Tom Kleckner
ERCOT / SPP Correspondent
Tom has 28 years of experience in the electric industry. During his time with Central and South West before its merger with AEP, he earned his family of four free airfare to New York City by making bi-monthly round trips between Dallas and Columbus as a member of the merger management team. Tom also handled public relations during TXU’s contentious effort to build 11 coal plants in Texas — and lived to talk about it. After a short stint with ERCOT helping implement its nodal market, Tom spent four years at SPP, managing communications for the implementation of the RTO’s Integrated Marketplace. A former sportswriter, Tom holds a journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He lives in The Woodlands, about 35 miles north of Houston.

Recent Articles
Batch Study Job No. 1 for ERCOT Stakeholders
ERCOT says the critical path for a successful Batch Zero NPRR relies on a series of approval votes in May before the changes go to the board in June.
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ERCOT Taps the Brakes on Batch Study Process
ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said the grid operator's proposed batch process to study the 232 GW of large loads seeking interconnection will provide clarity and transparency to data center developers.
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In 1st Year Under Nickell, SPP Learns to ‘Boldly Lead’
Faced with the same demand from data centers and crypto miners as other grid operators, SPP responded by putting together a 30-person team to come up with a process to interconnect the large loads.
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AEP: Ready to Meet ‘Unprecedented’ Demand
American Electric Power says it is “rooted deep in innovation” and “ready to meet unprecedented customer demand” that will result in “significant infrastructure investment” and continue its strong financial results.
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Nickell: RSC ‘Best-in-class’ Among Grid Operators
SPP's Regional State Committee, composed of regulators from its 14-state footprint, was created to provide regulatory input to the RTO and will expand into the Western Interconnection later in 2026.
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