Three out of four Americans are served by utilities out to slash carbon emissions, according to Julia Hamm, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Smart Electric Power Alliance. In this episode of Grid Talk, Hamm sits down with host Marty Rosenberg to talk about how the power industry has changed over the last 19 years. 

“73% of all U.S. electric customers are served by a utility that has a public target for a hundred percent carbon reduction, so I’d say that’s pretty significant,” said Hamm.

With utilities making clean energy a core part of their mission, they are driving significant changes to the industry.  

 “Utilities are now playing an active leadership role in helping to decarbonize not only their own business operations but also working proactively with customers, others in their supply chain and really across the whole economy in order to accelerate decarbonization.” 

To match that profound change, utility regulators and policymakers need to better coordinate the rules governing the energy sector, she said. 

“We need to see an increased level of coordination at the federal, state, and local levels far beyond what we have historically seen,” Hamm said.

For the past 20 Julia Hamm has been advising and collaborating with utilities, solution providers and government agencies on business models, grid modernization, and clean energy policies, strategies and programs. She oversees SEPA’s research, education, and collaboration activities for its 1,100 member companies.  

Hamm is a graduate of Cornell University.

A federal infusion of $80 billion in infrastructure spending is generating new levels of innovation and cooperation when it comes to maintaining and upgrading the electrical grid. In this episode of Grid Talk, we hear from Dianne Solomon who is a commissioner on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU). She also is a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and currently serves as Chair of the Committee on Critical Infrastructure.

This gives her a unique perspective on how federal dollars will be spent across the states.

“There’s no 50-state agreement on how and where the grid needs to be improved, in what fashion. It really is based upon where you are located and where you stand is sort of where you sit in terms of what you…each state determines what the needs are for their area. But the one thing that all commissioners can agree upon is their charge as commissioners and that’s to ensure safe, reliable service at reasonable rates.” 

Solomon also talks about the role of innovation in shaping the grid of the future. 

“There is a tremendous amount of innovation being supported in the utility space at both the federal and state level. The Committee of Critical Infrastructure that I chair has a great working relationship with the Department of Energy and that’s always helpful. The states’ initiatives with the federal government is going to be very important in moving these innovations forward.” 

Commissioner Solomon was confirmed to serve as Commissioner of the Board of Public Utilities in 2013.  She was re-confirmed in 2017. Prior to her appointment to the NJBPU she served as Commissioner of the South Jersey Transportation Authority, which is responsible for operating the Atlantic City Expressway, Atlantic City Airport, and shuttle service in and around South Jersey.

Commissioner Solomon is a graduate of Rider University with a degree in Political Science.

The push to decarbonize electricity production in the U.S. focuses heavily on solar and wind generation. But delivering reliable energy from intermittent resource will require an upgrade in energy storage capabilities.

This episode of Grid Talk features Don Sadoway who is the John F. Elliott Professor of Materials Chemistry at MIT. He’s one of the leading experts on emerging battery products and at the helm of about a half dozen startups ready to speed deployment of the most promising approaches into the marketplace.

“We have to deal with the intermittency. And nobody wants green electricity that’s only available part-time; they want it all the time, so that means storage.”

That’s where the liquid metal battery comes in. Sadoway will explain why he believes it will revolutionize battery storage.

“The aluminum/sulfur battery is no cobalt, no nickel, no manganese, no volatile flammable electrolyte, no graphite, forget the silicon. This is no lithium.”

One of his companies is set to release its first product in about a year. When people see it working, things could really take off. 

“A liquid metal battery could be in the basement of every one of the skyscrapers in Manhattan.”

Professor Sadoway has been at MIT for 44 years. His research seeks to establish the scientific underpinnings for technologies that make efficient use of energy and natural resources in an environmentally sound manner. This spans engineering applications and the supportive fundamental science. The overarching theme of his work is electrochemistry in nonaqueous media.

He holds the following degrees:

B.A.Sc., Engineering Science, University of Toronto

M.A.Sc., Chemical Metallurgy, University of Toronto

Ph.D., Chemical Metallurgy, University of Toronto

America’s reliance on nuclear power is poised to rapidly expand given a new generation of more affordable small modular reactors (SMR). In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Maria Korsnick who is the President and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute. The conversation focuses on how SMRs can deliver carbon-free energy. 

“We are about 90 gigawatts of generation today so it will be an additional 90 gigawatts of generation and because we’re talking more small modular reactors, that 90 gigawatts could turn into about 300 SMRs that would be added to the grid,” said Korsnick.

According to Korsnick, nuclear power will increasingly replace fossil fuel generation plants that contribute to climate change and nuclear power is needed to supplement solar and wind power. 

“Imagine nuclear really forming the backbone of that clean-energy, highly-reliable grid upon which the intermittent resources can also be added.”

The 300 small reactors built out in the next two decades would triple the number of nuclear power plants in the nation and help lower the cost of transitioning away from carbon.

“It’s very, very clear when you add nuclear to the mix, the overall system cost is reduced.”

Maria Korsnick has been NEI’s President and CEO since 2017 where she draws on her engineering background, hands-on experience in reactor operations, and a deep knowledge of energy policy and regulatory issues to increase understanding of nuclear energy’s economic and environmental benefits among policymakers and the public.

Korsnick previously served as the NEI’s COO. She has been in the energy industry since 1986 working in various roles for Constellation Energy and then Exelon Nuclear.

Korsnick holds a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Maryland and has held a senior reactor operator license.

The nation’s largest municipal utility, serving Los Angeles, wants to move to 100% clean energy by 2035. To do that, the utility needs to significantly boost renewable energy generation and it’s banking on the rapid development of energy storage technology. In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Simon Zewdu who is the Director of Transmission Planning, Regulatory Processes and Innovation at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).

The price tag to reach 100% clean energy is estimated as high as $86 billion for increased generation, transmission, and distribution.

“We need to significantly increase the capacity of existing transmission lines that we have. The Department owns and operates about 3,600 miles of transmission lines that traverse in five western states. We need to operate those. Not only that, we need to look into how we can come up with some new corridors, collaborate with other agencies to build new transmission lines to be able to support the load within the City of Los Angeles.”

Equity will be center stage, as the utility works to bring affordable energy transformation to all customers.

“Everything will be looked at from a prism of equity so that we monitor it on a regular basis and report to our communities whether we have met our equity targets,” said Zewdu.

Mr. Zewdu has been with LADWP for 20 years with duties spanning from substation design to project management, strategic planning, and special projects. He holds an undergraduate degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering and an MBA in finance. He is a registered Electrical Engineer in the State of California.

The federal government is on track to invest $1.2 trillion to overhaul American infrastructure, with $80 billion headed to the electric grid. In this episode of Grid Talk, we talk with Christine Harada who is the Executive Director of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council. It was created in 2015 to help facilitate government approvals of major projects.

“I want to make sure that we’re putting boots on the ground—that we have the construction workers who are there and actually making the infrastructure happen,” Harada said.

The impact of the council’s work is significant and measurable. 

“We have found that we were able to decrease the overall timeframe by upwards of 2-2½ years just simply because of the transparency provided by the dashboard and by the activities that this Council takes on to be able to help negotiate and review and resolve challenges.” 

As for transmission projects, Harada hopes to trim approval times by at least 10 percent. 

“I am an overachiever so I would love to achieve something like 25%. I think that’s certainly just within the federal agencies’ realm of control, 10% is a great target. Working with state and local entities, I think that something like a 25% reduction would be a great stretch target.”

Harada was named Executive Director in July of 2021. She will manage a portfolio of nearly $60 billion in large-scale infrastructure projects—most of which are renewable energy, coastal restoration, and electricity transmission. Harada will lead 13 federal agencies, state agencies, and project sponsors to develop and implement project-specific timetables for all required reviews and authorizations.

Harada holds a master's degree in international studies from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in finance from the Wharton School at Penn. Additionally, she has a master's degree from Stanford University and a bachelor's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in aeronautics and astronautics. 

Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) is one of the nation’s largest utilities, serving Chicago. Last month, ComEd announced it is spending $113 million a year on “income-tested programs” to slash energy use and energy bills for those who can least afford them, while combating climate change. 

In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Gil Quiniones who is the ComEd CEO. They’ll talk about initiatives to make sure disadvantaged communities and historically underserved communities are prioritized as the utility pursues decarbonization.

“It’s not just really deploying technologies. It’s how do we engage the community in the process of deploying those technologies in terms of STEM programs with the local schools as well as opportunities for workforce development, whether it’s directly for trade-type, craft-type jobs or being a utility professional engineer or scientist.”

Quiniones talks about opportunities related to the federal government’s $80 billion infrastructure spend on energy. Investing in communities is top priority.

“We want to make sure that we’re putting our customers at the center of this transition.”

 You’ll also hear what ComEd is adding is it reimagines the grid. 

Gil Quiniones was named CEO of ComEd in November of 2021 and oversees utility decisions that impact more than four million customers. Mr. Quiniones joined ComEd after spending a decade as the president and CEO of the New York Power Authority, the nation’s largest state-owned public power organization. He is an internationally recognized leader in modernizing power grids, and delivering clean, safe and affordable energy for customers, leading to economic and environmental benefits for diverse communities.

Mr. Quiniones holds a B.S. from De La Salle University in Manila. In 2020, he earned a Corporate Director Certificate at Harvard Business School.

The U.S. Department of Energy is closing in on a timeline for disbursing $80 billion allocated to electric grid upgrades contained in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by Congress. In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Michelle Manary who is the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Resilience Division in the Office of Electricity at the U.S. Department of Energy. The discussion focuses on when and how the money from the infrastructure package will be spent.

“I would love to see it [flowing] this calendar year. That is a goal but we’ll see what happens there,” said Manary. 

There’s a lot of planning that goes in to allocating the funding.

“That hat $80 billion-ish to the DOE comes in several different flavors and so everything’s kind of continuing on from solar and battery and kind of that generation or storage-side but you also have probably about $20-ish billion or so on the transmission side.”

Manary also talks about the collaborative nature of the new programs. 

“We’re trying to set this up, so it works for the industry.”

Michelle Manary helps lead DOE's division focused on national transmission infrastructure policy issues in support of national clean energy objectives. She came to the Department of Energy from the Bonneville Power Administration where she served as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Manary joined BPA in 1998 and successfully held several management positions within the agency’s Corporate, Power and Transmission organizations.

Manary holds a Bachelor of Science in finance from Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon, and Master of Business Administration and Public Administration from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.

The federal power market spanning the Midwest and West is poised to capitalize on an enormous infusion of funds from the federal bipartisan infrastructure law. In this episode of Grid Talk, we sit down with Tracey LeBeau who is the Administrator and CEO of the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA).  

“There are a number of provisions that seek to provide additional opportunities or tools to help facilitate the development, the investment, and the construction of new or expanded transmission infrastructure,” said LeBeau.

The additional spending will also further enhance investments to adapt the national grid for increased use of renewable energy.

“Those tools, those programs, that funding is all getting flushed out as we speak, and programs are getting ready to be stood up,” said LeBeau.

WAPA has 17,000 miles of transmission lines in its 15-state region and carries electricity generated by 57 federal hydroelectric generating facilities. LeBeau will talk about what impact drought and fire conditions are having on operations.

“As a new administrator, folks often ask me what keeps me up at night and I often have responded with weather. Weather keeps me up at night.”

Tracey LeBeau has more than 20 years of executive experience in management, clean energy and infrastructure development, public-private partnerships, utility business operations, and federal program leadership and policy. She joined WAPA in 2014 as the organization’s Transmission Infrastructure Program manager. Ms. LeBeau will be the first woman and the first Native American to lead the organization. 

Ms. LeBeau received her Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University and her Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa.

With society becoming more and more dependent on electricity, upgrading the electric grid is an urgent challenge. In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Andrew Phillips who is the Vice President of Transmission and Distribution Infrastructure for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The conversation focuses on what it will take to ensure the reliable delivery of electricity in an age of electrification.

“We have the opportunity and to build new transmission lines and not build them to the same specs and standards that we used in the ‘80s and ‘70s but to think of new ways of doing it that have higher power flow, higher reliability, and are more compatible with the environment,” said Phillips.

Phillips says the transmission system needs to expand exponentially, and there are several limitations that need to be addressed.

“It’s going to be supply chain, workforce, and permitting; those are going to be the three things.”

Andrew Phillips has been with EPRI for more than 25 years. In 2018 he became Vice president of Transmission and Distribution Infrastructure. His work has focused on transmission and distribution asset research.  Prior to joining EPRI, Mr. Phillips managed research of insulation, aging equipment and lightning for J.A. Jones Power Delivery company and performed research for the South African electric power industry at the University of Witwatersrand - the university where he earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering.  

Grid Talk is back for its third season, and we kick things off with a discussion about the impact of the massive Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which will funnel more than $60 billion to Department of Energy.

Host Marty Rosenberg talks with former U.S. Assistant Energy Secretary Dan Reicher about where and how that money will be spent.

“Some of that’s going to be in the so-called ‘innovation hubs’ where they’re going to certain areas of the country and focusing on certain technologies and how to get those accelerated in terms of their development and deployment. Some of this is going to go through existing programs like the low-income home weatherization program to make buildings more efficient.”

Mr. Reicher talks about specific items for infrastructure spending and explains what he calls the clean energy triangle.

“If we can integrate around that triangle: technology, policy, and finance; if we can find more common ground than we are finding to date, I think we’ve got a real chance to do well and to do good in clean energy and have a real shot at successfully addressing the climate crisis.”

Dan Reicher is a former Assistant Secretary of Energy in the Clinton Administration. Mr. Reicher is currently a senior research scholar at the Stanford Woods Institute for Environment.  Mr. Reicher joined Stanford in 2011 as the executive director of Stanford's Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy & Finance. Before joining Stanford, he was the Director of Climate Change and Energy Initiatives at Google.

Mr. Reicher holds a B.A. in biology from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from Stanford Law School. 

Iowa is a national leader when it comes to satisfying electric demand with renewable energy and it is poised so get greener. In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Mike Fehr who is Senior Vice President of Renewable Generation and Compliance at MidAmerican Energy. The company serves customers in Iowa, Illinois, South Dakota and Nebraska. In Iowa, 60 percent of electric needs are generated with wind. 

Fehr talks about what it will take to get to 100% renewable generation.

“I think it’s going to be really exciting to see all of these different technologies that are really pretty early, kind of in their infancy, competing to fill in that gap that’s created when you get too reliant on just renewables,” said Fehr. 

“Which of those technologies are stepping up and really being able to be the economic solution to ensure reliability in a grid that has more and more intermittent generation?”

Transmission will also have to evolve. 

“I think the transmission grid itself is going to have to become more robust so I think we’ll really see large investments in transmission. If it’s windy in one part of the energy market and not very windy in another part of the market, you can get a more stable level of production within the market even from just the intermittent generation.”

Mike Fehr has been with the Berkshire Hathaway Energy family of businesses since 2010. He is responsible for the operations of MidAmerican’s growing renewable generation fleet, which currently includes more than 3,000 wind turbines, as well as maximizing the output of renewable generation and developing long-term operations plans for the future. 

Mr. Fehr earned bachelor’s degrees in animal science and mechanical engineering from Iowa State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Kansas.

In this episode of Grid Talk host Marty Rosenberg talks with Leo Denault who is the Chairman and CEO of Entergy Corporation. Entergy delivers electricity to three million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

The podcast focuses on the electric grid devastation caused by Hurricane Ida and re-evaluating grid assets used to power customers. The utility and policymakers must consider whether it is time to pick up the pace of transmission and distribution line upgrades, according to Denault.

When Hurricane Ida struck Louisiana two months ago its 150 mph winds caused prolonged electric power failures. 

“The new infrastructure is proving to be robust against even the storms that we’re seeing today,” Denault said, “but what we do need to determine is whether or not the cost-benefit relationship has changed.” 

“Maybe that cost-benefit relationship has changed, and we need to come to some agreement with our stakeholders about if that’s changed, how aggressive should we be in changing out millions of poles.”

He continued: “What we plan to do is look at the potential options for added resilience to the system, the cost of those different options, and then come to an agreement on the cost-benefit discussion about should we look at poles that, to traditional standards, would be considered perfectly fine and take them down and put-up new ones?” 

Transformation has already been underway. “We’ve spent nearly $10 billion over the last five years on new transmission and distribution infrastructure. Our Class 1 poles on the distribution side, they can withstand 150 mile-an-hour winds, and our new transmission structures are designed to withstand 150 mile-an-hour winds. In both Hurricane Laura and in Hurricane Ida those new technologies and those new structures withstand those storms quite well.”

Leo Denault joined Entergy in 1999 as vice president of corporate development, he was named Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer five years later. He was named CEO and Chairman in 2013.

Prior to joining Entergy, Mr. Denault served as vice president of corporate development at Cinergy Corporation, where he helped acquire generation, distribution, and trading businesses.

He has an MBA from Indiana University and a bachelor’s degree in economics and accounting from Ball State University.

In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Rudy Wynter who is the president of National Grid New York. The discussion focuses on the investments needed to reach the state’s climate goals.

“We have very ambitions climate goals in New York State, 70% renewable electricity by 2030; 100% decarbonized electricity by 2040. In order to get to those kinds of targets we need to start now,” said Wynter.

According to Wynter, that means massive investments in infrastructure and technology.

“We’re going to need all of it. We’re going to need electric vehicles. We’re going to need to electrify big portions of the heating sector. We’re going to need battery energy storage. We’ll need solar, wind. We’ll need carbon capture and storage. But we will also need to identify a role that the existing natural gas network can play and I think there is clearly a role it can play.”

Wynter also talks about the prospect of using hydrogen in natural gas.

“Blending green hydrogen, hydrogen that’s produced by renewables, but blending that hydrogen into the gas distribution network to create a lower carbon fuel in that network.”

Finally, Wynter reveals what concerns him about our energy future.

Rudy Wynter leads National Grid’s regulated energy delivery portfolio that provides electricity and natural gas service to 4 million customers across New York. He is responsible for the financial, operational, and customer-focused performance of the New York business and manages the relationships with regulators, government officials and the communities National Grid serves. 

In his more than 30-year tenure at National Grid and its legacy companies, Mr. Wynter has served in several senior and operational roles, most recently as Chief Operating Officer of the company’s Wholesale Networks & Capital Delivery business. 

He earned a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Pratt Institute and an MBA from Fordham University.

America’s vast electric grid is about to go through a major evolution as it adapts to the looming electrification of transportation. In this episode of Grid Talk, we talk with Philip Jones who is the Executive Director of the Alliance for Transportation Electrification. Mr. Jones talks about the need for more generation and transmission.

“We as a nation as we electrify transportation … there’s going to be a significant increase in use, probably 15 to 20% over the next 20 years.” Jones said.  “This is a very substantial transformation.”

He also talks about managing the system across different regulatory environments.

“If we get 70; 50-60-70% of the fleet, light-duty and medium-duty electrified, we just need to have both these passive and active load management policies in place because otherwise, the system’s not going to work.”

“It’s a much more complex system to run and manage for the utility and the grid operator but it offers a lot of load for a management flexibility.”

Philip B. Jones is the president of Phil Jones Consulting LLC, where he provides consulting services to the energy industry. He serves as the Executive Director of the Alliance for Transportation Electrification.

Jones previously served as a Commissioner on the Washington State Public Utilities Commission. From 1983 – 1988 Jones served as senior legislative assistant to Senator Daniel J. Evans, the former U.S. Senator from Washington State, and staffed him on energy policy issues before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.  He was responsible for a broad range of energy issues, including hydroelectric re-licensing, nuclear waste management, energy conservation and renewables, and the Bonneville Power Administration.

Jones graduated from Harvard with a degree in East Asian Studies in 1977.

The push for clean energy in the United States means there is a massive need for increased transmission capacity as more renewable energy is generated. In this episode of Grid Talk, we talk with Shawn Schukar who is the Chairman and President of Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois.

“We have increased the investment in our grid by nine to ten times what we were making 10 years ago,” said Schukar.

According Schukar, that’s just the beginning of what is needed to ensure reliability for a system in transition.

“There is no doubt we are going to need significantly greater investments in the transmission space if we’re going to transition to this, whether it’s 80% or 100% clean energy.”

The company is expanding its footprint by taking on projects outside its traditional service area. 

“We are looking at making transmission investments where we can utilize our skillsets and our capabilities to bring value to the customers.”

Mr. Schukar has more than 30 years of experience in the utility industry. He has led various Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois divisions. During his tenure with the company, including marketing; trading and asset management; transmission, distribution and generation management; engineering; regulatory and risk management; and business and corporate planning.

Mr. Schukar has a master's degree in business administration from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where he also earned a Bachelor of Science in engineering. 

With a goal of going 100% renewable by 2035, Los Angeles will need to amp up its transmission resources and nearly double its renewable energy production.

In this episode of Grid Talk, we talk with Jason Rondou who is the Director of Resource Planning, Development and Programs, at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).

“2030 is right around the corner and we have the opportunity and the plans to get to 80% renewable by 2030 which will put us at 97% carbon-free and so we’ve got the framework of how to achieve that,” said Rondou.

“If you look at all the storage, all of the solar, all of the wind, all the geothermal that we have to-day, we’re going to have to double it.”

The podcast also hits on the importance of long-term storage to ensure the reliability of and all renewable system and how hydrogen may be the answer.

“When you have consecutive high heat days and you have the threat of something like a wildfire or earthquake, we need to ensure that we have the ability to provide power for multiple days should we have an outage for multiple days, and hydrogen does provide that opportunity for us.”

Jason Rondou oversees LADWP’s LA100 Study, which aims to identify the major investments required to reliably and cost-effectively transition LADWP to 100% renewable energy. Mr. Rondou was formerly responsible for LADWP’s entry into the California Independent System Operator’s Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) as well as its demand response, local solar development, and community solar programs. He previously worked at the Los Angeles Department of Transportation on light rail development and bus rapid transit.

Mr. Rondou graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a degree in Electrical Engineering and has a Master of Public Administration from USC and an MBA from UCLA. 

Los Angeles aims to be a global trendsetter in renewables and sustainability with a goal of going 100% renewable by 2035. In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Lauren Faber O’Connor who is the Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Los Angeles. The discussion focuses on how L.A. is achieving its goal.

“We have the power within this city to be able to do that because we control our energy operations through municipal utilities so it’s an incredibly exciting process,” said O’Connor. 

Ms. O’Connor also talks about the scale of the project and the impacts beyond Los Angeles.

“Not only are we doing right by Angelinos by leading the charge and really making sure that we are ushering in a clean and reliable and affordable energy system, but we know that what we do in LA has reverberations way beyond our border. Climate change is indeed a global challenge and so what we do here really matter from a global stage.” 

“We are moving markets when it comes to our pursuit of renewable energy of distributed local clean generation. New technologies that we’re piloting here in Los Angeles – it has the ability to really move and commercialize new types of technology that’s going to be needed not just in LA but anywhere else.”

Ms. O’Connor has spent her career working on environmental issues from serving as West Coast Political Director for the Environmental Defense Fund to being appointed Assistant Secretary for Climate Change Programs at the California Environmental Protection Agency. 

Ms. O’Connor holds a Bachelor’s degree in Earth Systems and Economics from Stanford University, and Master’s degree in Climate and Society from Columbia University. 

In this episode of Grid Talk, Host Marty Rosenberg talks with Elliot Mainzer who is the President and CEO of the California Independent System Operator (ISO). The discussion focuses on the effort to bring on more renewable generation in California and what that means for the delivery of energy. Battery storage will play a significant role in meeting peak demand.

“The next five to seven years, California is going to be bringing on a monumental amount of new supply into the system. The amount of storage on the California grid this summer is going to be one of the largest in the world,” said Mainzer.

Mr. Mainzer also talks about what’s ahead for the evolving energy market in the West including the need for additional generation and new infrastructure.

“There’s just no way we’re going to be able to meet our clean energy objectives reliably without additional transmission resource diversification.”

The podcast ends with a discussion about the ongoing drought in the Southwest and the threat to the grid from wildfires.

Elliot Mainzer took over as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the California Independent System Operator in September of 2020, following an 18-year career at the Bonneville Power Administration. The ISO is responsible for managing the flow of electricity that serves 80 percent of California and a small portion of Nevada. 

Mr. Mainzer earned his bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of California, Berkeley. He has an MBA and Master of Environmental Studies degree from Yale University. 

Grid security and global energy policy are two of the top issues for the United States Energy Association (USEA). This episode of Grid Talk features Sheila Hollis who is the Acting Executive Director of the USEA. USEA’s members include more than 100 organizations from the U.S. energy sector, including governmental entities, nonprofits, and Fortune 500 companies and utilities. All of them are focused on securing the grid from attacks.

“We have done an enormous amount of work on the cybersecurity issue which I must say is one of the peak key issues that keep me up at night,” said Hollis.

“There are malefactors, there are gamesmen, there are unfortunately bad forces that have extreme capabilities to try and attack and sabotage the United States in many ways.” 

Another key issue for the association is global energy poverty. 

“Energy to me is a human right, it’s a human right. It’s like water and air. It’s a human right now to be part of the modern world, and in some cases, just to survive, you must have energy.”

As the Acting Executive Director of the United States Energy Association, Ms. Hollis represents the broad interests of the U.S. energy industry and interacts with domestic and international leaders to advance knowledge and seek partnerships to develop and enhance energy infrastructure worldwide.

Prior to becoming Acting Executive Director, she served as the Association’s Chairman of the Board. She has served on the USEA Board of Directors for 15 years.

Ms. Hollis is also Of Counsel and Chair of the Duane Morris, LLP Washington, D.C. office. She practices in the areas of energy policy and, transactional and regulatory law worldwide. 

Ms. Hollis is a graduate of the University of Denver College of Law and the University of Colorado at Boulder, in general studies and journalism.

The wildfire season is in full swing and that has utility officials in the drought stricken Southwest preparing for an active summer. In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Caroline Winn who is the CEO of San Diego Power & Gas (SDP&G). They’ll discuss how the utility has prepared for a fire season that lasts all year long, including how it uses technology to limit the impact of forced outages.

“So having a more surgical approach has helped us ensure again that only the most endangered communities are turned off,” said Winn.

They’ll also talk about renewables and promising new hydrogen storage technology.

“The holy grail is really long-duration energy storage that can really provide backup power during extended power outages and help to synchronize the supply and demand across the seasons.”

Finally, the discussion turns to meeting the demand as more EV’s hit the road.

“The challenge ahead of us is how do we manage the electrification of everything; the cars, the buildings and other facets of our economy.”

Caroline Winn has been with SDG&E since 1986 and became CEO in August 2020. Previously, she served as the chief operating officer of SDG&E, overseeing operations of the utility’s gas and electric infrastructure assets, and customer services. Winn also served as chief energy delivery officer, managing all energy delivery activities for SDG&E, including electric distribution operations and gas services, customer services, and external and state legislative affairs.

Ms. Winn has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from California State University Sacramento and is a registered professional engineer in the State of California. 

As official hurricane season barrels down on the Caribbean, this month the LUMA Energy consortium embarks on an unprecedented $20 billion, 15-year project to rebuild the damaged, long-neglected electric infrastructure on Puerto Rico. 

In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg follows up with two former guests to get an update on the project. 

Wayne Stensby is the President and CEO of Luma Energy. David Owens is the Vice-Chair of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.

“We will be administering the deployment of the FEMA funding to rebuild what is desperately needed here in Puerto Rico in terms of a badly dilapidated and damaged… transmission and distribution…and kind of all the elements of technology in the power system,” said Wayne Stensby. 

FEMA, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, is providing $10 billion to support the effort, one of its largest undertakings ever. 

“We interact extremely well with the FEMA, with the Department of Energy, with other agencies who have a keen interest in the work that Wayne is going to be doing to rebuild the grid, so I think we’re on target,” Owens said. 

David K. Owens is an accomplished executive with extensive experience in public policies surrounding utility operations, strategic planning, technology development, rate making and regulation. He is recognized as one of the foremost authorities on electric utility issues, industry restructuring, and transformation. His experience in the electricity sector includes leading the Edison Electric Institute’s (EEI’s) efforts over a broad set of issues that affect the future structure of the electric industry and new rules in evolving competitive markets.

He spearheaded efforts to enhance the public policy climate for investments in America’s electric infrastructure with emphasis on the role of new technologies to address climate change, and to enhance energy efficiency through smart buildings, smart appliances, smart meters, and smart electric grids.

Mr. Owens is a graduate of Howard University with a Bachelor and Master of Engineering degrees. He also has a Master in Engineering Administration from George Washington University.

Luma Energy was formed Quanta Services, ATCO, and Innovative Emergency Management to rebuild Puerto Rico's electrical grid.

Mr. Stensby joined ATCO in 1988 and has held a variety of leadership positions, including assignments in Canada, the U.K. and Australia. Most recently, in mid-2019, Mr. Stensby was appointed Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, where he was responsible for the growth of Canadian Utilities’ global portfolio of investments in premier energy infrastructure. 

Mr. Stensby holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alberta and is registered as a Professional Engineer with APEGA.

With nearly 90,000 rooftop solar systems, Hawaii is a national leader when it comes to solar power. Now, the state is taking the next step in its clean energy journey with a goal to electrify most ground transportation by 2035. 

In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Constance Lau who is the President and CEO of Hawaiian Electric Industries, the parent of Hawaiian Electric. The discussion focuses on Hawaii's renewable energy portfolio and the impact of going all EV.

“We have to get ready for a lot more provision of electricity because we’ll be providing electricity not to just the normal parts of the economy - but now if transportation starts switching over to use electricity as a fuel, we’ll have to be prepared to provide that as well,” said Lau.

A concurrent goal would see Hawaii become carbon neutral 2045. That means Hawaii is ramping up renewables. Ms. Lau explains why it’s more complicated than just adding more capacity.

“We’re seeing very interesting discussions where competing land use policies are needing to be discussed and judgement calls made by our policy makers.”

She also talks about the challenge of integrating all the distributed systems to create an efficient grid for powering homes, businesses, and vehicles.

Ms. Lau joined the HEI companies in 1984 and has served in numerous legal, financial, operating and executive roles. She is a nationally recognized leader in the fields of critical infrastructure, resilience and physical and cyber security, banking, and energy. 

Ms. Lau graduated from Yale College with a B.S. in administrative sciences. She earned a juris doctor from the University of California Hastings College of the Law and a master’s in business administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

EVs are coming across the nation. But before that an avalanche of renewable electric generation will hit the Midwest territory served by the Mid-continent Independent System operator (MISO), with its 471 market participants serving 42 million people. Here is how its CEO John Bear put it to the Grid Talk podcast, www.smartgrid.gov/gridtalk: 

“Well, we’re having a significant portfolio change in the electric grid we’re operating. We’re going to – over the next five to ten years – double the amount of renewables that we have on our system, that being wind and solar, at a sort of scalable wholesale level.” 

The region has long relied on coal burning to generate power. That is now changing. 

“So, if you go out to 2040 for example, we’re looking at wind and solar being around 25% of our portfolio,” Bear said. 

To accommodate the changed generation fleet, MISO will have to expand on its bread and butter service: transmission. $4 billion worth of project are in the wings, and more are planned. 

“We are going to need some significant transmission changes… to make sure that we can move the wind and solar around so they don’t have to curtail it when we don’t have enough load to absorb it in the regions that it’s in.”

Bear is energized by the challenge.

“You know, I’m most excited about the decarbonization effort that’s ongoing. I think that it’s super exciting to see the pace and the velocity of which our industry is having to change and then having to think through how to make all of that work together in a reliable, affordable way.”

John Bear joined MISO in 2004 and has more than 25 years of executive leadership in the utility industry. As Chief Executive Officer of MISO since January 2009, he leads MISO’s continuous efforts to work collaboratively and transparently with its members to reliably deliver low-cost energy through efficient, innovative, operations and planning.

Bear graduated from Southern Methodist University with a Master of Business Administration degree and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. 

Colorado leaders aim to have close to one-million electric vehicles zooming about the state by 2030. In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks Alice Jackson who is the President of Xcel Energy – Colorado. They discuss efforts to lower the barriers for customers to purchase EVs, from tax credits to infrastructure.

“It is a big target and a goal but it’s one that we’re really excited about taking on,” said Jackson.

Jackson described Xcel as an enabler when it comes to transportation electrification, with the company providing more than just the electricity.

“Whether that’s installing charging stations or helping customers understand what that lifestyle looks like; that’s where we’re getting engaged.” 

And she answers the question about what kind of impact the EV push will have on power generation and distribution. 

“This really is a partnership on figuring out how do you incentivize that charging to happen at the right times of the day so you don’t have to add more infrastructure to the system that would increase the cost.”

Alice Jackson has been the president of Xcel Energy – Colorado since 2018. Previously, Ms. Jackson was area vice president of Strategic Revenue Initiatives, leading the company’s revenue growth strategy. From 2013-2016, she was regional vice president, Rates and Regulatory Affairs, Xcel Energy - Colorado. Jackson joined Xcel Energy in 2011 as regional vice president, Rates and Regulatory Affairs, Xcel Energy – Texas, New Mexico. She has a wealth of experience in managing government and stakeholder relations, as well as developing innovative products and services for customers gained over a 17-year career in the energy industry.

Jackson received a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from Texas A&M University and completed the Harvard Business School Program for Leadership Development.