August is LIHEAP Action Month, an opportunity to highlight the federally funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which provides financial support to vulnerable households and families to cover heating and cooling and other energy related costs. Electric companies and state LIHEAP administrators partner to help families access this critical funding, and they are working together to streamline the process of identifying income eligible households. In this episode, EEI Vice Presi...
Aug 30, 2022•35 min•Ep. 47
This episode is the second part of our three-part series featuring the highlights of EEI 2022, our annual thought leadership forum. In this episode, you will hear conversations about topics including electric transportation, ESG, and cybersecurity featuring Michael Webber, Chief Technology Officer, Energy Impact Partners, and Josey Centennial Professor in Energy Resources at the University of Texas at Austin; EEI Director of Electric Transportation Kellen Schefter; Dan Hahn, Partner – Energy, Su...
Aug 25, 2022•57 min•Ep. 46
During EEI 2022, EEI’s annual thought leadership forum, we were honored to be joined by U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. This episode includes the EEI 2022 keynote discussion between Secretary Granholm and EEI Chair Warner Baxter, executive chairman of Ameren Corporation, during which they covered the path to a clean energy future, the technologies needed to meet our goals, today’s geopolitical and supply chain challenges, the importance of industry-government partnerships, and more. Rea...
Aug 03, 2022•31 min•Ep. 45
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on the West Virginia v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) case limited the authority of the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing stationary sources, like power plants. During this episode, EEI Deputy General Counsel of Clean Energy and Climate Alex Bond will lead a discussion with Emily Fisher, EEI general counsel and senior vice president of clean energy, and Maggie Peloso, partner at Vinson & Elkins, about how this case la...
Jul 29, 2022•41 min•Ep. 44
The electric power industry works with the government and the private sector to enhance grid security and to ensure vigilance in the face of evolving threats. As global supply chain challenges continue to impact industries, electric companies also are focused on ensuring they have the resources they need to deliver resilient clean energy to customers. In this episode, Bill Fehrman, President and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy and co-chair of the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council, and ...
Jul 05, 2022•30 min•Ep. 43
Electric companies are on the path to achieving a sustainable energy future by formulating goals into actions plans on reliability, diversification, risk management, and more. Where does reliability intersect with sustainability? How can stakeholders inform the path for a sustainable energy future? How can a company embrace a culture of continuous improvement and recognize workforce passion? Warner Baxter, Executive Chairman of Ameren Corporation and Vice Chairman of EEI joins this episode of El...
Jun 06, 2022•45 min•Ep. 42
EEI is proud to support the United for Infrastructure: Lead with Infrastructure campaign. Electric transmission infrastructure is the backbone of the nation’s energy grid and it will play an important role in facilitating the continued transition to clean energy. In this episode, Phil Moeller, EEI executive vice president of the business operations group and regulatory affairs, and Larry Gasteiger, executive director of WIRES, join us to discuss the challenges of building new transmission infras...
May 18, 2022•31 min•Ep. 41
Effective leadership and good communication are key to approaching resilience and the energy transition as electric companies navigate changes Companies are undertaking actions to meet employee expectations on flexibility and customer expectations on reliability, affordability, and risks. What approaches are necessary to communicate with customers? How has the pandemic evolved the way companies are conducting business? And how are electric companies leading on resilience? Bob Rowe, CEO of NorthW...
May 11, 2022•56 min•Ep. 40
Hurricane season is approaching fast and there already are severe and extreme drought conditions throughout the West that are raising the risk of wildfires. Electric companies undergo power restoration and business continuity planning year-round to prepare for emergencies, and now is the time for all of us to prepare for natural disasters and other emergencies that could cause power outages. In this episode, StormGeo Meteorologist Justin Petrutsas provides the forecast for this year’s hurricane ...
May 05, 2022•42 min•Ep. 39
EEI will join many around the world in celebrating Earth Day on April 22. In reality, every day is Earth Day for EEI’s member companies, and we are working to get the energy we provide as clean as we can as fast as we can, while maintaining the reliability and affordability that our customers value. In this episode, EEI Chairman and DTE Executive Chairman Gerry Anderson and Eric Grey, EEI’s vice president of government relations, discuss our support for the clean energy tax package pending in Co...
Apr 18, 2022•36 min•Ep. 38
In February 2021, EEI and its members worked with industry leaders and leading environmental groups to launch the Carbon-Free Technology Initiative (CFTI). The primary goal of CFTI is to identify and advocate for specific policies that can help to ensure the commercial availability of key technologies, so that they can be deployed in a timely manner to achieve net-zero emissions in the U.S. electric power sector and to ensure electricity remains affordable and reliable. In this episode, Jeff Lyn...
Apr 15, 2022•39 min•Ep. 37
March is Women’s History Month, and EEI honors and recognizes the achievements and contributions of women throughout the electric power industry. As our member companies make progress on their diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments, it’s important to create career pathways for employees that can lead to leadership opportunities. In this episode, EEI General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Senior Vice President of Clean Energy Emily Fisher speaks with Puget Sound Energy President and CEO ...
Mar 30, 2022•46 min•Ep. 36
EEI’s member companies are always finding innovative new ways to help their employees work safely and more efficiently. As they move toward a cleaner energy future, they also are finding ways to use these innovations to accelerate the deployment of clean energy. The AES Corporation announced its launch of Atlas, a first-of-its-kind solar installation robot that makes it faster, more efficient, and safer to construct new solar facilities. In today's episode, AES Next President Chris Shelton and A...
Mar 10, 2022•29 min•Ep. 35
The path to address climate change and further the energy transition is full of new information, ideas, and innovation. Processing this information and implementing these ideas requires collaborative effort and a shift in beliefs and behaviors. What can social network theory tell us to ensure successful spread of innovation? How can we drive behavioral change to keep pace with new ideas? And what does it mean to consider the width of a bridge in collaboration? Damon Centola, Author of Change: Ho...
Mar 03, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 34
EEI’s member companies are committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, in their companies and in the communities they are proud to serve. In late 2020, EEI launched an industry-wide DEI initiative to build on programs that were already underway at electric companies across the country. In this episode, we are joined by EEI Chief Human Resources Officer Courtney Peterson and EEI Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Transformation Todd Manuel to discuss our indus...
Feb 24, 2022•21 min•Ep. 33
In early February, executives from the Edison Electric Institute briefed Wall Street analysts, bankers, investors, and other industry stakeholders on the state of the U.S. electric power industry in New York City. Today's episode will feature a recap of the briefing, which featured presentations from Brian Wolff, EEI's Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President of Public Policy and External Affairs; Emily Fisher, EEI's General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Senior Vice President of C...
Feb 17, 2022•23 min•Ep. 32
In the race to net zero, electric companies are placing importance on diversifying fuel sources without compromising reliability. How can existing technologies today bring us closer to this goal? What is the future and viability of new fuel sources like hydrogen? And how can companies pursue new ideas while balancing current customer needs? Toshifumi Watanabe, President and CEO of J-POWER, joins this episode of Global Circuit. The Global Circuit is brought to you by EEI International Programs as...
Feb 14, 2022•24 min•Ep. 31
America’s electric companies are leading a clean energy transformation. They understand that we can’t just rely on any one clean energy technology; we will need every tool in the toolbox to achieve our clean energy goals. Hydrogen, in particular, will be a crucial clean energy resource of the carbon-free energy future. This episode focuses on the potential for hydrogen, and we are joined by Sandi Safro, EEI associate general counsel for energy and technology regulation, who dives into some of th...
Jan 27, 2022•35 min•Ep. 30
The reliability and resilience of the nation's energy grid are top priorities for the electric power industry. As the frequency and intensity of storms, wildfires, and other extreme weather events continue to increase, and as cyber-attacks become more sophisticated, increasing capital investment in adaptation, hardening, and resilience is vital. On today's episode, we'll hear from Richard McMahon, EEI’s senior vice president of Energy Supply and Finance, who will open the conversation by highlig...
Jan 13, 2022•33 min•Ep. 29
The sudden shift to working and learning from home during the pandemic highlighted the value of electricity, as well as the importance of affordable, reliable broadband. Millions of Americans are living in a “digital divide,” with limited or no access to reliable internet. Electric companies are well-positioned to help address the challenge of broadband inequity and are working to identify opportunities to leverage their fiber investments to provide middle-mile broadband infrastructure, in partn...
Dec 22, 2021•43 min•Ep. 28
In 2018, Xcel Energy became the first electric company in the United States to announce a vision to be carbon-free by 2050, including a goal of reducing emissions by 80% by 2030. How has the company supported its workforce through this clean energy transition, including workers from retired coal plants? What is Xcel Energy doing to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion within its workforce? And how is the company keeping customer needs and expectations at the heart of its strategy? Ben Fowke...
Dec 17, 2021•41 min•Ep. 27
The National Electric Highway Coalition (NEHC) is a collaboration among electric companies that are committed to providing electric vehicle (EV) fast charging stations that will allow the public to drive EVs with confidence along major U.S. travel corridors by the end of 2023. The NEHC is the largest such alliance of electric companies that have organized around the common goal of deploying EV fast charging infrastructure to support the growing number of EVs and to help ensure that the transitio...
Dec 15, 2021•45 min•Ep. 26
World leaders convened in Glasgow, Scotland, earlier this month to kick off the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26, six years after the Paris Agreement established a global framework to tackle climate change. EEI Executive Vice President Brian Wolff and executives from EEI member companies joined the U.S. delegation and environmental leaders to highlight the leadership of U.S. electric companies in reducing carbon emissions and the vital role that reliable, affordable, secure, an...
Nov 30, 2021•25 min•Ep. 25
As countries continue to develop and implement climate policy after COP26, how can we consider the complex, interconnected nature of our global systems in order to drive more effective change? What is the role of business leaders, governments, and citizens in the transition to a clean energy economy? And what are some of the disruptions or unexpected consequences of the energy transition? Dr. Roland Kupers, author of A Climate Policy Revolution: What the Science of Complexity Reveals About Savin...
Nov 17, 2021•51 min•Ep. 24
November 14-20 is International Fraud Awareness Week, and November 17 is Utility Scams Awareness Day. EEI’s member electric companies will join other utilities to raise customer awareness of imposter utility scams and ways to stop them with the help of Utilities United Against Scams (UUAS), a consortium of nearly 150 U.S. and Canadian electric, water, and natural gas utilities (and their respective trade associations). UUAS provides a forum that enables utilities and their trade associations to ...
Nov 10, 2021•34 min•Ep. 23
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which makes this a great time to learn more about how America’s electric companies are working to protect the energy grid from increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. On this episode, we first are joined by Manoj Chouthai, Vice President, IT Engineering, Operations, and Cybersecurity at Con Edison, to discuss how electric companies manage cybersecurity risk and the value of partnering with industry and government stakeholders to enhance our collective ...
Oct 28, 2021•29 min•Ep. 22
Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) – more commonly known as drones – are increasingly helpful tools that support a range of electric company operations, including power line and power plant inspections, power restoration and recovery efforts, and much more. On this episode of Electric Perspectives, EEI’s Emily Fisher is joined by Eric Schwartz, Manager of Technology and Innovation at Florida Power and Light, and Eileen Lockhart, UAS Program Manager at Xcel Energy, to discuss the sky-high potential ...
Oct 12, 2021•40 min•Ep. 20
The electric power industry has a long history of serving communities around the world, innovating business practices as technology evolves, and sharing lessons learned with the international community. What have electric companies learned from recent extreme weather events? How can we increase access to affordable and reliable electricity around the world? And what are some potential barriers to the net zero goals being set by countries and companies as we approach COP26? Nick Akins, Chairman, ...
Oct 07, 2021•59 min•Ep. 21
This week is National Drive Electric Week, and we are highlighting the substantial investments America’s electric companies are making in customer programs and charging infrastructure to accelerate electric transportation and the adoption of electric vehicles. On this episode of Electric Perspectives, EEI’s Director of Electric Transportation Kellen Schefter is joined by Kate Staples, Manager of Electrification at Dominion Energy; Dan Francis, Director of Customer Solutions and Policy at America...
Sep 30, 2021•37 min•Ep. 19
The energy transition calls for new approaches in communicating with customers, policymakers, regulators, and other stakeholders. How do we communicate complex ideas? How can we foster collaboration and innovation through communication? And what lessons from nature can help guide human communications? Communications specialist and biomimicry practitioner Michaela Emch joins this episode of the Electric Perspectives Global Circuit, recorded in July 2021. Michaela is the author of From Nature’s Mo...
Sep 29, 2021•53 min•Ep. 18
