A Texas Private Use Network is an operating structure, not a private-wire shortcut.

The campus problem

Illustrative scenario, not a claimed client result.

A multi-tenant campus proposes gas generation, storage and several data halls behind a shared electrical boundary. The first tenant wants firm service and the second expects flexible pricing. The generation company wants a long-term offtake commitment. The owner assumes netting will reduce grid needs, but no party has reconciled the generation-trip import, tenant metering, dispatch rights or payment obligation if the second phase is delayed.

Netting changes the measurement boundary, not the need for an operating model

The physical case starts with gross tenant load, internal generation and maximum withdrawal or injection at the grid boundary. The generation-trip case can matter more than normal net imports. Metering, protection, telemetry, registration and studies must match the current ERCOT and provider route.

The commercial case allocates generation ownership, dispatch, fuel, maintenance, tenant billing, offtake payments and backup service. If storage protects one tenant, its reserve cannot also be sold freely. If another tenant is late, the owner must know who carries the generation payment.

The ERCOT starting point

ERCOT's current protocol materials describe a Private Use Network as an electric network connected to the ERCOT transmission grid that contains load not directly metered by ERCOT, typically netted with internal generation. Current materials also include reporting and withdrawal-limited PUN forms. That definition is more specific than a generic microgrid, backup plant or collection of private wires. It does not remove the need to resolve the serving provider, tenant rights, studies, controls and commercial obligations.

Test the PUN against the conventional service it is meant to improve

Run the same phase load through conventional provider service, a qualifying PUN and a staged configuration. Compare first usable capacity, maximum grid withdrawal, infrastructure cost, fixed payment, tenant rights, operating authority and approval schedule. Include generation loss, unavailable export and delayed occupancy.

Sitebraid would coordinate the provider, ERCOT-facing parties, engineers, operator, counsel, generation owner and tenants around one boundary and responsibility record. Assets are released only after the service model is supportable.

Solutions and their tradeoffs

Conventional provider service with separate on-site assets

Keep the retail and grid route clear while adding supported generation or storage duties.

Conditions to resolve: Determine which savings remain after delivery, standby and infrastructure obligations.

A qualifying PUN structure

Coordinate internal generation and load within a defined ERCOT and provider framework.

Conditions to resolve: Close current registration, study, metering, control, withdrawal and tenant-service requirements.

Stage the PUN after an independently viable first phase

Preserve the structure without making it the only route to the first tenant opening.

Conditions to resolve: Fund duplicate or transition works only where their option value justifies the cost.

Our approach: from the decision to delivery

Draw the point of interconnection, ERCOT metering boundary, internal meters, generation, storage, protected loads and controllable loads. Obtain current protocol, provider and study requirements. Reconcile gross campus load, internal generation and maximum net withdrawal for normal, constrained, islanded and generation-trip conditions. Identify the retail customer, asset owners, scheduling or market representatives where applicable, dispatch authority, tenant billing method and credit behind each fixed payment.

Classify the proposed network

Have counsel, the provider, ERCOT-facing parties and qualified engineers confirm what the configuration is and which current requirements apply. Avoid using PUN, microgrid and behind-the-meter as interchangeable labels.

Test every operating mode

Model normal operation, maximum import, generation loss, tenant curtailment, islanding where designed, restoration and telemetry failure. The campus schedule must include the studies and commissioning evidence those modes require.

Allocate ownership and downside

Align asset ownership, PPAs, fuel, maintenance, dispatch, tenant payments, security and step-in rights. Price a delayed tenant, unavailable export and generation underperformance before the owner accepts a long fixed obligation.

Integrate the supported route

Sitebraid coordinates provider, technical, commercial and tenant workstreams through the selected phase. Completion is the accepted structure and operating evidence, not merely installed generation behind a common fence.

How we protect the decision

A PUN is not a blanket regulatory exemption and does not guarantee a faster interconnection, lower tariff or right to sell electricity to campus tenants. Keep the current ERCOT protocol basis and project determinations dated. Preserve an opening fallback when the PUN route remains conditional.

The result the owner should require

The owner can explain the physical boundary, maximum net withdrawal, internal service model, operating authority and payment structure under every material mode. Required provider, ERCOT and project approvals are closed for the agreed phase, and the downside remains fundable if generation or tenant demand differs from plan.

The decision to take forward

Use a PUN when current requirements, tenant contracts and operating economics support the same boundary. Preserve a separate opening route while material approvals remain conditional.