ERCOT will form two new organizations — “Interconnection and Grid Analysis” and “Enterprise Data and Artificial Intelligence” groups — in 2026.
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Two new ERCOT organizations — the “Interconnection and Grid Analysis” and “Enterprise Data and Artificial Intelligence” groups — will formally launch in January 2026, according to a statement from the Texas grid operator.
Leading the first will be ERCOT official Jeff Billo, who has been promoted to Vice President of Interconnection and Grid Analysis. As part of his new responsibilities, Mr. Billo will oversee generation interconnection, large load interconnection, stability analysis, and stability model validation efforts. Mr. Billo will report to Woody Rickerson, ERCOT’s Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
“The new Interconnection and Grid Analysis organization will better support the rapid increases in large loads and generation resources seeking grid interconnection and enable further advancements in grid analytics,” ERCOT stated in a prepared release.
The second organization will be led by Venkat Tirupati, an ERCOT Vice President and its Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Tirupati will oversee Grid Research, Innovation, and Transformation (GRIT) and Data Governance and Platform Technology as well as Data Products and AI Strategy. Venkat will report directly to ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas.
“The new Enterprise Data and AI organization will improve the speed of AI adoption across ERCOT, fully leverage the recently enabled Data Analytics and AI Platform, and ensure a strong focus on data governance, data product management, and data operations,” ERCOT stated.
Other Changes at ERCOT
Additionally, ERCOT has contracted with McKinsey and Company to assist with improvement of the Large Load Interconnection process originally developed in 2022. ERCOT and McKinsey will work with Large Load customers, including data centers, utilities, and other stakeholders to address interconnection queue issues.
About ERCOT
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas manages the flow of electric power to more than 27 million Texas customers, representing about 90 percent of the state’s electric load. As the Independent System Operator for the region, ERCOT schedules power on an electric grid that connects more than 54,100 miles of transmission lines and more than 1,250 generation units. ERCOT also performs financial settlement for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers retail switching for more than 8 million premises in competitive choice areas.