Electric Perspectives

EEI 2024 Highlights: Hydrogen, Building the Next-Generation Workforce, and Cybersecurity

This episode is part of our EEI 2024 highlights series. In this episode, you will hear conversations about topics including building North America's hydrogen backbone, developing the next-generation workforce, and cybersecurity in supply chains. Plus, you'll hear from EEI President and CEO Dan Brouillette about his experience at the conference. The speakers are:

• Guidehouse Partner and Solutions Lead Michelle Fay and Guidehouse Partner and Energy Providers Segment Lead Dan Hahn,
• Quanta President and CEO Duke Austin, and
• Susan Herman, Industrial Cybersecurity Strategic Development Lead, Black and Veatch

You can also visit EEI's website to read EEI 2024 recap newsletters, see photos from our annual thought leadership forum, and watch videos from some of the keynotes.

Why Did Hurricane Beryl Take Down So Many Trees in Texas?

This week, EEI's Electric Perspectives Podcast and The Current are partnering for an episode to discuss the impacts of Hurricane Beryl and the tremendous restoration efforts that are underway. On this episode, you'll hear from StormGeo Meteorologist Justin Petrutsas — who is based in the Houston area— and Scott Aaronson, EEI Senior Vice President of Security and Preparedness, about the intensity of this hurricane as well the complex work that is underway to safely restore power to impacted customers.

EEI 2024 Highlights: Clean Energy Technologies, AI, Building System Resilience and Distribution Transformation

This episode is part of our EEI 2024 highlights series. In this episode, you will hear conversations about topics including clean energy technologies, opportunities for collaboration created by AI, building system resilience, distribution transformation, and more. The speakers are:

• Hans Kobler, Founder and Managing Partner, Energy Impact Partners,
• Creighton Oyler, Oracle Senior Vice President and General Manager 
• Paul Domjan, Founder and Chief Policy and Global Affairs Officer, ENODA, and
• Martin Stansbury, Deloitte US Power, Utilities & Renewables Risk & Financial Advisory Leader 

You can also visit EEI's website to read EEI 2024 recap newsletters and see photos from our annual thought leadership forum.

Harnessing AI to Gather Game-Changing Insights

Energy companies are working with their technology partners to gain insights and leverage data to make their operations more efficient and to enhance customer programs through AI.

On this episode, Maria Kretzing, vice president and general manager of electric vehicles and analytics at Bidgely, and Andrew Barrington, products and services manager at Avista, discuss some of the fascinating ways Avista is working with Bidgely to optimize and streamline its operations.

This episode is sponsored by Bidgely, the company that provides AI platforms that revolutionize grid management and customer engagement for energy companies.

Want to hear more about AI use in our industry? Be sure to register for EEI 2024, which takes place June 18-20 at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas!

Meeting the Growing Energy Needs of Datacenters and AI

In April, EEI hosted its Spring Transmission, Distribution, Metering, and Mutual Assistance Conference. The conference's keynote panel focused on AI, datacenters, and how electric companies are meeting the explosive growth for electricity demand to power these innovative, industry-transforming technologies.

EEI Senior Vice President of Security and Preparedness Scott Aaronson moderated the panel, which featured Alan Bradshaw, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, Dominion Energy; Ariel Horowitz, Deputy Director, Grid Deployment Office, U.S. Department of Energy; and Chris Crosby, CEO, Compass Datacenters.

Want to hear more about AI and datacenters from an industry perspective? You won't want to miss EEI 2024, which takes place June 18-20 at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Visit eei.org/2024 for more information and to register.

40 Years of Supporting Business Diversity

EEI will host the 40th Annual Business Diversity Conference in mid-May. For more on the history of the conference and diverse supplier partnerships, listen to our April episode, "Leading the Charge on Business Diversity," to hear from Charlotte Blount-Lewis, a former EEI employee who helped lead efforts to establish business diversity programs during her tenure from 1982 to 1997. She was in conversation with EEI Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer, and Chief Human Resources Officer Courtney Peterson.

 

On this episode, Georgia Power Distribution Manager Michelle Fuqua, Young Management President and CEO Brandon Young, and Pierce Powerline CEO Michele Pierce discuss the vital partnerships between electric companies and diverse suppliers that power the communities they proudly serve, and how our industry can better support diverse suppliers. Brandon and Michele also share their advice for fellow diverse business owners and discuss how they are supporting electric companies and their key priorities, like enhancing grid resilience.

Spotlight on Global Energy Innovation

In mid-April, EEI International Programs hosted the Global Electrification Forum (GEF), which brings together EEI’s domestic and international member companies, industry experts, and thought leaders from around the world. This conference is dedicated to addressing the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing the electrification of our society.

This year’s event featured a line-up of distinguished speakers, and on this episode, you’ll hear from a few. Dr. Lawrence Jones, EEI senior vice president of international programs, gives an overview of the GEF. Then, we hear from Nigel Barbour, CEO of Orion Group (New Zealand); Peter O'Shea, Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs at ESB (Ireland); and Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy (England), about innovation, powering economies, electric transportation, and more.

Want to see the sessions for yourself? All the GEF programming recordings are available now through the conference registration portal.

Leading the Charge on Business Diversity

Charlotte Blount-Lewis worked at EEI from 1982 and 1997 and helped lead the charge to develop industry business diversity programs and helped organize the first Business Diversity Conference, which continues to bring together electric companies and diverse suppliers, in 1984. Today, electric companies spend billions of dollars per year on diverse suppliers, including businesses owned by minorities, women, and veterans. We celebrate these partnerships and the important roles these suppliers play in helping electric companies safely operate 24/7, 365 days a year.

 

On this episode, EEI Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer, and Chief Human Resources Officer Courtney Peterson leads a conversation with Charlotte, who reflects on the origins of the business diversity programs, the key partnerships that contributed to these important efforts, the lessons that that today's suppliers can learn from the experiences of those pioneering efforts of the 1980s, and more. 

Developing the Next Generation Workforce

It takes a highly skilled workforce to provide reliable electricity service to customers, who depend on it more and more every day to power their lives. As electricity demand grows and our industry continues to deliver increasingly cleaner energy, the next generation of energy workers must be prepared to build, maintain, and operate energy infrastructure and equipment, including for new and emerging clean energy technologies. And, they must continue to work in the necessary positions to keep the lights on.

On this episode, EEI Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer, and Chief Human Resources Officer Courtney Peterson and Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD) Executive Director Missy Henriksen discuss trends in workforce development, how companies are preparing the next-generation workforce, resources that CEWD offers to help companies with workforce development, and more!

Mapping Out Consumers Energy’s Reliability Roadmap

Consumers Energy announced that in 2023, nearly 90 percent of customers who lost power had it restored in less than 24 hours. This progress is thanks in part to the company’s work to enhance its energy grid infrastructure, which includes adding smart technology, clearing tree branches away from power lines, and more. These efforts are part of a strategic plan called the Reliability Roadmap, and it’s an essential piece of Consumers Energy’s vision to limit the scope and length of power outages in the near future.

On this episode, Tonya Berry, Consumers Energy’s senior vice president of transformation and engineering, joins us to discuss the goals of the Reliability Roadmap, how Consumers Energy is enhancing grid reliability in Michigan, its efforts to prepare the next generation workforce as part of the plan, and more.