Electric Perspectives

This episode is part of our EEI 2023 highlights series. In this episode, you will hear conversations about topics including Inflation Reduction Act customer tax incentives and rebates, the future of natural gas, new approaches to financing transmission, and keeping the clean energy transition equitable and affordable. The speakers are:

• Dan Hahn, Partner at Guidehouse,
• Dr. Michael Webber, Chief Technology Officer at Energy Impact Partners and Josey Centennial Professor in Energy Resources, Author, and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas,
• Duke Austin, president and CEO of Quanta, and
• Mary Sprayregen, Global Head, Regulatory Affairs and Market Development at Oracle/Opower.

You can also visit EEI's website to read EEI 2023 recap newsletters, see photos from our annual thought leadership forum, and watch videos of the keynotes.

The Inflation Reduction Act established the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) Program under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Loan Programs Office and appropriated $5 billion to help fund certain clean energy and carbon reduction projects through fiscal year 2026. In June, the Loan Programs Office released new guidance for the Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program, which includes the EIR Program.

On today’s episode, Jigar Shah, director of DOE’s Loan Programs Office, joins Alex Bond, EEI deputy general counsel of clean energy and climate, to discuss this guidance and to address some of the most common questions about the program. Listen to our episode “Reinvesting in Energy Infrastructure,” which also featured Jigar, to learn more about the program.

This episode is part of our EEI 2023 highlights series. In this episode, you will hear conversations about topics including clean energy policy and implementation, workforce development, and grid resilience featuring:

• Breakthrough Energy Senior Director, U.S. Policy and Advocacy, Robin Millican,
• Carolyn Amon, Research Leader, Power, Utilities & Renewables at the Deloitte Research Center for Energy & Industrials and Karen Cunningham, Managing Director of Human Capital Power, Utility & Renewables, and leader of the Global Sustainability, Climate and Equity practice at Deloitte,
• Arron Lewis, Vice President and Energy Utility West Region Leader at Black and Veatch, and
• GridX Vice President of Marketing Brad Langley.

You can also visit EEI's website to read EEI 2023 recap newsletters, see photos from our annual thought leadership forum, and watch videos of the keynotes.

EEI 2023 featured a lineup of exceptional keynote speakers. On this episode, you'll hear the full-length EEI 2023 keynote conversation between renowned technologist Elon Musk and EEI Chair Pedro J. Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International. The discussion spans topics such as electrification across the economy, the future of electric transportation, Tesla’s decision to open up its Supercharger network to other automakers, and much more. You also can watch the keynote on EEI's YouTube channel.

Lineworkers maintain and enhance the energy grid and play a critical role in delivering America’s resilient clean energy future. They also work around the clock and in dangerous conditions following extreme weather events to ensure that the customers and the communities they serve have access to safe and reliable electricity. On July 10, EEI will join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the National Electrical Contractors Association in celebrating National Lineworker Appreciation Day to honor these dedicated workers.

 

On this episode, we hear from IBEW Local 47 Business Manager Colin Lavin and Southern California Edison (SCE) Senior Vice President of Transmission and Distribution Heather Rivard about why we celebrate National Lineworker Appreciation Day on July 10, how a culture of safety has been ingrained in lineworkers, how lineworkers are modernizing and maintaining SCE’s energy grid, and more.

On May 11, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a proposed rule under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act, which targets carbon pollution standards for fossil-fuel based plants. Over the past several months, EEI has engaged constructively with EPA and outlined several important priorities for these regulations that are consistent with the ongoing clean energy transition that EEI's member companies are leading.

On this episode, Emily Fisher, EEI executive vice president of clean energy and general counsel, and Alex Bond, EEI deputy general counsel of clean energy and climate, discuss the proposed rule, the potential implications for electric companies and their customers, and what comes next for this proposal. 

 

Editor's note: This conversation was recorded in late May.

EEI's member companies make significant investments to enhance the energy grid every year. One of many grid modernization and improvement projects that is underway to ensure reliable and resilient clean energy can be delivered to customers now and in the years to come is Georgia Power's Grid Improvement Plan.

On this episode, Georgia Power Vice President of Strategy and Support Cleve Fann and Pike Electric President Matt Fisher dive into the details of Georgia Power's Grid Improvement Plan. They discuss specific projects underway as part of the plan and how they are benefitting customers.

This episode is sponsored by Pike Electric, the company that is providing engineering and construction services to help make Georgia Power's Grid Improvement Plan a reality.

America's electric companies are working together to identify opportunities to enhance mitigation, detection, and response capabilities as part of our wildfire mitigation strategy. The electric power industry has built trusted relationships with partners across the federal government who have key roles to play in our collective wildfire mitigation efforts.

On this episode, U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore and EEI Vice Chair Maria Pope, who is president and CEO of Portland General Electric (PGE) in Oregon and co-chair of EEI's Wildfire CEO Taskforce and the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council's Wildfire Working Group, discuss the industry-government partnership to combat wildfires and how PGE and the U.S. Forest Service are preparing for the peak of wildfire season.

Read Chief Moore's column in Electric Perspectives to learn more about industry and government efforts to enhance how we are working to reduce wildfire risk: https://bit.ly/41xcOk0

Island environments face unique challenges as we transition our energy systems. What are the ways island providers are preparing for the transition? What role does employee experience play in ensuring successful business operations? How can we attract more women to the energy workforce? Ruth Forbes, President and CEO of FortisTCI, joins this episode of Global Circuit to discuss the company’s operations in the Turks and Caicos Islands, renewable energy, partnerships, workforce, and more.

 

The Global Circuit is brought to you by EEI International Programs as part of EEI’s Electric Perspectives podcast. For more information about EEI International Programs, visit https://www.eei.org/about-eei/international-members

Our path toward a resilient clean energy future depends on new and developing carbon-free technologies. The Institute for the Energy Transition (IET) was launched earlier this year to advance the commercialization of breakthrough technologies, which will allow electric companies to reach net-zero emission goals while keeping customer reliability and affordability front and center. The IET will build off the foundation set by the Carbon-Free Technologies Initiative (CFTI). (You can listen to a previous discussion about CFTI at: https://bit.ly/41EuefK).

On this episode, Gerry Anderson, who retired after a distinguished career leading DTE Energy and now chairs the Edison Foundation, and Eric Holdsworth, EEI’s managing director of Clean Energy and Environmental Policy, discuss the efforts of EEI and our partners to accelerate the pace for research, development, demonstration, and deployment of new carbon-free technologies; the vision behind IET and the work underway; and more.