Electric Perspectives Podcast

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.

 

 

Studies have shown that transmission infrastructure in the U.S. will have to double – maybe even triple – in order to reach a net-zero economy by 2050 and to support widespread electrification. But one persistent challenge to expanding the transmission system and deploying more clean energy is the inefficient siting and permitting process for critical infrastructure such as transmission lines. EEI advocates for a coordinated, consistent, and efficient siting and permitting regulatory framework to ensure that electricity is reliable and affordable for customers.

On this episode, Dominion Energy Vice President of Federal Affairs Ann Loomis and EEI Senior Director of Government Relations Patrick Arness discuss the urgent need for permitting and siting reform, Dominion Energy’s experience going through the environmental and regulatory review process for its offshore wind project, new developments on the Hill that might impact permitting and siting reforms, and more. 

EEI's member companies are committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in their own workforces and to creating new economic opportunities in the communities that they serve. As we aim to deliver a resilient clean energy future to customers, we know that our success depends on us creating new pathways for diverse candidates to enter the energy workforce.

On this episode, Calvin Butler, president and CEO of Exelon, and Courtney Peterson, EEI vice president, chief diversity officer, and chief human resources officer, discuss Calvin’s career journey, Exelon’s DEI programs and initiatives, how Exelon and its companies are ensuring that diverse job candidates have equal access to the energy workforce, and more. 

March is Women’s History Month, and EEI honors and recognizes the achievements and contributions of women throughout the electric power industry. As our member companies make progress on their diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments, it’s important to create career pathways for employees that can lead to leadership opportunities.

In this episode, EEI Executive Vice President of Clean Energy and General Counsel Emily Fisher speaks with Puget Sound Energy President and CEO Mary Kipp about how female representation has changed in the workplace, how companies are empowering their female employees, Mary's advice to women who want to advance in their careers, and more. 

 

Editor's Note: This podcast episode was recorded and originally published in March 2022.

 

In late February, executives from the Edison Electric Institute briefed Wall Street analysts, bankers, investors, and other industry stakeholders on the state of the U.S. electric power industry at the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York City. Today's episode will feature a recap of the briefing.

EEI’s leadership team covered several high-priority topics, including ESG; the role of new and developing carbon-free technologies; electric transportation; energy grid reliability, resilience, and security; federal and state regulations; workforce development and diversity, equity, and inclusion; financial performance; and ongoing efforts to meet customer expectations and to support customers in need. 

You can watch the full presentation and read the prepared remarks on EEI’s website.

America’s electric companies prepare year-round for extreme weather events, and they make investments and upgrades to help prevent power outages and to speed up restoration when they do occur. In the Sunshine State, Florida Power and Light (FPL) has made significant investments to help withstand hurricane-force winds across its service territory. On this episode, FPL Executive Director of Emergency Preparedness Tom Gwaltney discusses how the company prepares for hurricanes, the proactive investments and upgrades the company has made to enhance reliability for customers, the FPLAir One fixed-wing drone that helps assess damage after storms, and more.

Editor's note: This conversation was recorded in December 2022.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) marks one of the greatest investments in clean energy in U.S. history. As part of the $369 billion investment to promote domestic energy production and manufacturing, the IRA established the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) Program under the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office and appropriated $5 billion to help fund certain clean energy and carbon reduction projects through fiscal year 2026.

On this episode, Jigar Shah, director of DOE’s Loan Programs Office, which oversees the EIR, and Emily Fisher, EEI Executive Vice President of Clean Energy and General Counsel, discuss this program and explain how it can help our industry accelerate its transition to cleaner energy sources while helping to minimize the cost impacts on customers. For more information, visit the DOE's EIR webpage. Interested applicants can request a pre-application consultation by emailing lpo@hq.doe.gov.

Storms and natural disasters are increasing in frequency and severity, and EEI’s member companies are working to harden the energy grid against these threats to ensure customers can receive the reliable and resilient energy they need to power their lives. To bring the electric power sector together and strengthen the industry’s approach to managing climate risk to the energy grid, EPRI created the Climate Resilience and Adaptation (READi) initiative. On this episode, Morgan Scott, EPRI’s director of Climate READi and Sustainability & Ecosystem Stewardship, discusses the initiative and how the initiative's members — including EEI member companies — are working together to help build an informed and consistent approach to adaptation and resilience planning.

Visit the Climate READi website for more information.