Announcements
Calendar
Jobs and EEO Info
Staff

Harmonizing Large Load Interconnection Requirements in the West

May 28, 2026

Announcements, WIRAB Meetings

Project and Meeting Series:

Harmonizing Large Load Interconnection Requirements in the West

The West, like much of the North American Bulk Power System, is experiencing rapid growth in large load interconnection requests. The speed and scale of this growth have outpaced traditional planning processes, technical frameworks, and interconnection practices that were designed for a different era of utility infrastructure. In response, utilities, industry participants, and federal and state agencies are working urgently to establish common standards that protect grid reliability as these loads come online.

To help address these challenges, WIRAB has engaged Elevate Energy Consulting, Inc. to support the Western Interconnection in navigating the technical and regulatory complexities associated with large load integration. These complexities are already presenting significant challenges for utilities, system operators, and regulators across the West, and unfolding alongside evolving compliance expectations that call for greater consistency, information sharing, and rigor in how large loads are studied, interconnected, and operated.

Rapid growth in large loads represents one of the most significant emerging reliability challenges in the Western Interconnection, requiring coordinated technical and regulatory approaches to ensure that new demand can be integrated while maintaining dependable Bulk Power System operations.

Project Goals

This initiative is designed to:

  • Develop a practical framework for large load interconnection in the Western Interconnection
  • Improve consistency and transparency in how large loads are evaluated and studied
  • Identify key technical and operational considerations necessary to maintain reliability
  • Support Western states and regulators as they evaluate rapidly growing large load requests
  • Provide a forum for utilities, system operators, regulators, and industry stakeholders to share practices and lessons learned
Industry Advisory Group

WIRAB and Elevate will regularly convene Western stakeholders including utilities, states, system operators, and large load developers through an Industry Advisory Group (WIRAB-LL-IAG).

The Industry Advisory Group will serve as the primary forum for technical discussion and stakeholder engagement, helping inform the development of a Large Load Interconnection Requirements Template and related recommendations.

Building on WIRAB’s successful Inverter‑Based Resources Industry Advisory Group (WIRAB-IBR‑IAG) effort launched in 2025, the WIRAB Large Load IAG will facilitate the sharing of practices, lessons learned, and recommendations related to large load interconnection and particularly focus on ways that harmonization can help support reliability and efficiency.

The meetings will be open to the public and you can join by registering here:

Register for the Meeting Series
Next Meeting:

May 28, 2026, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (MT)/10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (PT)

Tentative Large Load IAG 2026 Meeting Schedule and Topics:

Schedule subject to change.

May: IAG Kickoff Meeting

  • May 28, 2026, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (MT)/10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (PT)

June: Large Load Interconnection Requirements Review

  • June 25, 2026, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (MT)/10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (PT)

July: Large Load Interconnection Requirements Template #1

  • July 16, 2026, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (MT)/10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (PT)

August: Large Load Interconnection Requirements Template #2

  • August 13, 2026, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (MT)/10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (PT)

September: Large Load Interconnection Requirements Template #3

  • September 24, 2026, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (MT)/10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (PT)

October: Template Review and Finalizing

  • October 22, 2026, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (MT)/10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (PT)

November: Template Finalizing and Next Steps

  • November 12, 2026, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (MT)/10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (PT)

December: Industry Webinar

  • December 3, 2026, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (MT)/10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (PT)
Project Deliverables:

This initiative will produce:

  • A publicly available Large Load Interconnection Requirements Template outlining key technical considerations and study expectations
  • Documentation of emerging practices across Western utilities
  • Recommendations to improve consistency in large load interconnection processes
  • A public webinar summarizing key findings and recommendations
Contact Us:

For more information, please contact Eric Baran at ebaran@westernenergyboard.org.