Public Power Underground

Michelle Manary, Bonneville Power Administration’s Chief Financial Officer who is on assignment to the Department of Energy as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Electric Delivery, joins Matthew Scroettnig (EWEB’s Power Planning Supervisor & Staff Counsel) and Paul Dockery (Clatskanie PUD’s Director of Energy Resources) to go deep into the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, electrification’s impact on long-term planning, how to prepare for grant funding, SEASONAL TIME CHANGE, and how much she misses all our wonderful workshops in the Pacific Northwest.

If you watched s3e10, Infrastructure Week!, you have already heard the first part of the interview. The conversation picks back up in this video at 13:54.

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. We hope you enjoy the conversation. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpowerunderground.substack.com

It’s season 3, episode 10 - Infrastructure Week! for Public Power Underground. Michelle Manary joins us to chat about the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act! Also joining is Juergen Pilot from the National Offshore Wind Research & Development Consortium and returning champion Kurt Miller.

07:28 - Arin Reports with (the newest Honorary Member of the Power Department) Crystal Ball Reporting!
13:39 - FERC, States Kick Off New Task Force Focused on Transmission Buildout
16:15 - Juergen Pilot, the National Offshore Wind Research & Development Consortium's Program Manager, answers a series of questions about offshore wind as quickly and entertainingly as possible
27:41 - Agrivoltaic Farming!
31:05 - Microgrid powering buses in LADWP's service territory
32:23 - Kurt Miller is championing hydropower’s inclusion in the Build Back Better Act
38:16 - Combined Geothermal power production and Lithium extraction
41:59 - Dispatches from #EnergyTwitter: @JesseJenkins did an outstanding, google sheets, summary of all the energy-related provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
47:24 - Michelle Manary joins to chat about DOE, BPA, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
1:04:37 - TL;DR news stories we ran out of time to discuss

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Remember to share this with any friends you have that are electric utility enthusiasts like us!

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

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpowerunderground.substack.com

Scott Coe, a public power leader who started under the Greatest Generation, rose to leadership amongst boomers, and has led organizations with Boomers, Millenials, and, maybe even, zoomers, joins Matthew Scroettnig (EWEB’s Power Planning & Staff Counsel) and Paul Dockery (Clatskanie PUD’s Power Manager) to talk about all things public power and public-power-leadership.

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

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpowerunderground.substack.com

It’s season 3, episode 9 - Leading Innovation Week! for Public Power Underground. Underground regulars (Karen Heim, Brian Fawcett, Ludgie Gelin, and Ian Bledsoe) are joined by our returning Podcast Ambassador from Clearing Up, Dan Catchpole. The episode includes conversations about blockchain technologies with NRU’s Resource Analyst, Ellyn Groves, and a preview of a longer interview by Special Correspondent Matt Schroettnig of Emerald PUD’s General Manager, Scott Coe. The full interview of Scott Coe will be in a follow-up BONUS episode, next week.

02:54 - Arin Reports with Ian Reporting
06:29 - Cooking, Hot Water Grew Residential Demand During Pandemic
11:27 - Ellyn Groves joins as a Special Research Specialist to talk about Blockchain and Paul unpacks some NFTs
20:22 - BPA Study May Be 'Early Warning' of Trouble for Clean Energy Goals
22:43 - NMPRC Hearing Examiner Recommends Against $8-Billion PNM-Avangrid Merger
24:43 - Nuclear Power is having a moment
30:21 - Preview of blockbuster Scott Coe interview w/ Special Correspondent, Matt Schroettnig
40:37 - TL;DR news stories we ran out of time to discuss

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Remember to share this with any friends you have that are electric utility enthusiasts like us!

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

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpowerunderground.substack.com

It’s season 3, episode 8 - Distributed Demand Resource Response Week! for Public Power Underground. Underground regulars (Karen Heim, Arin Guillory, Ludgie Gelin, and Paul Dockery) are joined by our Podcast Ambassador from California Energy Markets, Jason Fordney this week. The episode includes conversations with Tacoma Power’s Ahlmahz Negash grant funding for microgrids and distributed resources, and PNUCC’s Shauna McReynolds and Tomás Morrisey about Demand Response and Distributed Generation in the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s draft 2021 Power Plan.

05:18 - Arin Reports
08:46 - The Arizona Corporation Commission is clashing with Arizona Public Service
13:13 - Ahlmahz Negash, PhD, talks Clean Energy Fund awards for grid modernization projects
21:45 - Southern California Edison transitioning residential customers to Time-of-Use rate plans
22:49 - The Diesel-Fired California Dream
30:15 - Shauna McReynolds and Tomás Morrissey talk about Distributed Generation and Demand Response in NWPCC’s draft 2021 Power Plan
48:30 - Avista and Puget Sound Energy file final clean energy implementation plans
51:07 - A Bipartisan Infrastructure Package makes it through Congress
53:19 - Dispatches from #EnergyTwitter: Maine Voters reject transmission and John Oliver talks Power Grid
58:17 - TL;DR news stories we ran out of time to discuss

Remember to share this with any friends you have that are electric utility enthusiasts like us!

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

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpowerunderground.substack.com

It’s season 3, episode 7 - Markets Week! for Public Power Underground. Underground regulars (Brian Fawcett, Arin Guillory, Ian Bledsoe, and Paul Dockery) are joined by our Podcast Ambassador from Clearing Up, Dan Catchpole, to get our listeners up to speed on public-power and public-power-adjacent news. The episode includes special, feature conversations with The Energy Authority’s (TEA) Chris Lewis and John Raiford to talk about the state of Natural Gas Markets, and Public Generation Pool’s Therese Hampton and Steve Kerns about PGP’s Market Retrospective.

03:49 - Arin Reports
06:16 - TEA’s Chris Lewis and John Raiford explain what’s going on with Natural Gas Markets
23:08 - Global supply chain issues are hitting California’s energy industry
24:07 - Some more Colstrip action in Federal Court
25:13 - Chinook salmon in the Salish Sea leads to surprising findings about southern resident orcas
26:42 - Therese Hampton (Executive Director) and Steve Kerns (Senior Technical Advisor) talk about PGP’s Organized Market Retrospective
39:53 - Our friends from Cowlitz PUD made the news
42:18 - Market expansion is in the news and on people’s minds
43:56 - PJM released study on transmission build out to handle offshore wind
50:20 - TL;DR news stories we ran out of time to discuss

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks to all the newest Friends of the Underground who have joined us since last week. Remember to share this with any friends you have that are electric utility enthusiasts like us!

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

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpowerunderground.substack.com

Your friends at the Power Department are excited to announce that we’re teaming up with NewsData to make Public Power Underground better, bigger, and more sustainable.

In a special, bonus episode the friends you’ve come to know as the voices of the Underground (Karen Heim, Brian Fawcett, Arin Guillory, Ian Bledsoe, Ludgie Gelin, and Paul Dockery) reminisce a little about what we’ve enjoyed so far, we talk with NewsData’s Editor-in-Chief, Mark Ohrenschall, about the collaboration, and get insights from Mike Shepard, the CEO of NewsData’s parent company, Pioneer Utility Resources, and Marc Farmer, the General Manager of Clatskanie PUD, about listeners should look forward to from the Underground going forward.

03:37 - Mark Ohrenschall talks about the collaboration
10:31 - lightning round questions with the Voices of the Underground
15:22 - Mike Shepard and Marc Farmer join Paul to talk about what listeners should expect
26:44 - more lightning round questions and we discuss the future of the Anadromous Championship Belt

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks to all the newest Friends of the Underground who have joined us since last week. Remember to share this with any friends you have that are electric utility enthusiasts like us!

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

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpowerunderground.substack.com

It’s season 3, episode 5 - Live from the Benson! week for Public Power Underground. In an upbeat, LIVE,  recording we get communication celebrities from across the region to come read some news for us on this week’s episode. 

The episode also includes a couple of wonderful interviews with industry experts. We talk with BPA’s Industry Economist, Daniel Fisher, about product development philosophies, and with Electric Vehicle enthusiast, Loren McDonald, about Level 1 charging infrastructure.

• 04:05 - Arin Reports with the City of Roseville’s Erin Frye Reporting
•  11:16 - WMEG (Western Markets Exploratory Group) was announced!
•  13:00 - Clearwater Power Company’s Jeff Marshall talks SCL’s Renewable Hydrogen Research Project
•  18:48 - The WRAP (Western Resource Adequacy Program) moves to its implementation phase
•  20:07 - Daniel Fisher talks about post-2028 (Provider of Choice) product development philosophies
•  40:50 - Clallam County PUD’s Nicole Hartman joins to talk about a proposal for carbon sequestration, energy plant in Port Angeles
•  45:10 - Loren McDonald of EVAdoption.com and @EVAdoptionTweet joins to talk about Level 1 charging
•  1:00:50 - Best-Friend-of-the-Underground Kurt Miller joins to talk about the joy of pregnant Southern Resident orcas, and CLAIM THE ANADROMOUS CHAMPIONSHIP BELT

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpowerunderground.substack.com

It’s season 3, episode 4 - Fish Risk! week for Public Power Underground. We cover everything from permafrost to Dolly Parton on this week’s episode hosted a combination of new stars (Ludgie Gelin and Betsy Bridge), returning star (Arin Guillory), and regular co-host (Paul Dockery). The highlight is a wonderful interview with the Director of BPA’s Fish & Wildlife Program, Crystal Ball, where we try to better understand fish risk for preference customer considering a post-2028 contract with BPA. We also get a visit from Special Correspondent, and star of the Underground, Matt Schroettnig. The whole thing is wonderful.

• 04:05 - Arin Reports
•  07:38 - Three news releases from BPA
•  10:42 - safe, small, TRANSPORTABLE nuclear reactor
•  12:24 - Oregon Solar Program update
•  17:52 - Matt Schroettnig appears as Special Guest Correspondent to talk about submarine supergrids
•  27:34 - Portland General Electric topic that is very-accountant-nerdy 
•  29:18 - The Cold Climate Housing Research Center is designing Alaskan housing for a future of changing climate
•  33:40 - Crystal Ball, the Director of BPA's Fish & Wildlife Program, helps clarify fish risk for preference customers considering a post-2028 contract with BPA
•  56:42 - Dispatches from #energytwitter starring Dolly Parton, Ted Lasso, and #HotFERCSummer
• Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, it’s work to watch!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpowerunderground.substack.com

It’s season 3, episode 3 - Into the Metaverse! week for Public Power Underground. We covered a BROAD range of news this week, and caught up with some celebrities including THE Vice President of Origination for Avangrid, Holly Carias, a BLUE CHECK mark, Dan Catchpole, and the curator of #energytwitter, Simon Mahan.

• 04:20 - Arin Reports
•  09:13 - Summary of wildfire impacts on BPA transmission lines
•  11:29 - PPC’s Mike Linn joins to chat about CAISO’s recently announced Extended Day-Ahead Market forum
•  18:21 - Northwest Coming Up Short of Regional Energy Savings Goal
•  19:29 - Dispatches from #EnergyTwitter w/ @dcatchpole & @SimonMahan
•  35:03 - A perfect storm hits UK's natural gas market
•  37:26 - Holly Carias, Avangrid’s VP of Origination, joins to chat about all things renewables including the U.S.'s first offshore wind project securing funding
•  51:06 - Fusion and some powerful magnets
•  52:46 - Oregon didn't meet it's target of 50,000 Zero Emission Vehicles by 2020
•  53:59 - Direct carbon air capture - a vacuum got installed

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

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpowerunderground.substack.com