Large Loads Initiative: Straw proposal posted, meeting on 8/19/26

The California ISO (ISO) will post the straw proposal on Large Loads by end of day today on the Large Loads initiative webpage, and will hold a public stakeholder meeting on Aug. 19, 2026, to discuss the proposal.

California is preparing for significant growth in electricity demand over the next decade, driven by data centers, electrification, and other emerging large loads. While California's coordinated planning framework has already enabled substantial additions of generation, storage, and transmission infrastructure, the scale of future large load development has heightened the need for greater clarity and coordination among the ISO, utilities, regulators, and customers. To address these emerging issues, the ISO launched the Large Loads Initiative in January 2026.

Following the issuance of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's June 18, 2026, Order to Show Cause, the Large Loads Initiative is the primary forum to evaluate potential tariff, policy, and process enhancements to support the reliable and efficient integration of large loads on the ISO-controlled grid, including planning, interconnection, transmission service, reliability, and operational considerations.

The presentation will be available prior to the meeting on the Large Loads initiative webpage. The proposal will examine some opportunities for more coordinated and holistic processes for serving new large loads, focusing on the following topics: 

1. Transmission Service to Eligible Customers on Behalf of Large Loads
2. Cost Shifting Risk Among Transmission Customers             
3. Co-Location Arrangements and Load with Behind the Meter Generation               
4. Extending New Transmission Services to Eligible Customers Taking Service on Behalf of Flexible Large Loads 
5. Interconnection Customers Serving Electrically Proximate Large Load and Co-Located Load

The meeting will be recorded, and the video will be posted following the meeting. The recording is provided for informational and convenience purposes only, and any related transcriptions may not be reprinted without the ISO's permission.

Please submit written comments on the straw proposal and Aug. 19, 2026, meeting discussion by end of day Sep. 2, 2026, through the ISO's commenting tool using the link on the initiative webpage.

Please contact Yelena Kopylov-Alford at ykopylovalford@caiso.com or ISOstakeholderaffairs@caiso.com with any questions.