Just Power

This episode is different. No guests. No data. Just Carolyn Parrs revealing what she has been sitting with since finishing eleven conversations about energy affordability this season — and what she believes every leader in this space needs to hear right now. This is not a political statement. It is a leadership reckoning. Because the truth this season made impossible to ignore is this: the most cr...

The pendulum always swings towards justice. That's what Dr. Tony Reames told host, Carolyn Parrs in the last season of the Just Power podcast. It's the thread that has quietly connected every conversation in the Leading Through Energy Affordability series since. Dr. Tony Reames built the first-ever Office of Energy Justice Policy and Analysis at the U.S. Department of Energy and now dire...

Most people will never set foot in an energy regulatory proceeding. And for the ones who do show up — without a lawyer, without technical expertise, without money to intervene — showing up is often where their influence ends. Jolette Westbrook spent eight years as a utility commissioner in Massachusetts watching that dynamic play out, and she's spent the years since working to dismantle it. A...

When you design a financial system around people instead of profit, it works. That's not a theory. For Duanne Andrade, CEO of the Solar and Energy Loan Fund (SELF), it's 13 years of receipts: $60 million deployed, less than 2% default rate, and 70% of borrowers are low-to-moderate income families that traditional lenders turned away. As part of our LeadingThrough Energy Affordability ser...

The affordability crisis isn't a fuel cost problem or an infrastructure problem — it's a power problem. Who's in the room when rates get set, who has decades of precedent on their side, and who's actually fighting for the customers that neither the utility nor the industrial intervenors are motivated to protect. John Wilson is one of those people. As Vice President at Grid Stra...

The energy affordability crisis is well understood. What's less clear is what's actually holding up as credible solutions from inside the system. Meena Beyers knows. As Vice President of Business and Community Development at NICOR Gas — serving 2.3 million customers across Northern Illinois — she's doing that work right now. In this conversation with host Carolyn Parrs, Meena takes...

What if the most radical thing a utility could do right now isn't build more infrastructure — it's decide that how it cares for customers is just as important as how it powers their homes? Utibe Bassey grew up in Lagos, Nigeria without reliable power. Today she is Vice President of Customer Experience at Dominion Energy, Virginia's largest utility. She brings to that role a personal...

The utility industry says affordability is a priority. So why do half of struggling customers expect to lose power in the next 12 months — and 80% don't even know help exists? That number — nearly 50% — comes straight from a national E Source survey conducted in February 2025, and it stops you cold. In this episode of our "Leading Through Energy Affordability" series, Ben Nathan, Di...

What happens in a room most people never think about — no cameras, no headlines, no viral moments — shapes every electricity bill in your state.   In this episode of Just Power , Carolyn Parrs sits down with Eric Blank, Chair of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, for a candid conversation about what it actually takes to manage the most expensive grid transformation in American history witho...

We have programs. We have data. We have red-ink notebooks full of public comments. So what do credible, leadership responses to energy affordability actually look like — and who is truly stepping up to deliver them? Dr. Diana Hernández has some answers — and some of them aren't comfortable. In Episode 3 of Just Power's Leading Through Energy Affordability series, Carolyn Parrs welcomes D...

What does energy unaffordability actually feel like? Not the policy language, not the rate filings — but the lived experience of a family in Colorado's San Luis Valley watching a $900 bill arrive after two months? In Episode 2 of our Leading Through Energy Affordability series, host Carolyn Parrs welcomes back Jennifer Gremmert, CEO of Energy Outreach Colorado, to listen together — and reflec...

Season 5 Launch: "Leading Through Energy Affordability" series. Energy affordability is one of the defining challenges of the energy transition — and for millions of households, it is already a breaking point. In this Just Power series, "Leading Through Energy Affordability", we set out to answer a critical question: what do credible responses to energy affordability look like...

At a moment when energy conversations are more polarized than ever—and families are caught between rising bills and an uncertain grid—how do we actually move forward? In this final episode of Season 4, guest Julia DeTar of Adamantine Energy explores with Just Power host, Carolyn Parrs, why the biggest barrier to progress isn’t technology, but our inability to talk through our differences. Enter: t...

The grid is being asked to do the impossible: power AI and data centers, electrify homes and industry, integrate carbon-free energy, and still stay affordable and reliable. In this episode of Just Power , Carolyn Parrs sits down with Hanna Grene—Microsoft’s Global Go-to-Market & Operations Leader for Energy and a recognized thought leader on the digital grid transition—to cut through the hype...

Data centers aren’t just energy-hungry—they’re reshaping the power system faster than almost anything we’ve seen before. Some now consume as much electricity as entire cities, and the rush to meet that demand is often driving new fossil fuel generation, costly grid upgrades, and rising risks for communities.  In this episode of Just Power , host Carolyn Parrs is joined with Uday Varadarajan, co-fo...

Feeling like progress toward a clean, affordable energy future has stalled — or even slipped backwards? You’re not alone. In this episode, I explore the real-world setbacks many of us are experiencing right now — from renewable energy slowdowns to shrinking affordability programs — and reframe them as part of the deeper breakthrough process. Without getting political, I talk about resilience, mind...

Behind every public hearing and polished plan is a simple question: who actually had a voice? My guest, Mary Palmer, founder of New Bayou and Director of Energy Equity & Inclusion at SEPA, and I explore how real community engagement looks: what utilities miss, what advocates need, and how relationships, not checklists, reshape the energy transition for the better. If you work inside a utility,...

A once-every-20-years utility franchise renewal is unfolding in real time in Denver — and it’s turning into something much bigger than a routine contract extension. Denver’s franchise agreement with Xcel Energy is due to renew January 1, 2027. But the process has hit a wall over one core question: What should a community expect in return from a utility that gets guaranteed returns and protected ac...

If you’ve opened your bill lately and taken a deep breath before you dared look at the total, you’re not alone. Today, I break down—in simple, human language—why energy costs are rising, who’s paying the highest price, and what we can actually do about it. No PhD required. Just clarity, honesty, and a path forward in a clean energy transition that must work for everyone. Highlights: Why energy bil...

This is the story of a Belgian graduate student who asked a simple question—can a neighborhood truly own its own energy?—and uncovered a web of hidden barriers buried deep inside the system. In this episode of Just Power , Carolyn speaks with Hannah Liebrand, a climate and energy governance researcher from Belgium and recent magna cum laude graduate of Ghent University. Through her master’s thesis...

What happens when a state doesn’t just talk about an energy equity and justice plan —but actually builds one? In this episode of Just Power , host Carolyn Parrs sits down with Will Toor, Executive Director of the Colorado Energy Office, to unpack how Colorado has become a national model for climate action that puts equity, affordability, and real people at the center. From wildfire risk to coal co...

In this Season 4 opener of Just Power , Dr. Tony Reames returns with host, Carolyn Parrs, to reflect on a year that’s seen major rollbacks in federal climate and equity policy — and yet surprising momentum at the state, local, and community level. Tony, who helped establish the first Office of Energy Justice Policy and Analysis at the U.S. Department of Energy and now leads the Detroit Sustainabil...

In this Just Power Season 3 finale, host Carolyn Parrs brings together industry leaders and equity advocates for an unflinching look at how utilities can meet the rising energy demand of data centers and electrification in our energy transition.  From fairness and community engagement to job transitions and community solar, this conversation explores what a truly just energy transition demands of...

This inspiring episode of Just Power is all about how to start an energy equity program that truly centers people and communities. You'll hear six leading voices share what it means to take the first steps. From community engagement and pilot projects to measurement frameworks and interagency collaboration, they offer practical insights to move from intention to action. Whether you’re a polic...

In our Energy Transition, we talk a lot about technology, rates, and policy—but what about the people helping communities navigate it all? Meet the human guides powering trust and change: Energy Coaches. Download The Guide- 7 Traits of an Effective Energy Coach: https://mindovermarkets.com/energycoach/ In this Just Power episode, host Carolyn Parrs reveals why Energy Coaches are essential infrastr...