On The Grid

Capital metro in Austin is rolling out six electric buses for public transportation, with two already on the streets! How does one do this kind of public transportation project in a pandemic? What does such a process look like from the inside to potentially be modeled by other transit agencies? We wanted the answers to these questions as well, so we brought on Sam Sargent, Deputy Chief of Staff at...

Adrian Garcia, VP of Transformation & Strategy at Daito Design, is our guest this week. The discussion centers around moving digital transformation out of the abstract and into reality: what is transformation in service of? Who makes the plan and what should they keep in mind? How do we distinguish a "transformation" from just on-boarding tech to do business as usual? Music by bensound.com

It's been a while since we've dug into a specific project, but when word came to us of a long-term storage project with a new battery, we had to sniff the story out. We have Minnesota's Great River Energy Chief Power Supply Officer Jon Brekke, and the Form Energy's cofounder, president, and COO Ted Wiley to discuss the "aqueous air" battery project set to be fully rolled out in 2023. As we've done...

How has the pandemic affected cities' commitments to building more ecologically-minded? What do those standards look like in the first place? To answer these questions and more we brought on Anita Ledbetter, Executive Director at Build San Antonio Green. If you want to donate to help protesters fight for racial justice across the country here are some resources: Freedom Fund - https://www.lgbtqfun...

Today on the show we have Dr. Massoud Amin of the University of Minnesota talking about the powers of resiliency. The conversation flows between grid resiliency, cyber resiliency, and personal resiliency against the various threats of the modern era. Dr. Amin lays out prescriptive practices in these fields based on years of research and observation. Music by bensound.com

Today we're launching a monthly solar podcast focus for the coming year and we're starting it off with NREL's Sarah Gomach who is here to talk about round two of the American Made Solar Prize. The lessons learned from round 1 have helped shape the solar network of developers, labs, entrepreneurs and other key figures. We also talk about the larger implications of the movement towards solar in all...

Our guest today is Chris King, SVP of emobility policy and regulatory affairs at Siemens. He discusses EV charging standards and interoperability allowing for a better customer experience, but on a larger scale this episode explores what the most cost-effective way is to create a user-friendly infrastructure. The ultimate goal is to help remove barriers to EV adoption and prepare for what looks li...

Today we have Rod West, President of Utility Operations at Entergy, on the show to talk about two key aspects of COVID-based disruption in the energy space. Initially we dive into resiliency and what precautions are taking place to ensure reliability of power alongside safety of workers. Then we take a look at how the customer journey has been upended by the personal, cultural, and economic impact...

We're following up with NYU's Dr. Kissane on the global oil conflict and how we ended up with a negative value in the US last week. If you're following what's happening with oil during the pandemic, don't miss this one! Music by bensound.com

We've got a delightful panel of electric vehicle experts on today to talk about how the market will change post-covid and beyond. EV Erin Hardick directs the conversation with Austin Energy's Karl Popham, GreenLots' Ashley Horvat, and EVolve Houston's Michael Conklin. They cover the challenges and pitfalls of increasing EV adoption, organizing information campaigns, and shine a light on the unspok...

Intel is making a brain! Their data analytics lead, Gretchen Stewart, talked with Erin Hardick about AI and the litany of potential applications, and an artificial brain being created at Intel’s laboratories. Discussion on defining traits and the translation of seemingly immutable qualities of the human brain lead into discussion about the how and why such an undertaking could advance… well you na...

On this next episode of Zpryme on the Grid — this past February 2020 — Zpryme's Chris Moyer interviewed Dr. Ralph Izzo PSE&G chairman of the board, president and CEO on renewables, consumer engagement, and his career. PSE&G services 1.8 million gas customers and 2.2 million electric customers in more than 300 urban, suburban and rural communities.

Today we have NYU's Dr. Carolyn Kissane back on the show to talk about the situation on the ground in New York, and how the pandemic has affected her role as an educator. Then in the second half, we do an in-depth dive into a growing economic conflict between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Dr. Kissane goes into the background of the conflict, what role the U.S. has in it, and what the possible ramificat...

Today on the show, we have Chelsea Collier, founder of digi.city to talk about the toll the coronavirus is taking on cities, but also about what strengths and weaknesses have been revealed by it. Comparing different successes and trials in different cities has shown what strategies have been most effective and what our society's ability to weather crises like this actually is. There's discussion a...

We're back ladies and gentlemen! After collecting ourselves from the shocks of the current... well everything, we're back to talk about how cities are handling themselves. We have Joyce Deuley from Geekdom here to talk about San Antonio specifically and what they've done to have a fairly successful response to the COVID-19 crisis. If you're looking for ways to help go to https://www.washingtonpost...

Employee retainment? Future clean tech for utilities? This is another very special edition of On the Grid with guest host Zpryme's Chris Moyer. Chris joined Calvin Butler Exelon Utilities President and Matt Tobias Deloitte Principal in Washington D.C. recently to talk about the importance of customer engagement, tech, and how utilities can do a more effective job overall for its employees and cust...

On the Grid is on the road again! Made possible by Itron, Zpryme's Erin Hardick ventured to National Grid in Boston to talk mentorship with energy's leading women. What relationships helped shaped their careers? What advice do they have for the next wave of mentors? Marcy Reed, President of National Grid Massachusetts and Executive Vice President of US Policy & Social Impact, Sharelynn Moore, SVP...

Like it or not, data runs our increasingly digital world and we're still trying to figure out the implications of what that means for people's everyday lives. The systems by which data is collected, stored, secured, applied, categorized, and sold are labyrinthine which makes discussion of not only the solutions but the problems themselves difficult to parse. So to help us navigate this minefield,...

At Distributech 2020 the podcast crew was able to sit down with IBM Director of Strategy and Environemtn for Energy, Environment Utility Industries Elle Carberry, IBM Senior Consultant Lauren Kaley, SMUD elected member Nancy Bui-Thompson along with Zpryme's Director of Research Programs Erin Autin and Senior Research Analyst Erin Hardick. What followed was an in-depth discussion about their person...

Distributech 2020 just wrapped up and we have our podcast crew's breakdown of the goings on at the convention. The Erins have graciously taken time out of their media whirlwind to describe what they see as the emerging trends for the year to come. We do a classic top 5 experience rundown and postulate on the meanings of buzzwords. Check out our redesigned website for more upcoming Dtech media! htt...

It's time to take a peek behind the curtain here at Zpryme and talk to some of the people creating our new venture into Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality development for utilities. The head of the project, Jorge Ortiz, AR/VR Specialist Bekah Diaz, and Digital Media Manager Chris Holt sat down with Erin at our office in Austin to talk about why we believe in this technology and what its applica...

Happy New Year! Now that a new decade is upon us, it's time to get introspective. How was 2019 for the energy industry? Interesting yet slow for a time of such apparent upheaval. CEO Jason Rodriguez talks with us about changes and lacks thereof in energy trends over the course of the year and see how our predictions stacked up (spoiler alert: eeehhhhhh) which of course does not stop us from making...

Today's guest is Paula Gold-Williams the President and CEO of CPS Energy. That should really be all that needs to be said but just because we love you so much, we'll let you know that within this podcast is an in-depth discussion about the relationship between utilities, cities, and communities. We also go into Paula's own rise to prominence in the industry and what she plans and expectations are....

Debbie Brodt-Giles from NREL joins the podcast to discuss the American Made Solar Prize as well as what solutions are out there that NREL is discovering through this process. We also play an appropriately festive game. Later, Dylan talks to two winners of the first round of the prize, Ethan Good, Principal of Phase 3 Photovoltaic, and Bill Nussey, cofounder of Solar Inventions. They go over what k...

What are you thankful for this year? We're thankful for research! Content gurus Erin Hardick and Chris Moyer from the research team have come on to talk about what we did over the summer research-wise as well as the key findings and lessons learned therein. Business Model Transformation report: https://etsinsights.com/reports/transformation-of-the-utility-business-model/ DERMS Report: https://etsi...