Texas faces a previously overlooked vulnerability in its critical infrastructure as diesel fuel quality in backup generators deteriorates silently, threatening hospitals, utilities, nursing homes, data centers, and public facilities statewide. Whit Runion of Fuel Perfect, LLC explained that while most facilities maintain generator engines rigorously, the fuel itself is often ignored despite accounting for one-third of engine operation. Since a 2014 EPA mandate shifted diesel to ultra-low sulfur fuel, shelf life has dropped dramatically, creating new vulnerabilities inside storage tanks that can go undetected until a generator is needed most.
"Diesel doesn't fail loudly," Runion stated. "It fails silently—through water, particulate, and microbial growth that clogs filters and shuts engines down." This degradation occurs without warning and can compromise emergency power during extreme weather events when the electrical grid is most stressed. The conversation highlighted how fuel polishing—a process likened to dialysis for diesel—removes contaminants using filtration, centrifugal separation, and magnetic conditioning, restoring fuel quality without replacement. This approach offers a cost-effective alternative to draining and replacing fuel, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars and create dangerous downtime windows with no backup power.
Host Justin McKenzie connected the issue to broader Texas infrastructure challenges, including lessons learned from Winter Storm Uri, the rapid expansion of AI-driven data centers, and increasing reliance on diesel generation to backstop grid demand. In some facilities, backup systems now include dozens of generators and hundreds of thousands of gallons of stored fuel—raising both financial and operational risk. The episode surfaces a lesser-known reality: brand-new generators are not immune, as fuel tanks fabricated off-site and transported across long distances often arrive contaminated with moisture and debris, sometimes causing failures on first startup of expensive new equipment.
Fuel Perfect's work spans the I-35 corridor and beyond, serving hospitals, utilities, data centers, assisted living facilities, and industrial sites. The full interview is available on YouTube as part of The Building Texas Show. Beyond service delivery, Runion emphasizes education—working with facilities teams, engineers, and risk managers to integrate fuel maintenance into annual preparedness planning. "This is about resilience," McKenzie noted. "Preparedness isn't just owning a generator—it's knowing it will work when everything else doesn't." The episode offers a practical look at how infrastructure risk is evolving in Texas and why fuel maintenance is becoming a core part of emergency readiness, economic resilience, and public safety as the state confronts ongoing grid reliability challenges and rapid expansion of critical facilities.
