Energy Central

Utilities depend on accurate field data to keep maps current, manage vegetation, and respond quickly when the grid is under stress, but that gets much harder when the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) isn’t reliable, access is restricted, or conditions make it unsafe for crews to get close.

In this episode of Power Perspectives, host Kinsey Grant Baker chats with Laser Tech’s Derrick Reish, Steve Colburn, and Joe Cronn to explore how utilities collect critical measurements in urban, forested, and GNSS-denied environments without sacrificing speed, safety, or data quality. The conversation digs into the real-world consequences of measurement gaps across utility workflows, from planning and compliance to emergency response and outage recovery.

To explore how laser rangefinders can help fill those gaps in the field, Derrick, Steve, and Joe walk through how the tools work, when utilities realize they need them, what a pilot or deployment typically looks like, and what best practices help teams get the most value from them. For utility leaders looking to maintain reliable data in difficult conditions, this episodes offers a practical look at how to measure what matters when the usual tools fall short.

Thanks to Laser Tech for sponsoring this episode. Collect accurate asset positions in GNSS-impaired environments with LaserGIS. Using offset laser measurement methods, field crews can maximize productivity while working more efficiently in the field. When crews can collect GIS data faster, staying under budget becomes much more likely. And with laser offset workflows, teams can save time while still capturing critical measurement data—all from safe locations.

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Energy has become one of the most politically charged topics in the country, but is the red-vs-blue framing actually helping us understand what is happening in the power sector? Or is it a shorthand that creates assumptions that don’t hold up to scrutiny?

In this episode, host Kinsey Grant Baker sits down with Energy Central’s Community Manager Matt Chester to dig into a recent piece he published to explore just those questions. This conversation explores why energy so often gets treated like a political litmus test, and what that perspective misses about how utilities actually make decisions. They dig into the data behind coal retirements, nuclear adoption, and other hot topics in the world of energy policy to show that the real picture is far more complicated than oversimplified partisan talking points suggest.

At its core, this episode asks a simple but important question: what happens when the industry stops assuming every energy issue is purely political and starts looking at the actual economics, infrastructure, and customer realities underneath?

Energy Isn’t Red vs. Blue. So Why Do We Keep Pretending It Is? ****https://energycentral.substack.com/p/energy-isnt-red-vs-blue-so-why-do

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Superstorm Sandy was a turning point for utilities in New Jersey. And for PSE&G, it became the catalyst for one of the most ambitious resilience and hardening efforts in the country.

In this episode, host Kinsey Grant Baker sits down with Paul Toscarelli, VP of Electric Operations at PSE&G to revisit the storm’s impact, the operational realities of recovery, and how the company turned that experience into a long-term modernization and emergency preparedness playbook. Paul walks through what Sandy looked like on the ground, how the utility’s response priorities were shaped in the moment, and what immediate lessons changed the utility’s approach to business continuity, resilience planning, and system hardening.

Now a decade from that moment, this conversation explores the scale of the investments that followed, including the elevation of dozens of substations and installation of thousands of smart switching devices. How did those investments hold up? How does today’s landscape of electrification, distributed energy, and AI-driven load growth all change that playbook? Paul answers these questions and more on what other utilities can learn from New Jersey’s experience when it comes to preparing for the storms ahead.

PSE&G being Jersey Ready: https://vimeo.com/1080299589/3f652b5220?share=copy&fl=cl&fe=ci

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Utilities everywhere are experimenting with what AI can do in one-off tools and pilot programs, but very few are actually scaling it across the enterprise. But when it comes to truly looking at the big picture of how AI can be a force multiplier, Southern Company is leading the way.

To learn how and why the utility is taking a more comprehensive approach, host Kinsey Grant Baker chats with Southern Company’s Joyce Solomon, AMI Analytics and Data Science Manager, along with the utility’s partner in CGI’s Doug Leal, VP Consulting, Data & Analytics. Their conversation looks at how Southern Company, working with CGI, moved beyond proofs-of-concept to build the platform, governance, and culture needed for AI to actually take hold in the business. The story here is not just about technology, it’s about how innovation starts in one place and then begins to “pop” across the organization.

From exploring the platform-first approach to how to frame AI as a tool that augments workers rather than replacing them, this episode highlights the key lessons learned to ensure that utilities successfully move from cautious interest to enterprise-wide momentum.

Thanks to CGI for sponsoring this episode. CGI is among the largest IT and business consulting services firms in the world. CGI is insights-driven and outcomes-based to help accelerate returns on your investments.

Learn more about CGI here: https://www.cgi.com/us/en-us/artificial-intelligence

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Wildfires are no longer a once-in-a-while risk for utilities. These days, they are a growing operational, financial, and human crisis. And power companies can’t wait and react anymore, they need to be proactive.

In this episode, podcast host Kinsey Grant Baker sits down with Skye Perry, VP of Utilities at Fire Neural Network (FNN), to discuss how the scale of wildfire damage has surged, why utilities are under increasing pressure to show a tangible “standard of care,” and how the legal and reputational stakes have changed the way utilities think about risk.

From the new tools in lightning detection, AI modeling, and geospatial data to the effectiveness of public safety power shutoffs, utility communications, and why education remains one of the biggest bottlenecks to broader adoption of wildfire technology, Skye shares an unmistakable playbook for utilities moving forward.

FountaiNN: https://www.fireneuralnetwork.com/fountainn

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Geothermal has been part of the energy conversation for decades, but it is still too often stymied by a reputation of being too niche or small-scale to make a grid-wide difference. That perception, however, is beginning to change. As utilities face growing pressure to deliver firm, clean, and affordable power, geothermal is getting fresh attention as a resource that could play a much bigger role in the grid than many have assumed.

To learn more about what the federal government’s perspective on geothermal energy is, host Kinsey Grant Baker welcomed Kyle Haustveit, the Assistant Secretary of Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. Their conversation explores why 2026 just may be a pivotal year for geothermal and dispels what people still might be overlooking about the technology.

The discussion also explains how DOE’s newly structured Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office is thinking about the present opportunities and what they means for deployment, R&D, demonstrations, and partnerships. So for stakeholders looking towards the future of the grid, this episode offers a clear-eyed look at where geothermal fits in the resource mix, what signals suggest real momentum, and what the first practical step should be for utilities that want to take the technology seriously.

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What happens when you fire military-grade weapons at substation infrastructure? We don’t have to ask in theory, because today’s guest has put that question to the test. In this episode, host Kinsey Grant Baker sits down with Brent Warzocha of 3B Protection following a live-fire demonstration outside Las Vegas where Brent and his team tested ballistic substation walls against everything from World War I-era weapons to .50 caliber rifles.

The event brought utility leaders face-to-face with the physical security risks facing modern grid infrastructure and made it real, both in terms of risks and what they should be doing about it. Brent provides a recap of what attendees saw, the reactions from utility professionals, and the “aha moments” that come from witnessing real ballistic testing instead of reviewing theoretical standards.

This crucial conversation digs into why Underwriters Laboratories baseline testing often doesn’t reflect real-world threats, and how RLS testing is helping utilities better understand the difference between minimum compliance and true resilience. The live-fire demos showed not just dramatic visuals (be sure to watch the video version of this conversation to get a peek), but the operational reality: how hardened infrastructure can prevent catastrophic outages, reduce repair timelines, and protect critical grid assets.

Thanks to 3B Protection, our sponsor for this episode. 3B Protection is in the business of helping organizations protect their people, property and critical assets. The last ten years or so has seen significant ballistic activity in and around electrical substations that are part of the United States’ critical infrastructure and 3B offers a line of product to help protect those substations from malicious attacks. 3B has tested their products to the extreme in a way that far exceeds UL minimums. And not just for ballistics – our walls are thoroughly tested against forced entry, vehicle crashes and blast as well.

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The nuclear conversation is back in a big way, but the question is whether the excitement is outrunning reality. In this episode, host Kinsey Grant Baker sits down with author and energy commentator Robert Bryce to separate the news from the noise around what many are calling a nuclear renaissance.

From bipartisan support in Washington to executive orders, plant restarts, and a wave of new interest from major tech companies, Bryce makes the case that nuclear is clearly back in the conversation—but not necessarily back at scale yet.

Bryce walks through why he remains firmly pro-nuclear while still taking a sober view of the sector’s challenges. For utility leaders, his message is clear: be patient, be realistic, and be optimistic, but understand that nuclear’s comeback will be measured in decades, not quarters.

Robert Bryce on Substack: robertbryce.substack.com

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What does the pathway look like from shiny new toy to core operational tool? That’s the trajectory drones have seemingly taken in many utility operations, highlighting that the hype was real and the future is now.

On this episode of Power Perspectives, host Matt Chester goes behind the scenes with three members of Skydio's utility team to show why drones have graduated from novelty to mission-critical infrastructure. In this conversation, Christina Park (Senior Director, Energy Strategy), Suchet Bargoti (Director of Inspection and Mapping), and Cooper Linn (Senior Product Manager) walk through real-world utility deployments, the field-driven product choices that mattered, and how autonomy is changing inspection workflows.

Skydio’s case studies highlight how drone deployments have moved from proving concepts to operational scale: the shift to “drones as infrastructure,” the importance of engineers riding along on field missions, and the evolution from broad 3D semantic scans to efficient, asset-based inspection workflows that actually save crews time and prevent outages.

Thanks to Skydio for sponsoring this episode. Skydio helps utilities move beyond outdated time based maintenance to smarter, safer and more scalable condition-based maintenance. Powered by autonomous remote operated drones, over 280 utilities trust Skydio. Because with real time aerial data and remote inspection, utilities can spot issues early, reduce forced outages and make confident, efficient, cost effective decisions.

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Coal has been making headlines recently, highlighting everything from plant closure delays to retirements extended and the political rhetoric suggesting a coal comeback. But are the headlines telling the real story? In this episode, host Kinsey Grant Baker sits down with experts from Energy Innovation Technology & Policy, Silvio Marcacci (Senior Director of Communications) and Michelle Soloman (Manager of the Electricity Program) to unpack what’s actually happening behind the noise.

Together, they break down why coal keeps resurfacing in the public conversation, what the Trump Administration can and cannot do to prop it up, and how to separate political signaling from real market and grid impacts. The discussion explores the risks of forcing aging plants to stay online, the difference between shuttered units and plants with future retirement dates, and what the latest data says about coal’s role over the next five to ten years.

We explore the questions behind the headlines: Is coal actually the safe fallback it’s made out to be, or are there real operational and economic downsides to extending plant life too long? Silvio and Michelle bring a policy-focused perspective on what utilities should be watching, what the numbers really show, and what a more reliable and affordable power mix looks like in practice.

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