Public Power Underground

It’s season 3, episode 2 - Into the Metaverse! - week for Public Power Underground. We caught up with a couple special guests, and got back into the regular format covering public-power and public-power-adjacent news.

• 02:17 - Arin Reports
•  07:16 - Temporary Gas Plants in California
•  10:02 - Tu Phan talks Power Markets and Metaverse
•  20:04 - PNNL’s Research on Heat Pump Water Heaters
•  22:16 - Roger Gray talks about BPA post-2028 product design concepts
•  37:37 - Broadband expansion to rural areas
•  39:02 - Northwest Power and Conservation Council releases draft 2021 Power Plan
•  40:09 - High Columbia Temperatures Worry Steelhead Watchers
• Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, it’s work to watch!

Public Power Underground successfully pulled off its first-ever-livestream as our Season 3 Premiere! We broadcasted LIVE from across the region, simultaneously. Karen Heim and Humaira Falkenberg joined from remote locations to provide color commentary, insights, and questions.

Joining the Underground on-location at the NWPPA Annual Conference were a series of very special guests who became the newest Friends of the Underground and summarize 3 days of conference content in one hour! We also covered some news stories we missed during our summer break in between guests. It was action-packed!

• 08:01 - Arin Reports with Karen Reporting
•  11:18 - Plug-Pass Promo
•  12:37 - Scott Corwin, Executive Director of NWPPA
•  19:49 - BPA rate case
•  22:09 - Scott Peters, CEO of Columbia Rural Electric Association
•  27:42 - Heat Dome
•  30:10 - Michelle Bertolino - Electric Utility Director for the City of Roseville & NWPPA Board President
•  36:50 - Mutual Aid help for Hurricane Ida
•  38:05 - Brad Janorschke, General Manager of Homer Electric Association
•  46:13 - The WRAP
•  47:27 - Bear Prairie, General Manager of Idaho Falls Power
•  54:28 - The Legislative Path to Increasing BPA Borrowing Authority

Season 3 is the season to ROLL ON ENTHUSTIASTS, ROLL ON! Public Power Underground took the summer off, but with kids headed back to school it's time for the fall season to kick off. We've got some plans. The plans are bound to change.   

The Underground's own Arin Guillory, CPA and Ian Bledsoe combined their talents to make this special Season 3 theme song inspired by Woody Guthrie's Roll On Columbia, but re-imagined for electric utility enthusiasts. We hope you enjoy, and are ready for the next adventure.  

Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts. Public Power Underground, it’s work to watch.

It’s the SEASON FINALE, and to celebrate the conclusion of another wonderful season of Public Power Underground we invited a special guest of honor, Susan Ackerman, to join us for an after dark, mailbag episode.

Susan recently announced her retirement from her role as Eugene Water and Electric Board’s (EWEB) Chief Energy Officer. To celebrate her career and ask her deeply personal and occasionally inappropriate questions the Underground invited a cast of extraordinary characters from around the region to join the underground for the happy-hour-ish episode.

Joining us for the episode were:



Karen Heim, PPC’s Office Administrator and Public Power Underground’s Editor-at-Large

Therese Hampton, PGP’s Executive Director who is making a debut appearance on Public Power Underground

Megan Capper, EWEB’s Energy Resources Manager and Hero of the Underground

Matt Schroettnig, EWEB’s Power Resources Counsel and member of the Anadromous Championship circle

Humaira Falkenberg, Pacific Count PUD’s Power Resource Manager and enthusiastic public power advocate

Betsy Bridge, NRU’s General Counsel emeritus and newly recruited Executive Producer for Public Power Underground

Crystal Ball, BPA’s Fish & Wildlife Program Director and newly recruited Brand Manager for Public Power Underground

Megan Stratman, NRU’s Rates & Policy Director and Special -all-the-topics-she’s-willing-to-talk-about-Correspondent



We’re not sure when we’ll be back for Season 3, so hit the subscribe button so you’re notified of the Season Premiere!

Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts. Public Power Underground, it’s work to watch.

to sign up for the newsletter visit our substack at publicpowerunderground.substack.com.

It’s Harquahala Hypothesis! week on Public Power Underground! Northwest power markets are a topic of interest for the Underground, and we dive into a forward market theory on to start the news. After the market hypothesis, we talk to EWEB’s Jon Hart about his philosophy of market fundaments, check-in on transportation electrification with Clark Public Utilities’ Matt Babbitts, learn about public power recruiting from Energy Northwest’s Sarah Giomi, and revisit one of our recurring topics (Resource Adequacy) with PGP’s Lea Fisher.

01:48 - Arin Reports

04:10 - [an unplanned fishing update from celebrity angler, Brian Fawcett]

05:49 - Harquahala Hypothesis

06:47 - a Philosophy of Market Fundamentals w/ EWEB’s Jon Hart

14:49 - Debrief from BPA’s 2nd Quarter QBR Technical Workshop

15:38 - Clark Public Utilities’ Matt Babbitts on Transportation Electrification & APPA’s EV Toolkit

26:46 - CoBank Launched a Power Podcast

28:20 - Talk to Sarah Giomi about Energy Northwest’s public power utility internship program that was highlighted in February’s NWPPA Bulletin (page 16)

34:57 - Lamborghini announces an all-electric-car (and the F-150 Lightning was revealed)

44:28 - PGP’s Lea Fisher talks NWPP’s RA program



PUBLIC (POWER) SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: We’re recording a special after-dark, mailbag episode with Best Friend of the Underground Susan Ackerman on May 26th. It will serve as Public Power Underground’s Season 2 finale. Don’t miss the sappy conclusion to the season, subscribe on YouTube, apple podcast, spotify, and here on substack to make sure you don’t miss the Season 2 finale or the Season 3 premier!

Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts. Public Power Underground, it’s work to watch.

to sign up for the newsletter visit our substack at publicpowerunderground.substack.com.

We’re Catching up on all-the-news! this week on Public Power Underground! After a restful week hiatus we’re back catching up on all we missed. Joining to get us up to speed were Clearing Up’s Steve Ernst, Forth’s Erin Galiger, and NRU’s Megan Stratman!

01:22 - Arin Reports

06:49 - Colonial Pipeline begins restart of operations after a cyberattack  

09:15 - Clearing Up's Steve Ernst joins to catch me up litigation and arbitration surrounding Colstrip

15:12 - Fitch Ratings issues Rating Action Commentary on Energy Northwest and BPA

16:29 - Debrief from BPA’s Q2 Quarterly Business Review

18:51 - Forth’s Erin Galiger joins the Underground to talk about electric tractors!

26:25 - Ford F-150 Lightning is getting unveiled on a livestream May 19th at 6:30pm  

28:59 - NRU’s Megan Stratman joins to talk about the proposed BP-22 Rate Settlement and BPA’s Provider of Choice process

44:28 - Public Power Underground original reporting of our very own news story about Emerald PUD’s pandemic pet policy: An Ian Bledsoe Special Report

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: We’re recording a special after-dark, mailbag episode with retiring Best Friend of the Underground Susan Ackerman on May 26th. Send us your mailbag questions by May 20th for us to talk about after-hours in a happy-hour-ish version of Public Power Underground!

Public Power Underground, it’s work to watch. Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts.

to sign up for the newsletter visit our substack at publicpowerunderground.substack.com.

It’s Return Counts are Up! week on Public Power Underground! Some great guest news and insight from returning Friends of the Underground this week. There’s a lot going on in the region and we’re just trying to keep up. We also talk a lot about EVs, because we really find electric vehicle public charging interesting.

01:52 - Arin Reports

05:45 - Guest News: PNUCC’s Tomás Morrisey talks about the NRF

14:31 - Guest News: PNGC’s Greg Mendonca records a promo for an open position

19:47 - PPC’s Executive Director, Scott Simms, gives an update on their Blue Sky initiative

31:36 - Pole-Mounted Electric Vehicle Public Chargers

35:21 - PGE and Daimler Trucks North America build the first vehicle charging site specifically for heavy-duty trucks

38:50 - Steller sea lion removal news is back as the number of Chinook climbing Bonneville Dam fish ladders is on the rise

40:16 - Debrief from BPA’s April 27th Energy Imbalance Market Implementation Workshop

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: We’re recording a special after-dark, mailbag episode on May 26th. Send us your mailbag questions for us to talk about after-hours in a happy-hour-ish version of Public Power Underground! We’ll be joined by MANY SPECIAL GUESTS AND ONE SUPER-SPECIAL CELEBRITY GUEST!!!!

Public Power Underground, it’s work to watch. Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts.

to sign up for the newsletter visit our substack at publicpowerunderground.substack.com.

It’s Resource Adequacy double-feature! week on Public Power Underground! We talk about the Northwest Power Pool’s Resource Adequacy program in back-to-back interviews. First with NWPP’s Chief Operating Officer, Gregg Carrington, and the second interview with Chair of WSPP’s Operating Committee, Matthew Schroettnig. And to get caught up on the BP-22/TC-22 rate cases we talk to PPC’s Mike Deen about what’s going on!

01:31 - Arin Reports

05:11 - Celebration of ClearingUp’s 2000th edition

07:22 - PPC’s Mike Deen joins to talk BP-22/TC-22 rate process

15:06 - PG&E’s Community Microgrid Enablement Program

18:01 - “Agro-voltaic” solar projects

21:11 - PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT; Ted Lasso, Season 2 is coming

22:17 - NWPP’s Gregg Carrington gives advice on approach to the RA program for those that aren’t power pool members

34:42 - Chair of WSPP’s Operating Committee, Matt Schroettnig, talks about how a RA product might go through the process to develop a standard product exhibit/rider

43:30 - Anadromous Championship Belt return counts w/ Karen Heim and Lauren Tenney Denison

Public Power Underground, it’s work to watch. Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts.

to sign up for the newsletter visit our substack at publicpowerunderground.substack.com.

It’s Cluster of Symbiotic Markets! week on Public Power Underground! Naming for this week’s episode came from a wonderful interview of The Energy Authority’s (TEA) Director of Power Trading - West, Tu Phan. We also got a double-feature interview with Kurt and Austin from Northwest River Partners, and continued our series of interviews by Public Power Underground’s Special Salmon War Correspondent, Matthew Schroettnig, this time touching base with Northern Wasco County PUD’s Roger Kline about the future of the federal system and Public Power Council’s Blue Sky initiative.

01:43 - Arin Reports;

04:40 - TEA’s Tu Phan joins to talk markets (and also talk NFTs and NBA Top Shots);

17:05 - More about NFTs (definitely too much about NFTs);

18:41 - Seattle City Light’s microgrid test bed;

19:22 - Northwest River Partners double-feature where we talk to Kurt Miller and Austin Rohr;

30:02 - Distribution Systems increasingly at risk for cyber attacks;

32:16 - Updated Genesis Forecast for Federal Hydro-generation;

33:56 - A shareable article about snow’s impact on the region that is accessible and fun even for people outside our industry;

34:58 - Matt Schroettnig interviews Roger Kline about the future of the federal system and PPC’s Blue Sky initiative;

52:13 - Correcting the record from last week, w/ some Charging Speed Fee promo

Public Power Underground, it’s work to watch. Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts.

to sign up for the newsletter visit our substack at publicpowerunderground.substack.com.

It’s Bring Your Ideas! week on Public Power Underground! A lot of guests and guest news this week. Arin Reports (01:16), Tacoma Power’s Ahlmahz Negash, PhD, talks about demand response (04:21), Puget Sound Energy’s Integrated Resource Plan identifies biodiesel peakers (19:30), Guest News from Oregon Department of Energy’s Blake Shelide (20:46), Brian Johnson introduces Holly Dohrman’s interview on the post-2028 Provider of Choice process (26:24), Financial Times article on the next step in battery development (41:30), Debrief from April 7th Technical Management Team discussion (47:18), Guest News from NewsData’s Mark Ohrenschall on the upcoming Grid Resilience webinar (50:00), NewsData’s News Bulletin on Power & Transmission Customers call for BP-22 Comprehensive Settlement (54:46).

Public Power Underground, it’s work to watch. Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts.

to sign up for the newsletter visit our substack at publicpowerunderground.substack.com.