NexPhase Advisory

The Morning Read

Tuesday, July 21, 2026
01  The Bottom Line
Interconnection reform is the through-line this cycle. MISO is standing up a dedicated queue for large loads and pressing ahead with zero-injection generation agreements, New Mexico is opening a large-load tariff working group, and Senator Heinrich wants every RTO to offer ERCOT-style connect-and-manage. The common thread is that the standard queue process has become the binding constraint on data center growth, and every level, RTO, state, and now Congress, is moving to route around it. For developers, the interconnection path itself is now the deal, and the venues that redesign it fastest are where capacity will actually clear.
02  Signal of the Day
National & Policy
New Mexico Public Regulation Commission · 2026-07-19
New Mexico PRC launching a large-load tariff working group with one filing in hand and two more expected is a meaningful signal of where the Western interconnect is heading. The tariff structure that comes out of this process will set cost allocation precedent for the state, and developers eyeing New Mexico capacity should be in that working group, not reading about it after the order issues.
03  Market Intelligence
MISO  · 2 signals
MISO · 2026-07-20
MISO moved on two fronts this week, both aimed at the same problem: connecting data-center-scale load without breaking the standard queue. This one is a dedicated, expedited track for large loads and their devoted generation, a direct response to demand that has overwhelmed the normal interconnection process. Pulling gigawatt-scale loads and the generation sited to serve them into a separate lane keeps them from clogging the regular queue, and it signals MISO expects this category to keep growing. For developers siting large load in MISO, the design details, its eligibility rules, cost allocation, and study timeline, will decide whether it is actually faster or just a relabeled backlog. The companion move, its zero-injection generation framework, is the other half of the same strategy. Watch both filings.
MISO · 2026-07-19
MISO holding its zero-injection generation agreement design largely intact after a month's delay tells you the RTO is committed to the framework despite stakeholder pushback. Zero-injection agreements let generation sited to serve a co-located load connect without exporting to the grid, which is exactly the structure behind-the-meter data center campuses want. The stakeholder apprehension is about cost and precedent, and the delay bought time, not concessions. For anyone structuring a load-plus-generation project in MISO, this is the interconnection path to watch.
National & Policy  · 1 signal
Martin Heinrich · 2026-07-20
Senator Heinrich's Grid Connection and Congestion Management Act (S. 5008), introduced July 16 as part of his Grid for Growth initiative, would require grid operators to offer fast-track connect-and-manage interconnection, and if enacted it would be the most consequential federal intervention in the queue crisis to date. Connect and manage lets generators interconnect faster by accepting curtailment when the grid needs it rather than waiting for every network upgrade to be built and paid for, which is why ERCOT's queue moves faster than PJM's or MISO's. The politics are steep, and federal preemption of RTO interconnection design will draw heavy opposition, so treat this as a directional signal rather than an imminent rule. But it names the right problem, and a legislative proposal carries more weight than another stakeholder complaint.
04  Regulatory Watch  · 8 filingsView Filings▾
EL26-67-000 · PJM · cost allocation · 3 filings
FERC initiates Section 206 proceeding against PJM, all commissioners concurring separately
Filed 2026-06-18   20260618-3105 ›  ·  20260708-5011 ›  ·  20260618-3111 ›
ER26-1323-002 · SPP · large load
SPP compliance filing for conditional high-impact large load service tariff provisions
Filed 2026-07-06   20260706-5174 ›
ER26-2698-000 · NYISO · queue reform
NYISO supplemental filing on interconnection process improvements affecting queue procedures
Filed 2026-07-08   20260708-5191 ›
RM21-17-000 · MISO · cost allocation · 3 filings
FERC extends time on major MISO regional transmission planning and cost allocation rulemaking.
Filed 2026-07-17   20260717-3052 ›  ·  20260717-3053 ›  ·  20260717-3051 ›
EL25-49-002 · PJM · large load
FERC issues rehearing/clarification order on PJM proceeding, likely large-load or cost policy matter.
Filed 2026-06-18   20260618-3103 ›
ER26-2514-000 · SPP · queue reform
FERC accepts SPP generator interconnection procedure revisions to Attachment V tariff.
Filed 2026-06-29   20260629-3054 ›
ER26-2771-000 · PJM · queue reform
FERC denied Chestnut Run Energy LLC's waiver request in PJM (ER26-2771), a process-integrity ruling on interconnection queue timing.
Filed 2026-07-02   20260702-3059 ›
EL26-68-000 · n/a · large load
Data Center Coalition intervenes, signaling major data center power policy proceeding.
Filed 2026-07-09   20260709-5248 ›
The Morning Read is published weekday mornings under the NexPhase Advisory imprint, written by Chris Santiago. Two decades in utility-scale development, from site origination and land control through interconnection, offtake, and delivery to NTP. 5+ GW delivered across major U.S. ISOs and RTOs.
Part of the NexPhase Intelligence Platform: intel.nexphaseadvisory.net/platform/
Coverage suggestions welcome — reply anytime. The best story tips come from people in the queue.
Questions or corrections: chris@nexphaseadvisory.net.
© 2026 NexPhase Advisory. Sources available on request. · Corrections