Energy Central

What’s the role of the modern independent system operator—especially in a grid becoming increasingly complicated and overloaded by the day?

Elliot Mainzer, CEO of the California Independent System Operator (one of the largest ISOs in the world), says it’s like flying the plane while building it. So how are the best ISOs responsible for stabilizing the grid approaching the next decade of unprecedented energy demand?

This week on The Watt & Why, Elliot joins host Mike Smith to lift the curtain on what it really takes to stay agile, proactive, and resilient in today’s energy reality. Elliot and Mike cover…

- The importance of prioritization when orchestrating and collaborating with load-serving entities, states, and ISOs
- The role of the Western Energy Imbalance Market in furthering both diversity + capacity
- Separating signal from noise amidst this widely dissected demand spike
- The importance of data centers and other hyperscalers being good grid citizens (read: bringing flexibility and dispatchability)
- Queuing reform and the future of regulatory speed
- The role of nuclear in the western energy markets

…And so, so much more.

This episode is packed with insights from one of the most important leaders in the modern energy landscape. Hit play for an inside look at how CAISO is building for a robust, resilient grid of the future.

In this episode, Power Perspectives tackles one of the most important shifts in today’s utility sector: the rise of customer satisfaction as a boardroom priority. For decades, utilities focused on reliability and compliance above all else—but today’s modern customers expect more. Driven by at-the-fingertip response and action from the tech companies like Amazon and Netflix in their daily lives, they increasingly want the same from their power providers: immediacy, transparency, flexibility, and more.

To explore this transformation, podcast host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester welcome two guests bringing both data and real-world perspectives on this topic: DeAnna Hardwick, Chief Customer Strategy Officer at CPS Energy, and Forrest Morgeson, Director of Research at the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Together, they unpack how utilities can turn satisfaction into long-term success.

Listen in as they discuss what the latest ACSI survey data reveals about utility customer sentiment nationwide and how utilities like CPS Energy are translating that intel into action to improve communication, affordability, and customer care. For utility leaders, customer service teams, and anyone navigating today’s evolving energy landscape, this episode offers both a data-driven view and a practical playbook for building trust and loyalty in the communities you serve.

Key Links

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Energy Central Post for this episode: https://www.energycentral.com/podcasts/post/how-to-win-customers-and-influence-affordability-0iVUVmNluI2WEnx

Audio version on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/energycentral/how-to-win-customers-and-influence-affordability

Ask a Question to Our Future Guests: Do you have a burning question for the utility executives and energy industry thought leaders that we feature each week on Power Perspectives? Leave us a message here for your chance to be featured in an upcoming episode: www.speakpipe.com/EnergyCentralPodcast

Did you know: Companies with above-average diversity in their leadership teams report 19% higher revenue from innovation.

But still, women account for just 22% of jobs in the energy sector. And in leadership? Women represent only 15% of senior management team members.

So how can we get more women in leadership roles at utilities? Today on Piloting the Future, Kim and Lee hear insightful POVs from Tamara Grose, VP of Client Success at VertexOne and WEA Board Member, and Lindsey Margiotta-Lane, COO of CleanSky Energy and WEA Founding Board Member.

This episode is packed with tips & tricks for utility leaders and newer professionals alike, from operationalizing innovation to building community.

Leadership is core to the future of the utility industry—and this episode is a perfect conversation starter to make that leadership stronger, more innovative, and more resilient.

Aging infrastructure, surging demand from electrification and data centers, and rising customer expectations are reshaping the way utilities operate. For PSE&G, New Jersey’s largest electric and gas utility, the challenge is clear: how do you modernize the grid for a stormier, more digital future while keeping affordability and safety front and center?

In this episode of Power Perspectives, PSE&G President and COO Kim Hanemann joins podcast host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester to share how her decades of experience—from restoring power after Superstorm Sandy to spearheading grid modernization—are guiding the company’s path forward. The conversation touches on everything from the generation deficit in the PJM region to rethinking what resilience means in the wake of extreme weather events to the debate over whether utilities should be owning generation again.

If you want an inside look at how one of America’s most influential utilities is tackling today’s energy transition challenges while preparing for tomorrow, you won’t want to miss this discussion.

Key Links
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Energy Central Post for this episode: https://www.energycentral.com/podcasts/post/from-superstorm-sandy-to-data-center-growth-how-this-utility-president-7ePusUF5zADLKgB

Video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/p2Qg9bZwH98

Ask a Question to Our Future Guests: Do you have a burning question for the utility executives and energy industry thought leaders that we feature each week on Power Perspectives? Leave us a message here for your chance to be featured in an upcoming episode: www.speakpipe.com/EnergyCentralPodcast

Welcome to a new show from Energy Central: The Watt & Why, hosted by Mike Smith.

What might happen to the electricity grid if we don’t make a change soon? Americans may lose 817 hours of power (34 days) per year by 2030…but that doesn’t have to happen.

So: What’s the solution to a grid under major stress from extreme weather, concentrated large load demand, and aging infrastructure? It’s all about reliability—taking big swings for a big payoff.

Today on Energy Central’s brand new podcast, The Watt & Why, host Mike Smith gets reliability solutions from an industry vet: John McDonald, IEEE Life Fellow and longtime grid expert.

Together, Mike and John explore 1) how this reliability crisis differs from those of the past 2) how utility leaders can invest in the right systems and functionality to make outsized impacts on reliability and 3) what generation mix makes the most sense for utilities optimizing for reliability.

Reliability is front of mind for all of us. This episode is a masterclass on making the grid really, truly work for us.

Have an idea for a future episode from Energy Central? Email our head of content, Kinsey: [email protected]
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The power grid is under historic strain. Electricity demand is climbing, climate impacts are intensifying, and the clean energy transition is accelerating. Despite this well agreed upon urgency, new infrastructure projects keep getting stuck in permitting delays, siting disputes, and interconnection backlogs. For the nation’s more than 2,000 public power utilities, in particular, these roadblocks hit especially hard. Communities can’t afford to wait years for the infrastructure that keeps the lights on and rates affordable.

In this episode of Power Perspectives, host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester chat with Scott Corwin, President & CEO of the American Public Power Association (APPA). Scott breaks down why permitting reform is a make-or-break issue for public power, where solutions are emerging, and what “smart permitting reform” could look like to balance speed, reliability, affordability, and community engagement.

Whether you’re in the utility C-suite, working on grid infrastructure in the field, or contributing to the policy debates unfolding in D.C., this episode offers a crucial public power perspective on one of the most urgent issues shaping our energy future.

Key Links
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Energy Central Post for this episode: https://www.energycentral.com/podcasts/post/permitting-delays-are-breaking-the-grid-here-s-one-ceo-s-fix-LA3mRBl28CvqHfB

Video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/tvK39wCwmgA

Ask a Question to Our Future Guests: Do you have a burning question for the utility executives and energy industry thought leaders that we feature each week on Power Perspectives? Leave us a message here for your chance to be featured in an upcoming episode: www.speakpipe.com/EnergyCentralPodcast

Utilities are known for spending, but not always where it counts. In fact, hyperscalers in Big Tech outspend utilities by 10x when it comes to critical R&D.

So as we move into the data center-dominated future, how will utilities learn to spend on innovation and navigate challenges from scope to timeline to transparency? Our mission on today’s episode is to figure that out.

We’re bringing in three venerated experts from across the industry: Erik Helland, Commissioner at the Iowa Utility Commission; Jason Wild, CEO of Wild Innovation & Strategy Excellence; and Mike Smith, Principal, KLN Group.

Together, these three paint an optimistic (and realistic) picture of where utilities can bend to avoid breaking as the battle for ownership of this AI-driven future heats up.

A handful of key ideas from this conversation loaded with real-world utility examples? “If you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough,” Erik says. Jason explains the role of human behavior in tech adaptation. Mike walks through the juxtaposition of utilities’ intense focus on operational excellence and their need to innovate—which can sometimes get messy.

By the end of this episode, you’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of the utility innovation bias, plus key learnings about the roles all of us can play, from regulators to utility leaders to ratepayers.

Innovation doesn’t have to be a scary word. We’re giving it a new definition today on Piloting the Future.

#energy #innovation #bigtech #ai #datacenter #utilities

Wildfires are no longer just a seasonal threat — they’re a year-round crisis reshaping the way utilities must plan and operate. With billions in damages each year and mounting regulatory and reputational risks, utilities are under intense pressure to respond faster, smarter, and more proactively to protect both the grid and the communities they serve. The challenge: most control rooms aren’t equipped with the integration and situational awareness needed to act decisively in the heat of the moment.

In this episode of Power Perspectives, podcast host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester are joined by Dan Lysaker, Director of Product Design at AspenTech Digital Grid Management, to explore how advanced distribution management solutions (ADMS) can provide the real-time visibility and control utilities desperately need. Dan shares lessons learned from utilities in wildfire-prone regions, explains the value of integrating fire data into a single operational view, and discusses how utilities worldwide are rethinking resilience strategies.

If you’re a utility decision-maker looking to harden your grid against tomorrow’s wildfire threats, this conversation is a must-listen.

Key Links
Sign up for the Energy Central Daily Newsletter: energycentral.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Energy Central Post for this episode: https://www.energycentral.com/podcasts/post/utilities-are-fighting-wildfires-with-data-FgCr1EknTFrnIOy

Video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1hDmfegC_i4

Dan Lysaker on Energy Central: https://www.energycentral.com/member/sldMU0QXZ6

AspenTech on Energy Central: https://www.energycentral.com/aspentech

Ask a Question to Our Future Guests: Do you have a burning question for the utility executives and energy industry thought leaders that we feature each week on Power Perspectives? Leave us a message here for your chance to be featured in an upcoming episode: www.speakpipe.com/EnergyCentralPodcast

Move fast and break things? Not at utilities. More like move slowly and keep the lights on.

Utilities have a reputation for being slow to innovate and adapt. Where does that come from? Well…they’re highly regulated, they’re used to financing investments with a guaranteed rate of return, and they’re on the hook for BIG bills if innovation goes south.

All those realities contribute to the capital bias in energy—the inefficient phenomenon in which traditionally regulated utilities are incentivized to favor capital-intensive investments over cost-effective operational expenses (read: tech advancements). Simply put? More trillion-dollar poles and lines, fewer million-dollar demand response programs, for example.

It’s not a permanent problem, though. Utilities can get faster in meeting the demand moment…and today on Piloting the Future, we explore exactly how they’re going to keep pace with the hyperscalers outspending them on innovation by leaps and bounds.

Today’s guests: Dr. Elizabeth Cook, VP of Technical Strategy at AEIC, and Ken Silverstein, Senior Contributor at Forbes. They join Kim and Lee in a deeply insightful, forward-thinking conversation about breaking through gridlock by overcoming this capital bias.

Don’t miss this one—building the grid of the future requires taking some risks…safely. And this week, we’re exploring how that becomes possible.

#energy #tech #bigtech #ai #infrastructure #energygrid

The U.S. electric grid is under historic pressure. Record-breaking demand from electrification, AI, and data centers is colliding with extreme weather and aging infrastructure, while policy fights and project cancellations stall the very transmission projects needed to strengthen reliability. For utility leaders, the question isn’t if these stresses will hit home — it’s how quickly and how prepared they’ll be when they do.

In this episode of Power Perspectives Podcast, host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester sit down with Christina Hayes, Executive Director of Americans for a Clean Energy Grid, to unpack why transmission is the backbone of the energy transition — and why utilities can’t afford to ignore it. Christina shares insights from ACEG’s latest research and publications, breaks down the permitting roadblocks, and offers practical guidance on what CEOs and decision-makers must know to navigate this make-or-break moment for the grid.

Key Links
Sign up for the Energy Central Daily Newsletter: energycentral.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Energy Central Post for this episode: https://www.energycentral.com/podcasts/post/why-transmission-could-save-or-sink-the-energy-transition-91bMwgXGfiaqbmF

Video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XUCjBs16qNI

Ask a Question to Our Future Guests: Do you have a burning question for the utility executives and energy industry thought leaders that we feature each week on Power Perspectives? Leave us a message here for your chance to be featured in an upcoming episode: www.speakpipe.com/EnergyCentralPodcast

Fewer New Miles: Strategic Industries Held Back by Slow Pace of Transmission: https://cleanenergygrid.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ACEG_Grid-Strategies_Fewer-New-Miles-2025_Rev-1.pdf

Large-Scale Transmission Deployment Saves Consumers Money: https://cleanenergygrid.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/GS_Transmission-Deployment-Saves-Consumers-Money_vf.pdf

Resource Adequacy Value Of Interregional Transmission: https://cleanenergygrid.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/250610_RAValueInterregionalTx_Corrections.pdf