GridPulse, a Grid Forward podcast

Debra Smith, the General Manager and CEO of Seattle City Light, interviews Mike Hummel after his recent retirement as general manager and CEO of Salt River Project. They reflect on how the industry has changed during his career and look ahead to the exciting advancements SRP will make to provide clean, reliable energy to its customers. Mike shares about his career including some of his proudest accomplishments, lessons learned along the journey, and keys to leading others well.

In this edition we explore the role of small modular nuclears (SMRs) in the energy system by talking with two industry veterans. Clayton Scott is EVP at NuScale Power, the first SMR company to receive Nuclear Regulatory Commission design approval. Ben Porath is COO at Dairyland Power Cooperative, a Midwest co-op looking to deploy SMRs on its grid. The two discuss the promise of modular nuclear power, how these systems fit into a changing energy mix, cost, safety, grid resiliency, system flexibility and more. Will SMRs play a significant role on the grid in the next 10 years? Listen in to decide for yourself. This episode hosted by Virtual Peaker.

The Evergreen State has long pioneered efforts to advance the energy system. In this episode we talk with the U.S.’s longest standing governor, Jay Inslee of the state of Washington. Gov. Inslee is truly a leader on issues related to energy and the grid. We discuss the priorities for the state’s energy system, how the federal resources will impact the grid in the state, the role of state regulators, the importance of innovation, economic development opportunities and more. All of the efforts for the governor align to make sure states can do their part to progress climate action — progress he is confident we can achieve together.

The need for a more resilient power system in California, and locations across the country, is evident. In the recent past, wildfires, storms, extreme heat, and other threats have all wreaked havoc on the energy grid. Communities of the largest utility in America in Northern and Central California know this all too well. Patricia K. Poppe, Chief Executive Officer of PG&E Corporation, joined the podcast to discuss how Pacific Gas & Electric is working diligently to improve the resiliency of California’s grid and to serve their customers better. No magical solution exists that will address every issue, but with a combination of various improvements, and we cover a lot in this session, PG&E is aggressively working to leverage modern capabilities to manage their grid effectively. Grid Forward chats is supported by Itron visit Itron.com to learn more. 

Over the past decade, Green Mountain Power (GMP) has prioritized finding solutions that address the climate crisis. The company holds one of the nations most aggressive goals to provide 100% renewable energy by 2030. Advancements in technology not only make this ambitious goal possible, but also provide an opportunity for reliability and resiliency improvements. Mari McClure, president and CEO, discusses the company’s distributed resource programs and grid optimization technologies that they are leading the way deploying now and working to bring to Vermont in near future. This session is supported by Virtual Peaker. 

Congress has made a huge next step in supporting the advancement of the electric grid. The Inflation Reduction Act passed the House on Friday and has about four times as much energy related investments as the infrastructure package that passed last year. From tax incentives, consumers credits, rural operator support and much more this set of investments is a major package to accelerate grid investments over the next 10 years. We jump on with two reporters who are closely following this — Catherine Morehouse of Politico and Jeff St John from Canary Media — and dive into the details.