Electric Perspectives Podcast

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

On this episode, EEI Senior Director of Electric Transportation Kellen Schefter and Consumers Energy Product Manager of Commercial Electric Vehicles Bethany Tabor discuss how the Michigan-based company is helping to support 11 school districts in its service territory to deploy and operate electric school buses and how the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean School Bus Program is helping to support these kinds of efforts.

Be sure to also listen to part one of this series, in which Schefter discussed a new white paper titled “Electric School Buses: Accelerating Equitable Deployment through Understanding Grid Impacts and Policy Solutions” with three co-authors of the report: Exelon Director of Clean Energy Initiatives Chris Budzynski; CALSTART Lead Project Manager, Northeast School Buses Ian Fried; and Sue Gander, World Resources Institute Director of the Electric School Bus Initiative.  

When we think of the acceleration of electric transportation, the spike in light-duty vehicle sales comes to mind, but it’s not just passenger vehicles that are scaling up. Medium- to heavy-duty vehicles, including school buses, are increasingly becoming electrified, much to the benefit of the communities they operate in.   

This episode takes a deep dive into electric school buses and how electric companies and other stakeholders are working together to ensure a smooth and equitable transition. EEI Senior Director of Electric Transportation Kellen Schefter discusses a new white paper titled “Electric School Buses: Accelerating Equitable Deployment through Understanding Grid Impacts and Policy Solutions” with three co-authors of the report: Exelon Director of Clean Energy Initiatives Chris Budzynski; CALSTART Lead Project Manager, Northeast School Buses Ian Fried; and Sue Gander, World Resources Institute Director of the Electric School Bus Initiative.  

Be sure to tune in to our next episode for more on electric school buses! Schefter will join Consumers Energy Product Manager of Commercial Electric Vehicles Bethany Tabor to discuss how the Michigan-based company is helping to support 11 school districts in its service territory to deploy and operate electric school buses. 

Dan Brouillette joined EEI as president and CEO-elect in October 2023, and became EEI’s president and CEO at the start of this year. Before joining EEI, Brouillette served as president of Sempra Infrastructure, a leading global energy transition company. He previously served as the 15th U.S. Secretary of Energy and before that as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy, the chief operating officer of the department. Brouillette is the only person ever to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve in both roles. In the private sector, Brouillette has held leadership positions at USAA, where he served as a senior vice president and corporate officer, and at Ford Motor Company, where he was a vice president and served on its North American Operating Committee. 

On this episode, Brouillette discusses policy priorities for the electric power industry in 2024, how the industry will balance the growing demand for clean energy with reliability expectations, opportunities and challenges facing the industry, and more!