Plugged In

"Plugged In" host Neil Chatterjee and energy reporter Breanne Deppisch welcome trading and emissions expert Georges Tijbosch to talk about practical steps that can be taken to fight climate change — including reducing methane gas emissions within this decade.

Tijbosch, the CEO of MiQ says the Biden administration's goals for the energy transition will take time to achieve, but his nonprofit's work of reducing emissions and certifying gas is a large step forward. He added that combatting the energy crisis comes down to three things: Energy sustainability, affordability, and security of the supply.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Plugged In" host Neil Chatterjee and energy reporter Breanne Deppisch welcome infrastructure expert Ken Davis to discuss the Biden administration's rising energy crisis: grid security. Davis, a former deputy attorney general for the Commonwealth of Virginia, says the challenge must be addressed to ensure power stays online.

While fully staffing transformers and substations to prevent attacks isn't sustainable, he said there must be a way to prevent the grid from going offline. But then another question arises, who is responsible to pay for it? 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Plugged In" host Neil Chatterjee and energy reporter Breanne Deppisch welcome energy expert Heather Reams to discuss how important it is for Republican lawmakers to have a seat at the table when it comes to climate change solutions — and what lowering emissions can do to help the global energy crises.

Reams, the president of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, says after her trip to COP27, she's optimistic about the GOP's opportunities in 2023 when they take over the House majority. She said while it may surprise some that Republicans are showing their support for technology and policies that address climate, the issue is not "red" or "blue," but "red, white, and blue."

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Plugged In" host Neil Chatterjee welcomes American Chemistry Council CEO Chris Jahn, who represents rail consumers, once again to explain the bill President Joe Biden signed into law on Friday, averting a national railroad strike. Biden called it "the right thing to do in the moment," and Jahn agreed that he deserves credit.

But, he said the fight isn't over. Labor unions are still pushing back, as some of their demands weren't met, including the exclusion of an increase in paid sick leave for rail workers. What happens next?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Plugged In" hosts Neil Chatterjee and energy reporter Breanne Deppisch welcome climate attorney Phil Goldberg to discuss a recent surge in climate lawsuits against utility companies and energy manufacturers from the legal perspective.

Goldberg, the managing partner at the D.C. office of Shook, Hardy, and Bacon, argues that federal regulators and lawmakers should decide the climate change debate, not the courts. When asked if the industry should play a financial role in mitigating the effects of climate change, he said "we all have to be part of the solution, and the energy companies are no different.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this special edition of the "Plugged In" podcast, hosts Neil Chatterjee and Breanne Deppisch discuss the outcome of the midterm elections and what a Democratic-led Senate and Republican-led House will mean for the energy space in the new year.  

The two also dive into the 11th-hour decisions of COP27 in Egypt and NERC's 2022 Winter Reliability Assessment. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Plugged In" hosts Neil Chatterjee and energy reporter Breanne Deppisch welcome energy expert Mark Wolfe on to explain what could be a diesel fuel crisis this winter, as the war in Ukraine continues, fuel prices climb higher, and the Northeastern United States runs short on its heating oil supply. 

Wolfe, the executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, says the Biden administration may have been shortsighted when focusing too much on gasoline prices and ignoring other dwindling fuel supplies. When asked what can be done in the short term to address it, he said "I don't see a lot of options that are easy to solve here, because where will it come from?"

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Plugged In" host Neil Chatterjee welcomes former Minnesota Sen. Norman Coleman on this special Election Day episode to provide his insight on how the top issues under President Joe Biden — such as energy, inflation, and crime — are likely to impact the outcomes of key races.

The Republican senator, who sat on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources during his tenure, was well known for his bipartisan push for energy independence from foreign actors. When asked for his predictions, Coleman said all signs point to a Republican victory.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Plugged In" host Neil Chatterjee welcomes Joseph Majkut, the director of the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies to talk about how the war in Ukraine and a slow permitting process under the Biden administration have impacted climate goals abroad and in the United States.

The long-term effects of sanctions on Russian oil are unknown, but location matters, As the transition to cleaner energy speeds up in Europe, other parts of the world may have taken a step back. When it comes to the U.S., Majkut explains that permitting could play a role in that pause.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Plugged In" host Neil Chatterjee and Washington Examiner energy reporter Breanne Deppisch dive into the Biden administration's decision to sell off even more barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves, and the president's race to lower gas prices, seen by many as a political move ahead of the midterms.

And as China braces to re-open its economy, the war in Ukraine continues adding more sanctions on Russian energy, and recent decisions by OPEC+ nations signal a decrease in global oil production — what will the true cost be?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.