Public Power Now

In the latest episode of the Public Power Now podcast, Doug Brown, the new President and CEO of the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency, discusses the steps that IMEA has taken to receive top-tier ratings from the major credit rating agencies. He also details the development of a Request for Proposal to be issued to member municipal utilities to apply to host a pilot battery energy storage system p...

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Ashley Day, Education and Visitor Programs Specialist at Holland Board of Public Works, and Dave Koster, General Manager at Holland Board of Public Works, discuss the Michigan public power utility’s outreach to local schools and the ways in which Holland BPW works to educate students about Holland BPW and the broader energy industry, as well as careers in...

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, John Bear, President and CEO of the Midcontinent ISO, discusses how MISO is planning for large load growth, details how the grid operator is preparing to meet summer power demand this year and provides an overview of MISO’s long range transmission planning efforts.

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Tracy Sutten, resource planning manager at Oregon public power utility Springfield Utility Board, describes her role at the utility and details SUB generator loan programs for residential and small business electric customers.

In the latest episode of the Public Power Now podcast, Pat Hart, Senior Director for Resilience Programs at APPA, and Giacomo Wray, Operations Services Senior Manager at APPA, offer details on FEMA mutual aid reimbursement and emergency action plan templates that APPA has produced for the benefit of its member utilities. The templates are available on APPA’s webpage on mutual aid and emergency res...

In the latest episode of the Public Power Now podcast, Aggie Serrame, Resilience Program Manager at APPA, offers details on an AI in Risk Management Roundtable that APPA is hosting on April 16. The online event, which is for APPA members only, will bring together utility professionals working in risk management, system planning, forecasting, and grid operations to discuss current and emerging AI-r...

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Rob Denaburg, senior manager for cybersecurity at the American Public Power Association, said participating in APPA’s new Cybersecurity Accelerator Program has several benefits, which include allowing public power utilities to benchmark their cybersecurity performance against peers and identify areas for improvement. For utilities seeking recognition for...

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, John Tzimorangas, President and CEO of Energy New England, details how Energy New England delivers value and benefits to its public power utility owners. He also discusses FirstLight’s announcement in January that FirstLight has expanded a municipal utility power purchase agreement with Energy New England.

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Ursula Schryver, Senior Vice President, Education, Training & Events at APPA, highlights key sessions and other activities that will take place at APPA’s National Conference. This year’s National Conference will take place from June 26 to July 1 in Boston and conference sessions will include lessons in resilience and emergency response, what public po...

In the latest episode of the Public Power Now podcast, Marilyn Gilbert, General Manager and CEO of the Brownsville Public Utilities Board, details key elements of the Texas public power utility’s 2026-2030 Strategic Business Plan. She also provides an update on BPUB’s Advanced Metering Infrastructure project.

In the latest episode of the Public Power Now podcast, Kristofor Sellstrom, General Manager of the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities, details the New York public power utility’s community-owned, open-access fiber network project and discusses the utility’s Flex Rate Program, which is an economic development tool. Sellstrom took on the role of General Manager of the BPU in January.

In the latest episode of the Public Power Now podcast, John Pfeiffer, Supervisor of the Line Apprenticeship Program at Arizona public power utility Salt River Project, discusses SRP’s “Grunt Olympics,” a unique way in which SRP tests and trains apprenticeship hopefuls.

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Danielle Blacet-Hyden, Executive Director of the California Municipal Utilities Association, details a new CMUA campaign aimed at educating legislators, regulators, journalists, and the general public about the value and public benefits of community-owned, not-for-profit power and water utilities in California.  She also discusses her long-term goals for...

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Wes Kelley, President and CEO of Huntsville Utilities, the public power utility for Huntsville, Alabama, details the benefits of public power utilities participating in APPA’s 2026 Lineworkers Rodeo, which Huntsville Utilities is hosting. The rodeo will take place on March 27 - 28, 2026.

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Robin Schoettlin, Recruiting and Outreach Senior Specialist at Nebraska public power utility Lincoln Electric System, details the utility’s new program called Power Pathways. The initiative aims to provide high school students with a structured opportunity to observe, learn from, and interact with professionals at LES.

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Tom Dankert, General Manager of Austin, Minnesota-based Austin Utilities, discusses how the utility is proactively addressing succession planning and details how the utility benefits from being a member of the Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency.

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Korey Bush, Assistant General Manager for Customer Service at Florida public power utility Lakeland Electric, details how Lakeland Electric’s Customer Academy provides a useful tool for customers to learn more about the utility and the benefits of public power. He also discusses the high marks the utility received in the latest J.D. Power rankings for res...

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Cyndi Wentland, the founder of Intentional Leaders, details how public power officials will benefit from participating in a webinar series of APPA’s Leadership Toolkit, which offers a comprehensive path for professional growth. Wentland will be leading the first three webinar series of APPA’s four-part Leadership Toolkit. This episode of Public Power Now...

In the latest episode of APPA’s Public Power Now podcast, Brianna Bennett, Sustainability Coordinator at Massachusetts public power utility Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant, and Chris Kelley, Vice President at Beam Reach Consulting Group, discuss a recently completed case study that shows how HMLP achieved savings through a strategic demand response effort. This episode of Public Power Now is spon...

Jeff Shaver, investment recovery analyst at Arizona public power utility Salt River Project, details how SRP is recycling old power lines and giving new life to previously un-recyclable material. He also details how SRP customers are benefiting from the recycling effort.

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Patricia Taylor, Policy Director at APPA, discusses a recently released report by APPA on data centers. Among other things, she explains why APPA prepared the report on serving data centers and discusses some of the challenges utilities may face in serving data center customers.

In the latest episode of the Public Power Now podcast, Kyle Treibs, Superintendent of Electric Department for the City of Fredericksburg, Texas, and Kris Kneese, Director of Public Works & Utilities, for the city, detail how Fredericksburg and the city Electric Department have achieved almost 40 years without a lost time work injury.

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, David Plotz, General Manager of Washington State’s Lewis County PUD, discusses the PUD’s development of a Clean Energy Implementation Plan, details the PUD’s current generation mix and talks about how partnering with bitcoin mining companies as a form of data center load can enhance a utility’s appeal.

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Scott Corwin, President and CEO of APPA, discusses a wide range of topics with Carrie Meek Gallagher, CEO of the Long Island Power Authority. Among other things, Gallagher said her priorities since being named CEO in June have been centered on stability at the public power utility, affordability and long-term planning. They also discussed LIPA’s continued...

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Ursula Schryver, Senior Vice President, Education, Training, and Events, at APPA, highlights sessions that will occur at APPA’s Joint Action Conference in early 2026, as well as discusses other conferences and events APPA will hold next year.