Generation Operations interview prep.

Behavioural questions to expect

1. Walk me through your background + generation operations experience.
2. Tell me about a plant operations role or event you've handled.
3. Why generation operations vs grid ops, planning, or OEM service?
4. Why this kind of generation fleet - CCGT / coal / nuclear / renewable / hybrid / merchant vs regulated?
5. Why the firm?
6. What's your read on our fleet + recent operational events?
7. Tell me what you understand about our NERC compliance + OEM service posture.
8. Walk me through a forced outage or major derate you handled.

Technical concepts to master

• CCGT + thermal plant operations

  GT + HRSG + ST combined cycle · Start types + ramp profiles · GT operating limits + IGV + DLN · HRSG operations + water chemistry · Steam turbine + condenser + cooling

• Market dispatch + ancillary services

  Day-ahead market (DAM) + RTM · Offer construction · Ancillary services - regulation + spin + non-spin · Capacity market · Bilateral + PPA + tolling

• OEM LTSA + factored hours + major inspections

  LTSA (Long-Term Service Agreement) · Factored hours + factored starts · Inspection cadence - CI / HGPI / MI · Parts pool + lead time · Performance recovery + degradation

• Renewable + BESS operations

  Wind plant operations · Solar PV plant operations · BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) · Curtailment + economic dispatch · Hybrid + co-located resources

Practical drills

• Your 1x1 CCGT (270 MW base) trips offline at 14:00 on a peak summer day. Vibration on the GT shaft spiked to 8 mils prior to trip; HRSG drums are still hot. ISO has you dispatched at full load. Walk through your next 60 minutes.
• Day-ahead spark spread tomorrow is forecast at $4/MWh for peak hours, $-2/MWh off-peak. Your CCGT has a 7,000 Btu/kWh HHV heat rate, $35 cold-start cost equivalent ($/MWh), minimum-run of 6 hours, and 100 MW minimum load. Walk through your offer + commitment decision.
• Day 8 of a planned 21-day HGPI on a major-OEM F-class GT. Borescope finds two Row 1 blades with cracking near the platform; OEM is reviewing repair vs replacement. Replacement adds 7-10 days + $4M; repair adds 3-4 days + $400K but only good for one inspection cycle. Walk through your decision.

Smart-question anchors

• Fleet mix + ISO markets - technology mix, nameplate MW, ISO / RTO footprint, merchant vs PPA share
• Reliability + commercial availability - EAF, EFOR, capacity factor, recent forced-outage events
• OEM relationships + LTSA - OEM platforms, LTSA status, upcoming major inspections
• NERC GO + GOP posture - audit findings, CIP maturity, BAL / PRC / MOD performance
• Market posture - DAM clearing, RTM exposure, capacity + ancillary services revenue mix

Sourced from

NERC Reliability Standards - GO + GOP standards (BAL / TOP / FAC / PRC / MOD / EOP / VAR / COM / CIP / PER) · NERC GADS (Generating Availability Data System) + IEEE 762 reliability definitions · ISO / RTO market manuals (PJM, MISO, ERCOT, CAISO, ISO-NE, NYISO, SPP) · GT / ST OEM technical bulletins + EPRI generation operating guidelines · EIA-923 + S&P Global / Platts / Argus power market commentary + RTO Insider