Texas regulators have approved two more applications under the Texas Energy Fund’s completion-bonus program, making the generation resources eligible for more than $100 million in grants.

During its Dec. 12 open meeting, the Public Utility Commission sided with staff’s recommendation to issue eligibility notices to Calpine and NRG Energy for their projects that add 916 MW of dispatchable gas-fired capacity to the ERCOT grid. The companies can execute grant agreements with the PUC upon the generation’s “timely and successful” interconnection (57937).

Both projects already have been awarded 20-year loans at 3% interest under the fund’s In-ERCOT Generation Loan Program and are expected to come online before summer 2026.

Calpine, which was granted a $278.3 million loan in October, now is eligible for $55.2 million in performance-dependent TEF funds over a 10-year period for its 460-MW Pin Oak Creek peaker. NRG could receive as much as $54.7 million in grants for two gas turbines, totaling 456 MW, at its TH Wharton plant. The units were awarded a 20-year loan of up to $216 million in August. (See NRG Energy Secures $216M Loan from TEF.)

The Completion Bonus Program is one of four under the fund. Applications must meet a set of nine criteria that include market participation and whether they provide dispatchable energy or are a non-storage facility.

The commission also approved staff’s recommendation to extend timelines for the first disbursement of loans to seven applicants in the In-ERCOT program (56896). Under a recently enacted state law, the first loan payments were due to be disbursed before January.

Staff said each loan applicant had multiple market factors outside their control and had taken “reasonable steps to mitigate the delays caused by these factors.” They cited global demand for transformers and turbines, cost and availability of contractors, construction and permitting delays, and economic constraints.

“A confluence of market forces … make it unlikely that the commission could timely enter into a loan agreement with the applicants,” PUC staffer Susan Nance told commissioners.

With the extensions, the PUC now faces deadlines of June 30, July 31, Sept. 30 and Dec. 31 in 2026 to disburse the first loan payments. Together, the applicants’ 10 projects amount to 4,063 MW in nameplate capacity.

Entergy 500-kV Line Approved

The PUC approved an administrative law judge’s decision allowing Entergy Texas to build a 500-kV, 41-mile single-circuit transmission line in Southeast Texas (58136).

Entergy said the Cypress-Legend project is necessary to address load growth from new and expanded industrial facilities and an increase in residential and commercial demand in Texas’ Golden Triangle. The region’s load is expected to grow by about 40% in the next five years.

MISO identified Entergy’s proposal as a baseline reliability project. It has an estimated cost of $398.7 million.

In a separate Entergy proceeding, the commission granted several rehearing requests of its October approval of the 500-kV SETEX Area Reliability Project, a 145-mile initiative that has drawn landowner opposition (57648). (See “Entergy Transmission Project OK’d,” Texas PUC Approves Permian, Outside ERCOT Transmission Projects.)

However, PUC Chair Thomas Gleeson moved to grant the rehearing for the “limited purpose” of including additional findings and explanation. He said the chosen route “best meets the transmission line routing factors the commission must consider.”