GridPulse, a Grid Forward podcast

As electricity demand continues to climb, geothermal energy is emerging as a key source of reliable, around-the-clock clean power. In this episode of GridPulse, Bryce Yonker sits down with Sarah Jewett, chief operating officer at Fervo Energy, to discuss how the company is scaling the next generation of geothermal power. Sarah explains how Fervo is applying technologies pioneered in the oil and ga...

Energy affordability is a growing problem across the commercial, industrial, and residential sectors. In this episode, Christopher Knittel of MIT and Ryan Hledick of The Brattle Group turn to recent research to unpack the many factors pushing up electricity prices, including infrastructure replacement, climate change impact, fast-growing demand and evolving energy policies. They then lay out poten...

The ability to double grid capacity is here today, ready to work in existing transmission corridors. Get grounded in advanced reconductoring options in this episode with Zach Zimmerman from the AMP Coalition and Theodore Paradise, Chief Policy and Grid Strategy Office at CTC Global . They explain how advanced conductors can move more energy using existing poles and corridors or boost capacity of n...

Virtual power plants (VPPs) are entering a new phase. Utilities and regulators are moving beyond pilot programs and enrollment metrics toward dispatchable distributed capacity that can reliably support the grid. At the same time, new policy frameworks, funding mechanisms, and technology capabilities are accelerating deployment. In this episode, leaders from Tesla  (Kevin Joyce), Virtual Peaker  (J...

As the energy landscape grows more complex, utilities see new  technologies as critical to making electricity more clean, affordable and reliable. Yet how can they nurture innovation in a historically conservative industry? In this episode, Avista CEO Heather Rosentrater shares the ways her team is embedding innovation across the organization, not just within a single team, to navigating rising op...

As energy demand surges, tech giants are stepping up as key partners to utilities navigating a rapidly changing grid. At CERAWeek 2026, Bryce Yonker explored this topic speaking with Hannah Green, Global Operations & GTM Leader for Energy & Resources at Microsoft, and Rayford Smith, Global Head of Power and Energy for Cloud at Google. They detailed how digital infrastructure, the cloud and...

As energy demand surges, how is the U.S. Department of Energy supporting breakthrough technologies to strengthen grid resilience? ARPA-E Director Conor Prochaska shares how the agency is identifying and advancing high-impact solutions, including fusion (which he thinks is getting closer), advanced nuclear, next-generation geothermal, long duration storage and more to help meet growing demand. But...

What does it take to power rural America in a time of fast-changing technologies and rising demand and costs? Jim Matheson of NRECA shares insights into how electric cooperatives are adapting to meet supply chain pressures, infrastructure needs, and the rapid growth fueled by data centers and other energy demands. He also discusses the importance of federal financing and the cooperative model to m...

On the season opener of GridPulse, Virginia Commissioner Jehmal Hudson joins the podcast to discuss the national and local drivers behind rising energy demand and what they mean for grid planning and regulation. He explores the need for smarter transmission utilization, meeting the demand for accelerating data center facilities, thoughtful rate design for large loads, and updated regulatory proces...

In this season 6 finale, Luis D’Acosta, CEO of Uplight , recaps this season’s driving issues with a rapid-fire discussion with Bryce. They cover a wide range of topics:  Applying AI-driven technologies to run the grid more effectively Mitigating wildfire risks by integrating digital and advanced monitoring solutions Ongoing effects of the federal agencies’ changing priorities on grid modernization...

On the first day of the GridFWD 2025 event, leadership from some of the nation’s largest and most AI-engaged utilities joined a panel to tell our audience about their acceleration of AI use cases. Jason Glickman (EVP Engineering, Planning and Strategy, PG&E ), Bonnie Titone (Senior VP and Chief Administrative Officer, Duke Energy ) and Petter Skantze (Senior VP of Infrastructure Development, N...

Dynamic line rating (DLR) is a Grid Enhancing Technology (GET) that measures the impact of ambient conditions on the carrying capacity of a grid. When DLR is employed network wide, it improves asset utilization, reliability, resilience, and confidence in investments. Guest host Julia Selker of Grid Strategies and Vishal Kapadia, CEO of LineVision , discuss how the successful implementation of DLR...

Increasing flexibility on the electric grid is necessary as demand and capacity requirements rapidly rise. Diversifying generation portfolios with emerging technologies is a good start, and significant T&D investments in innovations like virtual power plants can help match supply with demand. Cost, construction, and timing are often challenges to increasing flexibility; therefore, what solutio...

Power demand from data centers is clearly increasing faster than current electric infrastructure and markets can accommodate. Therefore, data centers and grid operators are exploring one workaround: flexing data center loads during peak demand times. Brian Janous, of Cloverleaf Infrastructure, and Chris Pennington, of Iron Mountain Data Centers, discuss the current opportunities and challenges to...

In this episode of Grid Forward Forum, host Bryce Yonker speaks with Rudy Garza ( CPS Energy ) and David Naylor ( Rayburn Electric Cooperative ) about the urgent challenges and innovations in the Texas energy sector. They explore topics like grid modernization, the impact of Winter Storm Uri, growing demand from data centers, and how Texas utilities are going to have to invest billions to keep up...

State energy offices have a delicate balancing act in leading policy, tracking market signals, and encouraging economic development. All that is harder now that load growth is accelerating. David Terry, the president of National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) , discusses trends within state energy offices to help get energy onto the grid quickly to grow the economy while meeting com...

Since 2020, supply chain shortages have delayed the progress of necessary grid infrastructure improvements. Consolidation in the industry means fewer vendors are available which drives up prices, extends lead times and limits capacity, especially as worldwide demand increases. Will Perrich and Stephen White of POWER Engineers provide an insider's view to current constraints on the market and what...

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory  (PNNL) draws on signature fundamental capabilities to advance scientific discovery, improve  energy resiliency , and enhance national security.  On this podcast episode, Laboratory Director Steven Ashby, Ph. D., discusses key drivers and challenges that are steering the lab’s important work regarding grid resiliency and affordability. Ashby also tells our lis...

Energy infrastructure received a grade of D+ in the 2025 Report for America’s Infrastructure, published by American Society of Civil Engineers . Bryce Yonker discusses why the energy sector received a low rating with Michael Miller, vice president of technical services at Exo and a member of ASCE. Miller says the four main factors that contributed to the grade include higher load growth, systems o...

With consumer needs and capabilities rapidly evolving, many electric co-ops are quickly pushing grid advancements to meet current and future demands. On this podcast episode, Bryan Hannegan, president/CEO of Holy Cross Energy, and Mark Gabriel, president/CEO of United Power REC, discuss how they prioritize tasks as leaders of their respective utilities during a time of transition from a hub-and-sp...

Balancing various stakeholder interests while ensuring affordable, reliable power is the daunting task commissioners face. We spoke with Dave Danner, former commissioner at Washington UTC, about how to balance affordability against all the other demands on today's utilities. He knows: his state of Washington has experienced an increase in wildfire risks, rising rate pressures and mounting legislat...

Even as energy rates have steadily risen, reliability has suffered in many parts of the country over the past five years. What is the new Congress prioritizing to help alleviate this challenge? For insights, we turned to U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R, N.D.), member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce who also served as past president of NARUC and Commissioner of the North Dakota PSC. Talk...

When disaster strikes, situational awareness and timely information save lives and property. That's why Watch Duty was the most downloaded iOS app during three recent wildfire events. Nick Russell, Vice President of Operations, joined the podcast to discuss how this nonprofit receives and transmits information to support local responders and utilities before, during and after a disaster strikes. P...

In this season-opener of “GridForward Forum,” we are joined by two special guests: Sean Kelly, co-founder & CEO at Amperon, and Xing Wang, global leader of grid modernization at AWS Energy and Utilities. The expansion of energy generation and transmission is a top priority for the grid landscape. Although artificial intelligence is largely driving the need for this growth, AI is also the tool...

The recent U.S. election has raised a lot of questions about future directions for grid-related policies and programs. We reached out to people with a good view on the new administration for their perspectives. In this second special episode, Neil Chatterjee, former FERC Chairman, overviews the impact to IRA and other significant energy legislation. He also talks about the importance of permitting...