Electrostatic, one‐dimensional, numerical plasma simulations have been used to study results from the University of Saskatchewan turbulent heating experiment. In a simulation plasma with an initial sinusoidal density perturbation (approximating the effect of a bumpy magnetic field parallel to the plasma current in the experiment), the application of a constant external‐electric field can cause the electrons to split into two groups, one freely accelerating and the other trapped near zero velocity in a potential well resulting from the inhomogeneous ion density. The ensuing electron‐electron instability can cause reduced acceleration and heating of the electrons, even when the ions are infinitely massive. This process appears to have a role in the experiment although close quantitative agreement cannot be claimed. A common and important feature of the simulations was the tendency of all observed instabilities to heat the electrons at a rate which maintained the ratio of electron drift to thermal velocity near unity. This heating rate has been observed in the experiment.