r/Grid_Ops

The average person is not likely to have much knowledge of the electricity system. This article focuses on a part of it.

I recently interviewed with ExxonMobil for a Lease Operator position in the Midland Basin, and I’m trying to get real numbers from people who actually work there.

Everybody says Exxon pays great and has great benefits, but nobody ever says what they actually make.

For current or recent lease operators, what does it really look like?

• Hourly rate?
• Typical weekly hours and OT?
• Annual bonus?
• Pension and 401(k)?
• Medical costs?
• Schedule?
• Approximate yearly total compensation?
• Biggest pros and cons?

I have 10+ years in oil and gas, but I also recently finished my Bachelor’s in Computer Science and picked up several technical certifications.

I currently have data center opportunities paying $62/hr, so I’m trying to figure out whether Exxon’s total package is strong enough to justify staying in oil and gas.

If you’re comfortable sharing:

Hourly:
Years experience:
Typical hours:
Bonus:
Total yearly comp:
Pension/401(k):
Schedule:
Would you choose Exxon over $62/hr at a data center?

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who have worked for Exxon/Pioneer, Oxy, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, EOG, BP, or Permian Resources.

Please don’t just say “Exxon pays better.” Give us the numbers and tell us why.

BPA will probably make their official market decision, either SPP or CAISO, in by the end of September. More than likely, they chose SPPM+. That said, if they go CAISO, it will have huge implications for the western interconnect. For those following the west, what’s your thoughts? M+ could exist between APS, TEP and SRP, or they may join the RTO…who knows.

Unscheduled generation and load changes cause frequency changes and inertia, AGC, and operator actions keep the frequency within limits, in particular preventing frequency excursions which would trip under frequency or over frequency generator relays.

A great resource is the Oak Ridge National Lab, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the DOE Office of Electricity grid frequency studies and event library. They work with several universities.

About 3 years ago, Microsoft was forecasting their need for a handful of 4GW AI training data centers. Today I believe Meta's Louisiana data center is going to be 7GW. Let's hope those are understood in the large load dynamics interconnection studies.

Here are examples of frequency vs time studies of generation trips:

https://www.youtube.com/@fnet

Four Central Asian countries report simultaneous power blackouts | Reuters

I got the OES NA study material if anybody's interested. DM me

MidAmerican Energy has a spot open on the Transmission desk. Would love to see an experienced person take the job. Let me know if you have questions.

I'm a journeyman splicer at a East Coast utility that has extremely high turn over in everything from the field employees to the DOs and TOs (starts with a D). Looking to bail to Arizona and my partner already has an offer at APS. They posted a DO position, does anyone have insight into pay scale and working conditions? Are the operators union?

I'm in the hiring process for SRP for something else but I like to keep my options open in case it falls through.

I've shadowed the DOs at my utility for a week, and do a lot of field switching so I am semi-familiar with what they do and think it might be a good move for me. I'm used to working 80-90 hour weeks, on call, sleeping day, night, never sleeping. Just a big leap from leaving the devil I know to potentially doing a job I haven't done before across the country at another utility.

Just wondering where I'm at allot of operators drive Teslas cause our building has free Tesla charging so we just autopilot our way in and out.

Solar keeps prices in PJM low during the sunny hours but we still need batteries for the solar ramp down where prices are quickly rising to $65/MWh this early evening

Every week through Grid Innovation Hub, I get to sit in conversations between people who rarely share the same table utility leaders, grid operators, startup founders, investors, and technology providers.

The biggest takeaway? Everyone sees a different piece of the puzzle.

Utilities share operational challenges. Startups bring fresh ideas. Investors highlight market trends. Technology providers showcase what's possible. When those perspectives come together, you leave with a much clearer picture of where the energy industry is headed and where the biggest opportunities for innovation lie.