Vedeni Energy’s Deep Dive

Workplace civility has shifted from a "nice-to-have" to a vital business concern in 2025. A respectful workplace culture is now seen as crucial for productivity, talent retention, and organizational reputation. High-profile incidents of toxic work environments and the widespread adoption of hybrid work have underscored how colleagues treat each other day to day. In the U.S., where public discourse has become increasingly polarized, it's perhaps no surprise that many employees feel civility is under pressure. Surveys show that a majority of Americans believe society has become less civil in recent years, and workers collectively face hundreds of millions of rude or disrespectful interactions each day. 

Operations across North American power markets were uneventful under mild weather, with moderate prices and no broad reliability issues. The week’s focus was on policy and planning: regions advanced frameworks to manage surging large-load requests (notably from data centers), Western market integration steps progressed, and most operators reported steady winter readiness, with a few localized constraints and one-off operational corrections.

The electric power industry is undergoing rapid change due to increased renewable energy generation and distributed energy resources. In this environment, blockchain technology has become a promising tool to modernize energy markets and grid transactions. A blockchain is essentially a distributed digital ledger that securely records transactions without a central intermediary, enabling direct peer-to-peer exchanges and automated smart contracts. In recent years, many blockchain energy projects and pilot programs have tested applications such as local energy trading, real-time grid management through smart contracts, and tracking renewable energy credits.

Organizational self-awareness – the ability of a company to objectively understand its own strengths, weaknesses, and cultural realities – is often regarded as a "soft" attribute. In reality, it has tangible financial consequences. When an organization fails to see its own blind spots, it operates with a flawed self-perception, leading to strategic mistakes and missed signals. Research indicates that self-awareness is surprisingly rare: one large-scale study found that while 95% of people believe they're self-aware, only about 10–15% truly are. This gap between perception and reality can be costly for businesses. A lack of self-awareness acts as an unseen business risk, undermining decision-making and damaging performance in ways that may not be immediately obvious. As we will discuss, companies that foster honest introspection and acknowledge their blind spots gain a clear advantage—a kind of "return on self-awareness" that impacts the bottom line.

Across North America, system operations were seasonally calm with ample reserves and generally subdued prices, allowing markets to focus on structural changes. The week’s through‑line was market design and reliability reform: PJM approved capacity market adjustments, Texas authorities opened a civil inquiry into ERCOT, CAISO advanced a greenhouse‑gas accounting framework, SPP and its Markets+ program moved deeper into implementation, MISO addressed planning and interconnection issues, NYISO progressed winter reliability proposals, and Canadian operators (AESO, IESO) pushed forward on market redesigns and procurements.

Geothermal energy is gaining renewed interest as a reliable source of renewable power that can operate continuously. Traditionally, power plants relied only on rare hydrothermal reservoirs where hot water and permeability naturally coexist near the surface. Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) change that dynamic. By engineering reservoirs in hot, dry rock, EGS can harness underground heat sources far beyond conventional hotspots. The advances in drilling, federal support, private investment, and early field results have elevated EGS from a laboratory idea to a viable commercial option. For middle managers and executives developing dependable, decarbonized energy portfolios, EGS offers a trustworthy pathway to always-available, carbon-free power that complements variable renewable resources.

Legacy annual performance reviews are increasingly seen as outdated in talent management. Across U.S. and global boardrooms, executives are questioning the value of once-a-year appraisals that often cause anxiety but lead to little actionable improvement. In their place, a new approach of continuous performance management is emerging – one that focuses on real-time feedback, clear results, and data-driven fairness. Recent surveys show a widespread lack of trust in traditional review processes among both employees and managers, creating urgency for change. 

The week of October 11–17, 2025, was characterized by stability and preparation across North American power markets. Mild autumn weather led to moderate electricity demand, while strong renewable generation—especially wind in Texas and the Midwest, and solar in California—kept prices steady and operating reserves ample. No major reliability events occurred in any ISO or RTO. Market operators used the period to focus on policy and planning priorities such as transmission expansion, interconnection reform, and readiness for winter operations. FERC’s October 16 meeting supported this trend by reinforcing grid planning and interconnection reforms nationwide.

Hydrogen has long been promoted as a clean fuel capable of transforming the electric power industry and beyond. Specifically, green hydrogen produced using renewable energy-powered electrolyzers offers significant emissions reductions in sectors that are otherwise difficult to decarbonize. As utilities and energy firms embraced this vision, a remarkable surge of projects and plans emerged. Now, the industry faces a crossroads between potential and practicality. Economic challenges, technical obstacles, and shifting political landscapes have introduced new uncertainties.

In the early 2020s, generative artificial intelligence (AI) promised to transform knowledge work. The public release of large language models showed that machines could generate coherent text, code, and images at scale, sparking enthusiasm across industries. Organizations invested billions of dollars into AI pilots and exploration. However, a growing number of surveys and studies reveal that only a small portion of these projects deliver a measurable return on investment (ROI).