Grid Talk

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 Ene...

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 hel...

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 ele...

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 ‘innovat...

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...

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 mus...

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...

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 goi...

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 Schuka...

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 an...

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 w...

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, Cali...

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 focus...

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 th...

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...

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....

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 th...

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...

In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks Barbara Sugg who is the President and CEO of the Southwest Power Pool (SPP). The discussion focuses on February’s extreme cold weather event that knocked out power in parts of Texas and impacted some of SPP’s operations.  “The issues that Southwest Power Pool had were similar to that in ERCOT in the case that we had more load than we could s...

Texas energy regulators and operators are investigating the causes of a massive power outage that hit the state in February during an extreme weather event. In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Ken Medlock who is the Senior Director for the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Mr. Medlock is leading a group digging through the m...

In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Gil Quiniones who is the President and CEO of the New York Power Authority (NYPA). The discussion focuses on NYPA’s investment in large scale renewable energy projects. It’s part of a ten-year plan called VISION2030 that includes significant investment in offshore wind. “The manufacturing of components for offshore wind will happen ther...

Exelon Utilities is leading by example when it comes to electrifying our transportation system. In this episode of Grid Talk, Exelon Utilities CEO, Calvin Butler, talks about serving customers with affordable electricity, while transitioning to a clean energy future.   “Electrification of the transportation industry is one of the biggest things that we can do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to...

In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Tom Fanning who is the Chairman, President and CEO of Southern Company. Southern Company has a physical presence in 18 states and is a recognized provider of customized energy solutions across the country. The discussion focuses on several topics including cybersecurity, a carbon-free future, distributive energy, and rapid changes in th...

In 2019 Google announced it was purchasing $2 billion worth of wind and solar energy to ensure the company is 100% renewable. Now the company is out with a new goal – carbon-free 24x7. In this episode of Grid Talk, we hear from Raiford Smith who is Google’s lead for Energy, Analytics, and Markets. Mr. Smith explains the difference between 100% renewable and carbon-free 24x7. “We now want to have c...

Texas leads the nation when it comes to wind energy. In fact, there are only four countries in the world with more wind energy than Texas. In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Bill Magness, who is the President and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Mr. Magness talks about the challenges of managing and delivering large amounts of intermittent wind e...