E8: Inside ERCOT, Black Start, Winter Storm Uri, and AI Data Center Load

In this episode, Eric Bell sits down with Russell Fletcher, a transmission system operator in Austin, Texas and former Operations Manager at Wind Energy Transmission Texas (WETT).

We unpack what it really means to run a modern power grid. Russell walks through how ERCOT balances generation and load at 60 Hz, why transmission congestion and reactive power matter, and what “black start” recovery looks like when the grid goes dark.

We revisit Winter Storm Uri and how close Texas came to a statewide blackout, then pivot to the planning headaches created by fast-ramping AI data centers and behind-the-meter generation.

Along the way, Russell connects lessons from Navy nuclear submarines to grid ops: training, calm execution, and clear communication under pressure.

CHAPTERS (YouTube)
00:00 Eight minutes from blackout
00:55 Improv class and TexARTS
02:17 Get to Know You in 60 Seconds
07:27 Navy nuke to grid ops
14:25 Governors, droop, frequency
24:58 Minimum load and inertia
26:20 SB 6 and behind-the-meter gen
30:00 Reactive power: MVARs explained
41:06 Data Center War Story
45:04 Top Picks

GET TO KNOW RUSSELL (Rapid fire)
Late nights or early mornings? About 15 minutes in the afternoon (maybe 30)
New York or California? New York
Chicago or Dallas? Dallas
Sweet or salty? Sweet
Introvert or extrovert? Both (depends on the time)
Prefer a meeting or email? Email (so he can ignore it)
Phone or text? Phone call
Favorite food? Strawberry cheesecake; chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy
Favorite sport? College football
Who’s your team? Georgia Bulldogs and UT Longhorns
First job? Catching rattlesnakes and selling them for antivenom

DATA CENTER WAR STORY (no spoilers)
A reactor gets SCRAM’d on a nuclear submarine underway, and the entire engine room shifts into “fix it now” mode while the captain heads straight for the logs.

TOP PICKS
TexARTS (acting + improv classes in Lakeway, TX): https://www.tex-arts.org/academy
ERCOT dashboards (see what the Texas grid is doing right now): https://www.ercot.com/gridmktinfo/das...

RESOURCES MENTIONED
Wind Energy Transmission Texas (WETT): https://www.wettllc.com/
ERCOT Grid and Market Dashboards: https://www.ercot.com/gridmktinfo/das...
CAISO Today’s Outlook: https://www.caiso.com/todays-outlook
PJM Data Viewer: https://dataviewer.pjm.com/