027 and 2H-2027. The steps on the timeline are validation, eligibility, classifications, audit report, commitment deadline, study results and a capital plan update. The text extracted from the filing does not show clearly which date goes with which step, so this article does not match them up.
Batch Zero has also run into politics. In August, Utility Dive reported that an order from Gov. Greg Abbott paused new data center interconnection approvals pending a statewide audit. ERCOT spokespeople told local media at the time that they had put the Batch Zero review on hold pending clarification from the governor. The Nov. 5 documents reviewed for this article do not say what has happened to the pause or the review since then.
Utility Dive also reported that Oncor sent ERCOT a qualifying forecast of about 127 GW before the Batch Zero criteria were released.
Capital Spending: $9 Billion This Year, More Coming
Oncor said it had deployed about $6.3 billion of capital in the first nine months of 2026. It said that keeps it on plan for about $9.0 billion for the full year, the largest annual capital plan in its history. Transmission investment was $1.3 billion in the third quarter alone.
The bigger number is the next plan. Oncor said it currently projects its 2027–2031 base capital plan to increase by approximately 20%, with the final plan to be announced in the first quarter of 2027. Sempra's footnote says the expected 20% increase is not final and is measured against the 2026–2030 base capital plan of $47.5 billion.
Batch Zero is not part of that plan. Oncor's release says a final transmission plan reflecting Batch Zero results is not expected until fall 2027, and that Batch Zero projects remain outside the current base capital plan. Utility Dive reported in August that Sempra's CEO said the $47.5 billion plan includes no Batch Zero spending, and that the plan includes about $5 billion tied to Permian Basin high-voltage projects. Utility Dive also reported that Sempra's total capital plan through 2030 is $65 billion, and that the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) approved $560 million of additional base rate revenue for Oncor.
New Lines on the Way
Building transmission in Texas requires a certificate of convenience and necessity (CCN) from the PUCT. Oncor said it has filed 16 new CCN applications this year: four at 138 kV, nine at 345 kV and three at 765 kV. Eight of those have been approved, along with five CCNs filed in previous years. The PUCT approved the Drill Hole Switch to Longshore Switch and Longshore Switch to Dinosaur Switch 765-kV CCNs on Aug. 28, 2026, which together make up Import Path 1 of the Permian Basin Reliability Plan, according to the release.
Sempra's deck notes that the PUCT's approval of Import Path 1 remains subject to motions for rehearing and appeals. A footnote says the PUCT extended its deadline to act on the rehearing motions to Dec. 6, 2026. Oncor said it is awaiting a decision on Import Path 2.
Earnings
Oncor reported third-quarter net income of $572 million, up from $380 million a year earlier, an increase of $192 million. Net income for the first nine months was $1,212 million, compared with $820 million a year earlier. Oncor attributed the third-quarter increase to higher revenues, including new base rates that took effect June 1, 2026. Oncor's release includes comments from Nye.
What Happens Next
The scheduled steps in the sources are these. Oncor expects to announce its final 2027–2031 base capital plan in the first quarter of 2027; it currently projects about a 20% increase over the $47.5 billion 2026–2030 plan, and Sempra says that figure is not final. Oncor expects the ERCOT audit tied to Batch Zero classifications in December 2026, and the PUCT's deadline to act on rehearing motions for Permian Basin Import Path 1 is Dec. 6, 2026, according to Sempra. Oncor does not expect a final transmission plan reflecting Batch Zero results until fall 2027, and Sempra's Batch Zero timeline runs to the second half of 2027. The sources reviewed do not say whether the statewide pause on new data center interconnection approvals has been resolved.
