On this episode of People in Power, California Energy Markets Associate Editor Abigail Sawyer talks with Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, about California's unprecedented rate increases over the past several years, the factors driving those increases and what can be done to keep power bills from continuing to rise. Toney doesn't hold back in offering his opinions on reasonable wildfire safety measures, who should pay for them, and whether the California Public Utilities Commission is doing its job.  He also discusses legislation currently before California lawmakers that TURN believes could slow the upward advance of utility rates.

New Mexico Public Regulation Commissioner Gabriel Aguilera discusses how his 15 years at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission prepared him for his role as a state utility regulator with California Energy Markets' Southwest Editor, Abigail Sawyer.  Aguilera also offers his take on the emergence of competing day-ahead markets and regional transmission organizations in the Western U.S., the implications of market competition for the New Mexico PRC, and the importance of green chile in attracting energy investment to the state. 

On this edition of People in Power California Energy Markets Associate Editor Abigail Sawyer discusses the role of community choice aggregation in California with Beth Vaughan, CEO of CalCCA. In their 15-year history in California, CCAs have presented a model for innovation and contributed to the radical reshaping of California’s electricity generation, delivery and consumption. With affordability, uncertainty and flexibility currently on everyone’s minds, CCAs seem poised to continue innovating, with novel approaches to transmission development, new generation resources and substantial growth. The CCA model is also becoming appealing to other states, which are considering how to enable choice for electricity consumers.

Transmission in the West is a huge topic nowadays, with many more lines and additional infrastructure needed to meet renewable-energy goals and maintain grid reliability in the face of significant load growth. This episode of People in Power features Neil Millar, vice president of transmission planning and infrastructure development at the California Independent System Operator, the man who guides CAISO’s multibillion-dollar annual planning process. Neil is also responsible for managing new generation interconnections across CAISO’s territory—a lot of responsibility, indeed. Check out this insightful interview on People in Power.

Hear from the nation's top reliability official as he and California Energy Markets Editor Jason Fordney explore the topic of grid reliability. Generation retirements, load growth through data centers and electrification, and more frequent extreme weather are among the challenges facing grid planners and reliability officials. This episode digs deep into the issues, including the challenges of more inverter-based resources on the grid, gas-electric coordination, and how New York City almost lost its natural gas supply in what would have been a catastrophic event. Don't miss this one-on-one with an official who is on the front lines of the reliability situation!

People in Power Episode 8: NewsData Reporter Roundtable! Looking to update your knowledge of emerging Western wholesale energy markets? This episode of People in Power features three experts on the topic, California Energy Markets Managing Editor Jason Fordney, Clearing Up Editor Steve Ernst and California Energy Markets Associate Editor and Southwest Editor Abigail Sawyer. They discuss both the California Independent System Operator’s extended day-ahead market and the competing proposal from the Southwest Power Pool, Markets+. You can hear about the latest dynamics around the markets, from solving the thorny governance issue to the effectiveness of the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative to where the Bonneville Power Administration will land. This is a critical listen for anyone involved in Western energy markets! 

In the latest episode of NewsData's People in Power, upstream natural gas drilling executive Jason Sandel, chair of the Western States and Tribal Nations Energy Initiative, sits down with Abigail Sawyer to discuss the value of Rocky Mountain-sourced natural gas for providing electric reliability and heat in the West. Sandel, who runs a family-owned drilling and well-servicing business in the San Juan Basin, also discusses how natural gas producers can pivot to drilling geothermal and advanced-geothermal wells to provide emissions-free baseload power with little to no investment in new equipment or retraining.

In this episode of People in Power, Chatterjee, former energy advisor to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, discusses what to expect from the new federal administration in terms of energy. Some of his thoughts are surprising, such as Trump’s embrace of clean energy, and how Trump is concerned about his legacy. First nominated to FERC by Trump in 2017. Chatterjee describes how Trump isn’t doing anything he didn’t say he was going to do, and offers some personal insights into the president. Other topics include winning the artificial intelligence war against China and bringing down the cost of electricity.

In the latest episode of People in Power, Abigail Sawyer and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association CEO Duane Highley discuss  threading the needle to satisfy diverse interests across a multi-state territory and the G&T cooperative’s decision to join the Southwest Power Pool’s RTO West expansion. 

For this episode of People in Power, California Energy Markets Editor Jason Fordney speaks with Will Abrams, a leading wildfire survivor advocate who discusses some disturbing developments around compensation for wildfire victims in California—a situation stretching back years and tied to the bankruptcy of Pacific Gas & Electric in 2020. These developments include wildfire victims not getting paid; Wall Street hedge funds, attorneys and others profiteering off the proceedings; and state legislation that is designed more to benefit utility shareholders than wildfire survivors. Abrams, who is a participant in legal proceedings related to wildfire survivor compensation, takes us through a series of observations that provide great insight into the plight of wildfire survivors. Abrams is a tireless advocate for wildfire victims who has taken his message to the state Legislature in Sacramento.