Grid Talk

A new company is starting a $10.5 Billion rebuild of Puerto Rico's electrical system. In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Wayne Stensby who is the President and CEO of Luma Energy. The company is in charge of Puerto Rico's energy transformation after hurricanes devastated the Island's electrical infrastructure.  "It will be more resistive to storms and...

In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Arshad Mansoor of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). Mr. Mansoor is the President at EPRI and will take over as CEO on January 1, 2021. The podcast focuses on EPRI's research efforts to address the challenges of delivering reliable and affordable electricity, including coming up with a pathway to accelerate the transitio...

The second season of Grid Talk kicks off with a discussion about rebuilding and modernizing Puerto Rico's electric grids after devastating hurricanes. Host Marty Rosenberg talks with David Owens who is the Vice-Chair of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.  Mr. Owens talks about how his organization is working to use solar energy and microgrids to build a more resilient and reliable ener...

CenterPoint Energy is leading the digital revolution in the electric industry. In episode 24 of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Kenny Mercado who is the Senior Vice President of Electric Operations at CenterPoint Energy. The discussion focuses on CenterPoint’s investment in technology to provide a premiere digital platform for service delivery. “I think we have a leadership model not on...

NorthWestern Energy has one of the largest, and most rural, service areas in the United States, taking in most of Montana and South Dakota. In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Bob Rowe, who is the President and CEO of Northwest Energy, about the challenges of delivering power in rural America.  “The entire West is concerned about the ability to meet peak. Within the Pacif...

The Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) delivers federal hydropower to more than 40 million Americans every year. In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Mark Gabriel who is the CEO and Administrator for WAPA. Mr. Gabriel explains how market dynamics are pushing the transmission grid to its limits.  “We’re adding more and more of the very thing that is pushing us to thos...

This episode of Grid Talk features Vivian Bouet who is the Chief Information Officer for CPS Energy in San Antonio. The discussion is centered on how artificial intelligence is being implemented by utilities to improve decision making and improve performance across the value chain.  AI is being used to better inform market operators about demand response, both consumption and production, and even...

In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Sam duPont who is the Principal of Strategic Programs at Baltimore Gas and Electric. Mr. duPont explains a new program to set customers up with smart and connected home technology. The company will evaluate the impact of the smart home technologies and how to help customers take full advantage. “The technology can be brilliant. It can b...

Xcel Energy delivers power to homes and businesses in eight states in the Midwest and West. In this episode of Grid Talk, we hear from the Chairman and CEO of Xcel, Ben Fowke. Mr. Fowke discusses his company’s goal of being carbon-free by 2050 and what we need to invest in now to accomplish the last 20%. “The technologies that I think about to get that last 20% out are things like the hydrogen-- d...

In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Steve Malnight, President and CEO of Duquesne Light Company in Pittsburgh. Mr. Malnight talks about how Duquesne Light is redefining what it means to be a modern electric utility and how he is using lessons learned from California.    “We're going to serve customers safely, reliably every day with the power they need but do it in v...

Austin Energy is taking a new, market-based approach to accelerate reduction of carbon emissions in its energy portfolio. In this episode of Grid Talk, Marty Rosenberg talks with Thomas Pierpoint who is the Vice President of Electric System Engineering and Technical Services at the municipal utility. Mr. Pierpont explains how the market-based approach works to benefit and protect ratepayers. He al...

A first-of-its-kind housing project is up and running in the mountains of Colorado. In this episode of Grid Talk, Marty Rosenberg talks with Bryan Hannegan, President and CEO of Holy Cross Energy. Mr. Hannegan explains how a net-zero, all electric community is delivering affordable housing in a Colorado tourism town. He’ll rundown the features that are helping homeowners keep energy costs down. Mr...

This episode of Grid Talk focuses on grid security. Marty Rosenberg interviews Jim Robb, president and CEO of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). Mr. Robb talks about how utilities have weathered the COVID-19 crisis and what his number one concern was for employees working remotely. He’ll also explain what risks we face during the rapid evolution of the grid and why he call...

In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Patti Poppe who is the President and CEO at CMS Energy in Jackson, Michigan. The company is using new technology and old school techniques to accelerate its clean energy plan. Ms. Poppe discusses a first-of-its-kind partnership with Google and UpLight to optimize energy usage. Also, find out how Jackson, Michigan became the most energy...

In episode 13 of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg, talks with Drew Murphy who is a Senior Vice President at of Edison International. The discussion focuses on Edison international’s efforts to meet California’s mandate of delivering 100% carbon-free energy by 2045. Mr. Murphy talks about what changes we will see to meet that objective and the impacts on other parts of the economy. Mr. Murphy joined...

In this episode of Grid Talk, Marty Rosenberg talks with two vice presidents from the nation’s largest utility about the impact of the corona virus on their operations. Exelon has 10 million customers in Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia. Joe Svachula is the Vice President of Strategic Planning at Exelon and Eric Helt is the Vice President of Infra...

In this episode of Grid Talk, Marty Rosenberg talks with Matthew Ketschke, Vice President at Con Edison in New York. Con Edison operates one of the world's largest energy delivery systems. Mr. Ketschke explains how the utility is working toward a cleaner, more efficient future, and he details the impacts of reducing carbon emissions on the delivery of electricity. You'll hear why deliver...

In this episode of Grid Talk, Marty Rosenberg talks with Patricia Collawn, who is the Chairman, President, and CEO of PNM in New Mexico. The discussion focuses on how the utility is transforming to a carbon-free portfolio and the timeline. They'll talk about some interesting financial approaches the company is taking to deal with climate change by re-balancing and redesigning its grid and its...

In this episode, Marty talks with Dr. Shay Bahramirad who is the Vice President of Engineering and Smart Grid at ComEd in Chicago. The subject is ComEd's urban microgrid project. The micorgrid's software evaluates the state of the system and determines what resources to draw upon to keep the grid up and running during any kind of event. Dr. Bahramirad explains how the technology can help...

Host Marty Rosenberg talks with Maria Pope, President and CEO of Portland General Electric. The discussion is focused on the utility's smart grid initiatives and how it's engaging customers to improve efficiency and sustainability, while driving down costs. Ms. Pope talks about unique partnerships the utility has entered and how they are "creating a world where two and two is not eq...

Host Marty Rosenberg talks with Thomas Farrell who is the Chairman, President, and CEO of Dominion Energy. In September, Dominion Energy announced plans for the largest offshore wind development in the country. Farrell gives the details of the project and explains why this significant investment is ready for prime time and why the Virginia coastline is there perfect location for the project. The p...

Host Marty Rosenberg talks with the Administrator for the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Elliot Mainzer. The discussion focuses on grid modernization and how BPA is keeping up with technological advances and changes to traditional business models in the utility sector.  Elliot Mainzer manages the nonprofit federal agency that markets carbon-free power from Columbia River hydroelectric dams...

Host Marty Rosenberg talks with Ralph Izzo, the President and CEO and Chairman of PSEG. The discussion is centered around how sustainability is driving change at one of the largest utilities in the United States. Mr. Izzo explains his approach to sustainability from an environmental perspective and a corporate perspective.  Mr. Izzo is a well-known leader within the utility industry, as well as th...

Host Marty Rosenberg talks with Doug Hunter about Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). Mr. Hunter is the Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems or UAMPS. UAMPS is at the forefront of the nuclear frontier with its push to construct an SMR plant.  Mr. Hunter explains how an SMR is different from a traditional nuclear reactor and why he believes it's a g...

Host Marty Rosenberg talks with Green Mountain Power (GMP) president and CEO Mary Powell. Ms. Powell launched an ambitious energy vision to make Vermont a leader in sustainable energy by providing low carbon, low cost and reliable power to Vermonters. The company has built Vermont’s largest wind farm. GMP made Rutland, VT the solar generation capital of New England, and has installed smart grid te...