In a LIVE! recording at GridLiance’s 2024 Transmission Symposium, Crystal Ball hosts a competition between Mark Nelson and Emeka Anyanwu to determine the most creative prognosticator of energy headlines for 2025.

The episode is un-edited and available on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. A video recording is also available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ABUXJsdjbBc

It’s a special “afterparty” edition, since it was recorded after the party of special significance commemorating the season and series finale. Thanks for staying subscribed. There may be more afterparties in the future. Stay connected at publicpowerunderground.substack.com

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

[recorded August 28, 2024] Tony Reames and Salma Elmallah discuss their work and research on energy justice in a special episode recorded after the season and series finale.

In a much anticipated episode recorded on August 28, 2024, Dr. Tony Reames and Dr. Salma Elmallah join Paul Dockery and Dr. Ahlmahz Negash to discuss their paper on frontlining energy justice.

Elmallah, S., Reames, T.G. and Spurlock, C.A., 2022. Frontlining energy justice: Visioning principles for energy transitions from community-based organizations in the United States. Energy Research & Social Science, 94, p.102855.

The episode is audio-only and un-edited available on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s a special “afterparty” edition, since it was recorded after the party of special significance commemorating the season and series finale. Thanks for staying subscribed. There’s at least one more of the after-party episodes.

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

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Rich Glick initiated the proceedings that led to Order 1920 as Chair of FERC, he returns to Public Power Underground with experts Prof. Jacob Mays and Pamela Quinlan to reflect on its adoption

--------------------

Paul Dockery and Crystal Ball bring their curiosity to an in-depth discussion of transmission planning, transmission investment, and transmission policy with Rich Glick, Pamela Quinlan, and Prof. Jacob Mays.

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share with friends that are energy enthusiasts, like us!

08:48 - Rich, What were you hoping for?

• FERC 2022 - 2026 Strategic Plan
• Joint Federal-State Task Force on Electric Transmission

32:33 - Pamela, Does this do what you wanted?

• Building for the Future Through Electric Regional Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation
• High-Level Summary of FERC Order No. 1920 on Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation published by Troutman Pepper (h/t Adrienne Thompson)
• “Plan for the future with the best available information, select the best plan for consumers and allocate costs according to benefits" - Rob Gramlich on Volts

1:05:15 - Jacob, What is missing?

• Shu, H. and Mays, J., 2024. Transmission Benefits and Cost Allocation under Ambiguity. arXiv preprint arXiv:2403.14803.

1:15:48 - Rich Glick’s Energy System Analogy: The energy transition is like the 1973 Mets.

1:17:55 - Jacob Mays’s Energy System Analogy: The 2005 Royals, never say it can’t get worse.

1:19:09 - Pamela Quinlan’s Energy System Analogy: The energy transition is like Game of Thrones.

BONUS: Ke Xin (Sherry) Zuo, a PhD candidate at Cornell University in the Mays Group, provided her reflections onTaylor Swift’s newest album, The Tortured Poets Department, and its application to the Power System. My (Paul’s) favorite: the brilliant insight that “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” is actually about how the power grid has to be resilient during forced outages and extreme weather events. 

About the guests:

Rich Glick is a Principal with GQ New Energy Strategies – a consulting firm he co-founded with Pamela Quinlan. Rich is a former Chair of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). As Chair, Rich initiated several reforms to more efficiently and cost effectively accommodate the evolution of the electric grid. Before being appointed to FERC, Rich was General Counsel for the Democrats on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He has worked for Iberdrola, PPM Energy and PacifiCorp and is also known in the West for his current work with the Committee on Regional Electric Power Cooperation (CREPC) Western States Transmission Initiative (WSTI) and CREPC Transmission Collaborative (TC). Rich’s prior appearance on Public Power Underground can be found below.

Pamela Quinlan co-founded GQ New Energy Strategies with Rich. She is an expert in energy market regulation and policy. She started at FERC as a Senior Energy Industry Analyst in the Office of Energy Market Regulation. In 2017 Quinlan went to work in then-commissioner Glick’s office as a Technical Advisor and was appointed Chief of Staff in January 2021. As Chief of Staff, she was responsible for developing and implementing the strategy behind the Commission’s policy initiatives. Before leaving FERC in 2023, Quinlan advised Chair Willie Phillips on Energy Markets and Resource Adequacy. She has also worked for Consolidated Edison (ConEd) and Standard and Poor’s.

Prof. Jacob Mays is an Assistant Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University where his research focuses on the design and analysis of electricity markets. Jacob holds an AB in chemistry and physics from Harvard University, a MEng in energy systems from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a PhD in industrial engineering and management sciences from Northwestern University. His seminal work (Paul is editorializing by describing it as seminal) on the sequential pricing of electricity was the subject of a stand-alone episode on Season 5 of Public Power Underground, and his collaborations with Jesse Jenkins, Farhad Billimoria, and Rahmat Poudineh have informed our listeners perspectives on electric markets under deep decarbonization. Jacob’s prior appearances on Public Power Underground can be found below.

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

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It’s Be Curious! not judgmental week! on Public Power Underground! We had a great conversation with Energy Northwest’s Greg Cullen about all their non-CGS, got a special guest interview by EWEB’s Matt Schroettnig of BPA’s Crystal Ball, and covered a bunch of other fun public-power and public-power adjacent topics.

Arin Reports (01:55), Energy Northwest news with their Vice President for Energy Services and Development, Greg Cullen (05:15), Checking on the California Duck Curve (23:20), EWEB sponsored content in Eugene Weekly about Electric Vehicles (25:50), Clark’s Lena Wittler and Seattle’s Debra Smith profiles in Public Power Current (26:37), Special, crossover podcast w/ APPA’s Public Power Now promo trailer (27:31), Biden administration’s infrastructure plan to bring broadband to all Americans (29:09), Special Salmon War Correspondent, Matt Schroettnig, interviews BPA’s Director of Fish & Wildlife, Crystal Ball (30:08), Debrief of Northwest River Forecast Center’s water supply briefing (45:13), BREAKING NEWS: The Power Department is hiring!!! (46:47)

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

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In a special, crossover podcast the host of APPA's Public Power Now, Paul Ciampoli, and Public Power Underground's Paul Dockery interview APPA's Vice President of Strategic Member Engagement & Education, Ursula Schryver, about APPA's upcoming National Conference.

https://www.publicpower.org/public-power-now 

https://www.publicpower.org/event/national-conference 

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It’s Best and Brightest Week! on Public Power Underground! We have two guest co-hosts (NRU’s Megan Stratman and Clatskanie PUD’s own Sarah Johnson) and a special celebrity guest star (Libby Calnon) participate in the show where we debut a brand new public-power-adjacent show on Slummin’ w/ the Underground. I force the guest co-hosts to read ad copy I’ve written to recruit to public power. Don’t miss the great ad copy, great content, and great conversation about hiring, jobs, and recruiting for jobs in public power.

Arin Reports (03:49), Electric rate design news from Tacoma Power (06:35), Guest News from NWPCC’s John Ollis on the 2021 Power Plan (08:42), Status update on BPA’s BP-22 Rate Case (13:51), Hydro-generation update (16:56), 30 second summary of our SPP Market+ episode (18:34), Slummin’ w/ the Underground: Best and Brightest Edition with Hood River Electric Cooperative’s Libby Calnon where we talk about recruiting new people to public power jobs (20:44)

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

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SPP agreed to sit down for an interview to talk about the Market+ concept they unveiled at the March 4th Members Forum. It’s the centerpiece of this, bonus, episode of Public Power Underground – Premium!. Bookending the discussion with SPP’s Steve Johnson are conversations with public power professionals from the region to provide context. PPC’s Mike Linn sets the stage for why markets matter to Northwest public power (01:32), SPP’s Steve Johnson joins Public Power Underground as a refresher on the Market+ concept (21:47), Humaira Falkenberg (Pacific County PUD), Lauren Tenney Denison (PPC), and Robert Cromwell (Seattle City Light) join to debrief and digest the concept from a Northwest public power perspective (50:31), UPSET ALERT: The Public Power Underground Anadromous Championship Belt for the Best Friend of the Underground, Because they Keep Coming Back HAS BEEN CLAIMED (01:31:24).

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

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It’s One Year! on Public Power Underground! We don’t do any run downs of what happened a year ago, instead we have a Ted Lasso inspired pep talk to start the episode (01:14). There is a visual bit at the end of the pep talk, so you might check out that portion on youtube. Then we got to work! We have an interview with Tacoma’s Clay Norris about CAISO’s EDAM process (16:55), talk electrification with EWEB’s Megan Capper (34:56), and cover lots of other public power and public-power-adjacent news. 

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

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It’s Friends and Neighbors Week on Public Power Underground! The crew was VERY LOOSE this week with a lot of spring sunshine vibes going on. I think you’ll really enjoy the banter, and the content. We got a guest lede from Clearing Up’s KC Mehaffey about an article she wrote (23:03), got to talk to PPC’s Executive Director, Scott Simms, about virtual events and remote work (26:17), and PPC’s Lauren Tenney Denison returned to talk about PPC's Special Meeting Series with BPA on Potential Resource Adequacy Program Participation (38:53).

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

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In a special, bonus, episode the Underground tackles The Scourge of Seasonal Time Change. Joining the Underground to tackle the issue is the Executive Director of the Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee (PNUCC), Shauna McReynolds, the Power Resource Manager for PUD No 2 of Pacific County, Humaira Falkenberg, and the Executive Director of the Northwest Public Power Association (NWPPA), Scott Corwin.   

We manage to have great banter while doing a deep-dive into the practice of transitioning between Standard Time and Daylight Saving Time twice a year in an even less serious, more-happy-hour-ish version of Public Power Underground we’re calling Public Power Underground - after dark.  

Public Service Announcement: It is with no pleasure I remind everyone that Daylight Saving Time begins at 2am this Sunday, March 14th, 2021 when clock time will jump from 1:59am to 3:00am skipping an entire hour, costing us an hour of sleep, and screwing up circadian rhythms.  

Also Public Service Announcement: Scott wants everybody to head over to NWPPA's website to sign up for the E&O conference. Do me a favor and help him out! https://www.nwppa.org/training-and-education/conferences/eo/

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

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We’re Breaking News this week on Public Power Underground! Arin Reports (03:04), APPA's profile of women in high-voltage trades (06:06), RMG Financials’ Reid Grossman joins to talk about counterparty credit in the aftermath of the winter freeze event (07:19), Debrief from BPA’s IRP 2 Workshop (23:03), Idaho Power’s Customer Growth (25:52), Guest Lede by PPC’s Aaron Bush on the March 1stPublic Power / BPA Carbon Forum (32:18), Debrief from the NWRFC’s Water Supply Briefing (32:40), Snohomish County PUD’s Brian Booth joins to talk electric rates (34:20), BREAKING NEWS: SPP unveils Markets+ concept at PPC Members Forum w/ special guest lede by PPC’s Lauren Tenney Denison (46:44), BREAKING NEWS: Public Power Underground unveils the Anadromous Championship Belt (49:24).

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

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It’s Use Your Illusions of Choice week on Public Power Underground! We’re excited to be joined by a slew of celebrities of the region this week to spice things up. Karen Heim joined as a guest co-host, (07:02) Matt Schroettnig interviews Bo Downen about the Simpson Concept, (32:52) Greg Mendonca talks about the NW Power Pool’s Resource Adequacy program, and (43:44) Kurt Miller does a special guest readout about NOAA Fisheries Science Center’s recent report.

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

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Power markets are a hot topic this week, and we didn’t shy away from diving into the conversation. It’s Extreme Weather and Extreme Adventurer week on Public Power Underground! On the first half of the episode we’re serious (for us) as we talk about Northwest power markets (02:34), have Ansergy’s Mike Griswold on to talk about next week’s market outlook (05:14), debrief on the current state of the extreme weather events (13:03), and cover some other northwest public power news (16:00). The second half (18:10) we loosen up with NRU’s John Francisco on this month’s edition of “Slummin’ with the Underground”.

We'll be back next week on February 25th to talk more about northwest public-power and public-power-adjacent topics. Get on the email list at publicpowerunderground.substack.com

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

Conleigh, Farhad, Ahlmahz, and Paul debrief on coverage of FERC Order 1920 then discuss resource adequacy, hedging tail risk, and preview business capability models.

Ahlmahz Negash, Conleigh Byers, and Farhad Billimoria scan news stories after FERC’s release of Order 1920, then Conleigh Byers explains Resource adequacy, and Farhad Billimoria explains Hedging & Tail Risk in Electricity Markets.

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share with friends that are energy enthusiasts, like us!

03:17 - Short-to-Ground (FERC Order 1920 Edition)

• On May 13th the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a sweeping long-term transmission planning and cost-allocation rule aimed at modernizing the grid
• In the Special Transmission Reform Meeting, Chair Willie Phillips said the U.S. faces "an unprecedented surge in demand for affordable electricity while confronting extreme weather threats to the reliability of our grid and trying to stay one step ahead of the massive technological changes we are seeing in our society."
• FERC is helping to pave the way for a much-needed investment in our transmission infrastructure
• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s fact sheet for Order 1920 states that the grid rule contains five major elements:
  1. Requirement to conduct and periodically update long-term transmission planning to anticipate future needs.
  2. Requirement to consider a broad set of benefits when planning new facilities.
  3. Requirement to identify opportunities to modify in-kind replacement of existing transmission facilities to increase their transfer capability, known as “right-sizing.”
  4. Customers pay only for projects from which they benefit.
  5. Expands states’ pivotal role throughout the process of planning, selecting, and determining how to pay for transmission facilities.
• “Landmark transmission reform could dramatically speed US energy transition”
• Large Public Power Council’s president, John Di Stasio’s, written statement
• Americans for a Clean Energy Grid’s Executive Director, Christina Hayes, applauded FERC for finalizing a, quote, “strong and comprehensive regional planning and cost allocation rule.”
• Spot market power in the U.S.
• Wholesale spot prices for the National Electricity Market (NEM)
• Energy Information Administration’s Natural Gas Weekly Update

41:03 - Hedging and Tail Risk in Electricity Markets By: Farhad Billimoria , Jacob Mays , Rahmat Poudineh

Abstract: A concern persistent in scarcity-based market designs for electricity over many years has been the illiquidity of markets for long-term contracts to hedge away volatile price exposures between generators and consumers. These missing markets have been attributed to a range of factors including retailer creditworthiness, market structure and the lack of demand side interest from consumers. Using a stochastic equilibrium model and insights from insurance theory, we demonstrate the inherent challenges of hedging a legacy thermal portfolio that is dominated by volatile fat-tailed commodities with significant tail dependence. Under such conditions the price required for generators to provide such hedges can be multiples of the expected value of prices. Our key insight is that when the real-world constraints of credit and financing are considered, the volatility of thermal fuels and their co-dependence under extremes may be a key reason as to why electricity markets have been incomplete in terms of long-term hedging contracts. Counterintuitively, in the context of the energy transition, our results show that, ceteris paribus, increasing the penetration of low carbon resources like wind, solar and energy storage, can add tail-diversity and improve contractability.

22:16 - The Future of Resource Adequacy in a Decarbonized Grid w/ Conleigh Byers

Conleigh Byers Resource Adequacy Harvard Energy Policy Seminar 25 4.93MB ∙ PDF file DownloadDownload

1:02:23 - Institutions in the electric sector are evolving like the eras of Taylor Swift, but are their business models evolving with them?

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

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It’s EVs and Great Stories week on Public Power Underground! This week we were joined by D&R International’s Sr. Director Electric Transportation, John Morris to talk about what electric vehicle manufacturers have in store for us(10:24), and we got an Oral History of the Energy News Digest (25:41) from Joel Myer (it’s Publisher) and Sarah Johnson (Clatskanie PUD’s Customer Relations & Services Manager).

As always we started by covering northwest market indicators with Arin Reports (04:02) and cover other public power and public-power-adjacent news on Public Power Desktop (08:51).

04:02 - Arin Reports08:51 - Public Power Desktop10:24 – John Morris on EVs25:41 – An Oral History of the Energy News Digest w/ Joel Myer and Sarah Johnson48:56 - Plug-Pass promo

We’re on most podcast apps, including apple and spotify.We’re recording the next episode February 18th, 2021, and have a special guest appearance scheduled by, Friend-of-the-Underground, NRU’s John Francisco who has agreed to answer deeply personal and occasionally inappropriate questions knowing full well we’re going to be incredibly judgmental of his answers in a popular segment we like to call “Slummin’ w/ the Underground”.

Get on the email list at publicpowerunderground.substack.com

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It’s It Takes a Process week on Public Power Underground! This week we were joined by Snohomish County PUD’s Manager of Power Supply, Garrison Marr to talk about IRPs, and returning champion, Friend of the Underground, and Rates and Policy Director for NRU, Megan Stratman to talk about revenue financing in BP-22. And in true Public Power Underground fashion, we’re debuting a brand new innovation in Northwest Public Power infotainment: Zoom Duels!



02:40 - Arin Reports; 07:30 - Public Power Desktop; 10:24 – Garrison Marr on IRPs; 25:41 – Megan Stratman on Revenue Financing; 38:39 – Zoom Duel!: Ranting Power Manager vs. Banjulele Virtuoso; 42:40 - Plug-Pass promo

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It’s Coalition of the Willing week on Public Power Underground! This week we were joined by BPA’s Rachel Dibble to talk about Resource Adequacy and PNGC’s Roger Gray to talk about a investigating a Northwest RTO/ISO.  As always we started by covering northwest market indicators with Arin Reports and cover other public power and public-power-adjacent news on Public Power Desktop.

05:03 - Arin Reports; 09:35 - Public Power Desktop; 10:46 – Roger Gray on Northwest RTO/ISO; 28:16 – Rachel Dibble on Resource Adequacy; 47:04 - Plug-Pass promo

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 Breach-Ladder-Repower week on Public Power Underground! This week we were joined by PPC’s Karen Heim on a re-vamped version of Slummin’ w/ the Underground where we had a lot of fun and toned down the overall seriousness we’ve gotten into with Public Power Underground.

As always we started by covering northwest market indicators with Arin Reports and cover other public power and public-power-adjacent news on Public Power Desktop.

02:21 - Arin Reports

05:48 - Public Power Desktop

09:23 – Slummin’ w/ the Underground

42:14 - Plug-Pass promo



Public Power Underground is as a northwest public power info-tainment series that began as awkward forced fun time for the Power Department 44 weeks ago when we altered our work arrangements at the start of an ongoing pandemic and has evolved into a coping mechanism to stay connected and informed about what’s happening in the industry.

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It’s Resource Adequacy week on Public Power Underground! This week we were joined by Susan Ackerman to talk about the Northwest Power Pool’s Resource Adequacy program, Mark Ohrenschall to talk about NewsData’s upcoming webinar on Electric resource Adequacy in California and the West, and lastly by Mike Linn to talk about CAISO’s Summer 2021 readiness initiatives.

It was a fun week of banter while covering important topics, as always we started by covering northwest market indicators with Arin Reports and cover other public power and public-power-adjacent news on Public Power Desktop.

02:38 - Arin Reports

06:34 - Public Power Desktop

08:51 - Susan Ackerman joins to talk about NWPP’s RA program

21:52 - Mark Ohrenschall joins to talk about NewsData’s upcoming webinar

30:26 - Mike Linn joins to talk about CAISO’s readiness initiative

39:53 - Plug-Pass promo

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

Public Power Underground is a pandemic diversion written, edited, and published by the Power Department. We cover Northwest public power and public-power-adjacent news with occasional special guest correspondents to talk about regional topics.



In this week’s episodes we stuck to the basics: covering northwest market indicators with Arin Reports and running through public power and public-power-adjacent news on Public Power Desktop.

02:33 - Arin Reports

05:54 - Public Power Desktop

18:58 - Plug-Pass promo

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Apoorv Bhargava discusses his work at WeaveGrid optimizing electric vehicle charging within distribution systems. The interview is wrapped by context and insights from the regular hosts: Ahlmahz Negash, Conleigh Byers, Farhad Billimoria, and Paul Dockery.

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share with friends that are energy enthusiasts, like us!

01:21 - 30 seconds of Theory

• Farhad Billimoria on Distribution System Operators (DSOs)
• Conleigh Byers on Transactive Energy
• Ahlmahz Negash on the Energy Equity Gap

10:28 - Apoorv Bhargava on WeaveGrid and the Grid

53:38 - Apoorv Bhargava’s analogy; the electric grid is like a well stocked bar

1:00:27 - Updating our Priors

• Fred Scweppe: Power systems `2000': hierarchical control strategies
• Paul Joskow & Richard Schmalensee: Markets for Power

1:20:24 - Community Planning as Energy Planning

• We Need to Make Cities Less Car-Dependent, Scientific American, 2024
• Car harm: A global review of automobility's harm to people and the environment, Journal of Transport Geography, 2024

1:28:20 - ESA World Cup Standings

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

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Katherine Blunt joins Crystal Ball and Paul Dockery to discuss her reporting at the Wall Street Journal on the energy industry and her book, California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric--and What It Means for America's Power Grid.

Matthew Schroettnig joins Conleigh Byers, Farhad Billimoria, and Paul Dockery for the rest of the episode to cover utility risks, load growth, and the current landscape of America’s power grid.

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share with friends that are energy enthusiasts, like us!

03:13 - Short-to-Ground; a segment where we blow a fuse covering the news

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a suite of standards to cut greenhouse gas emissions as well as toxic air pollution, water pollution, and land contamination from fossil fuel plants
• Bureau of Land Management (BLM) updated regulations on Broadband Authorization, Cost Recovery, and Vegetation Management for Fire Risk Management
• Letter from twenty-six entities from across the West to the Southwest Power Pool expressing interest in continuing the development of Markets+
• Portland General Electric is seeking approval for a new, 7.4 mile, 115 KV transmission line
• Spot market power in the U.S.
• Wholesale spot prices for the National Electricity Market (NEM)
• Energy Information Administration’s Natural Gas Weekly Update
• Hedging and Tail Risk in Electricity Markets

18:39 - Katherine Blunt joins Crystal Ball and Paul Dockery to discuss her reporting at the Wall Street Journal on the energy industry and her book, California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric--and What It Means for America's Power Grid

• California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric--and What It Means for America's Power Grid
• Wildfires Make Utilities a Tricky Investment. Just Ask Warren Buffett.
• Big Tech’s Latest Obsession Is Finding Enough Energy

49:13 - Katherine Blunt’s analogy; the grid is like a network of roads and highways

51:08 - Updating our Priors

1:07:20 - ESA (Energy System Analogies) World Cup Standings

1:08:11 - Matt Schroettnig’s analogy; electricity is like water in a biome

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

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Dr. Kyri Baker, an assistant professor of engineering at the University of Colorado, makes a return visit to discuss the use of artificial intelligence for power grid optimization. Plus, Conleigh Byers, Farhad Billimoria, Ahlmahz Negash, and Paul Dockery wrap the interview with an explanation of AI and all its acronyms.

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share with friends that are energy enthusiasts, like us!

01:19 - 30 second theory

• Farhad Billimoria on “What is OPF?”
• Conleigh Byers on “What’s the difference between artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), Deep Learning, Physics Informed Neural Networks (PINN), Large Language Models (LLM), generative AI, and general intelligence?”

14:28 - Dr. Kyri Baker: Using AI and Machine Learning for Power Grid Optimization

• Using AI and Machine Learning for Power Grid Optimization: How Neural Networks Can Speed Up Optimal Power Flow
• Baker, Kyri. "Emulating ac opf solvers with neural networks." IEEE Transactions on Power Systems 37.6 (2022): 4950-4953.
• Baker, Kyri, and Harsha Gangammanavar. "Locational Marginal Prices Obey DC Circuit Laws." arXiv preprint arXiv:2403.19032 (2024).

1:06:14 - Updating our Priors

• Chatzivasileiadis, Spyros, et al. "Machine learning in power systems: Is it time to trust it?." IEEE Power and Energy Magazine 20.3 (2022): 32-41. APA

1:23:26 - ESA (Energy System Analogies) World Cup Standings

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

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photo credit Carl Bower for The New York Times

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Katherine Blunt, author of California Burning, joins Crystal Ball and Paul Dockery to discuss the eras of the electric sector (Taylor's Version).

To celebrate Taylor Swift’s April 19th release of The Tortured Poets Department (and Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology), Katherine Blunt, Crystal Ball, and Paul Dockery recorded a special, bonus, episode dedicated to the Eras of the Electric Sector.

Katherine Blunt is the author of California Burning; The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric--and What It Means for America's Power Grid which is the most approachable introduction to the history of the electric sector ever published! The book interprets, unpacks, and conveys the complex history of Pacific Gas & Electric, and, through it, provides an introduction to the history of the electric sector as well. Katherine Blunt joined Crystal Ball and Paul Dockery for an interview that’ll be part of an upcoming, regular, episode of Public Power Underground, but while we were together we took some time to record a discussion of the sector’s history.

In the recording (and attached 20 slide power point) Katherine, Crystal, and Paul explore the history of the electric sector and Pacific Gas & Electric through Taylor Swift’s discography.

The exploration answers the age old question of what electric sector milestone Taylor Swift wrote “You Belong With Me” about. And, because you know it’s what you wanted, there’s an official Eras of the Electric Sector Spotify playlist.

Yes, my wife and I share a Spotify account. And, yes, my whole family contributed to the playlist including the additions, modification, and resorting of songs like “The Last Great American Dynasty” starting the Efficiency Era instead of “Cardigan” and the addition of Jimmy Carter’s sweater speech as an electric sector milestone. But, no, we didn’t get a preview of The Tortured Poets Department to include songs from the new album in the playlist. 

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share with friends that are energy 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

exploration of approaches to distribution systems from microcontrollers and software to MOAR HARDWARE

Distribution infrastructure, microcontrollers in everything, hardware vs software solutions, and prices-to-devices get covered in a distribution systems episode with Ahlmahz Negash, Conleigh Byers, Farhad Billimoria, and Paul Dockery featuring an interview with the enthusiastic Francis Sammy! A discussion that manages to navigate the nuances of MOAR HARDWARE as an actionable energy transition strategy while articulating the benefit of deploying smart, controllable, and price-responsive devices.

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share with friends that are energy enthusiasts, like us!

01:18 - 30 second theory

• Schweppe, Fred C., et al. Spot pricing of electricity. Springer Science & Business Media, 2013.
• Schweppe, Fred C. "Power systems2000': hierarchical control strategies." IEEE spectrum 15.7 (1978): 42-47.

08:59 - Short-to-Ground; a segment where we blow a fuse covering the news

• The Major Drivers of Long-term Distribution Transformer Demand
• Cybersecurity baselines for both electric distribution systems and distributed energy resources (DER)
• Portland-based GridStor announced its acquisition of a planned 450-MW/900-MWh lithium-ion battery storage installation
• The National Renewable Energy Lab recently released a report studying the economics of building long-distance, high-voltage transmission lines
• Spot market power in the U.S.
• Wholesale spot prices for the National Electricity Market (NEM)
• Energy Information Administration’s Natural Gas Weekly Update

23:21 - Francis Sammy provides a practitioner perspective on distribution systems and the energy transition

Francis Sammy is a licensed professional engineer that works as the supervisor of the Systems Distribution Engineering workgroup for Seattle City Light. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, studied electrical engineering at Howard University, and works on distribution systems for Seattle. Francis lives in Beacon Hill with his family of 3 and says you can find him riding around town on his bike, vibing out at a concert, laboring up the basketball court, or sliding down a mountain face first.

54:06 - Francis Sammy’s analogy; the grid is like an old, reliable car

56:38 - Updating our priors

1:17:55 - ESA (Energy System Analogies) World Cup Standings

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

John Hairston returns to discuss what BPA is doing to navigate an era of transmission expansion for the grid.

John Hairston, the CEO and Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration, shares his enthusiasm for transmission and people in an interview with Paul Dockery and Crystal Ball. The interview is wrapped in informative discussion on energy industry news, research, and reflection by Ahlmahz Negash, Conleigh Byers, Farhad Billimoria, and Paul Dockery.

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share with friends that are energy enthusiasts, like us!

01:36 - How transmission is addressed in seminal texts

• Power System Economics: Designing Markets for Electricity by Steven Stoft 
• Imperfect Markets and Imperfect Regulation: An Introduction to the Microeconomics and Political Economy of Power Markets by Thomas-Olivier Léautier

05:23 - Short-to-Ground; a segment where we blow a fuse covering the news.

• Wednesday February 28th the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission hosted the eighth public meeting of the Joint Federal-State Task Force on Electric Transmission
• Rob Gramlich and his team at GridStrategies released a report in February titled “Fostering collaboration would help build needed transmission”
• Utility Dive published an opinion piece by Will Kenworthy and Boratha Tan titled “Advancing energy justice: A new paradigm in grid equity and reliability analysis”
• The Bonneville Power Administration identified 14 new transmission projects costing an estimated $3.9 billion in its 2023 TSR Study and Expansion Process
• The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC or Commission) has released a draft determination on a 'flexible trading' rule
• The Western Transmission Expansion Coalition announced the members of its Regional Engagement Committee
• Spot market power in the U.S.
• Wholesale spot prices for the National Electricity Market (NEM)
• Energy Information Administration’s Natural Gas Weekly Update

17:17 - John Hairston’s interview with special-correspondent Crystal Ball

41:00 - John Hairston’s analogy; the electric system is like golf
45:24 - Crystal Ball’s analogy; the electric sector is evolving like the eras of Taylor Swift
1:17:33 - Updating our priors

• Risanger, Simon, and Jacob Mays. "Congestion risk, transmission rights, and investment equilibria in electricity markets." The Energy Journal 45.1 (2024). 
• Baker, Erin, et al. "Who is marginalized in energy justice? Amplifying community leader perspectives of energy transitions in Ghana." Energy Research & Social Science 73 (2021): 101933.

1:15:22 - ESA (Energy System Analogies) World Cup Standings

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

Conleigh, Farhad, Ahlmahz, and Paul start season six with a discussion of ways to understand the energy system and analogies that can be used to explore its complications

Conleigh Byers, Farhad Billimoria, Ahlmahz Negash, and Paul Dockery discuss various ways of understanding the energy system in the Season 6 Premiere of Public Power Underground. The episode starts with “Short-to-Ground,” a TL;DR segment where the hosts run through summaries of topical news from around the world and then have a short discussion of trends in the industry. Paul then introduces the ground rules for a season-spanning Energy System Analogies World Cup tournament. Lastly, the hosts discuss analogies for the energy system for consideration by future guests on Season 6. 

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share with friends that are energy enthusiasts, like us!

04:17 - Promotion for Conleigh’s upcoming presentation for the Harvard Kennedy School’s Energy Policy Seminar: “The Future of Resource Adequacy in a Decarbonized Grid" - March 25, 2024 - Register with the link

06:54 - Short-to-Ground; a segment where we blow a fuse covering the news.

• Increased EV-Charging Demand and Changing Load Profile Underscore Need for Cross-Sector Collaboration
• Utilities, EV charging companies must collaborate to avoid bulk power system disruptions: NERC
• Another tower collapse poses more questions about transmission
• Preliminary Thoughts after Preliminary Report: A few early thoughts following the release of the AEMO Preliminary Report into the recent Victorian power system event.
• Industry to drive tripling of natural gas consumption in India by 2050
• ISO-NE recommends capacity market reforms
• ISO New England proposes capacity market changes, further 2-year delay for upcoming auction
• CAISO Postpones New Interconnection Requests Due to High Volume

27:57 - 2024 ENERGY SYSTEM ANALOGIES WORLD CUP

33:04 - The electric sector is like the human body

37:00 - The electric sector is like a water catchment and irrigation system

44:30 - The electric sector is like back country skiiing

49:38 - Electric utilities function like a P-I-D controller for the energy system

59:43 - The electric sector is like air

01:01:20 - The electric sector is like the Mumbai dabbawala tiffin service

01:06:03 - The electric sector is like a game of twister

01:08:59 - Ways of understanding the energy system are like moral theories for right action

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

The next season of Public Power Underground is coming soon with a new format and new regular hosts. Subscribe to make sure you don't miss the season premiere!

After a short break, Public Power Underground is coming back for its sixth season of energy enthusiasm! This season Paul Dockery and Ahlmahz Negash will be joined by world-renowned energy researchers Conleigh Byers and Farhad Billimoria to investigate energy industry and energy-industry-adjacent topics by bringing together expert insights with practitioner perspectives. 

The episode format for Public Power Underground has evolved for Season 6, which will include a new, season-spanning energy-inspired game. Tune in for the season premiere for more.

Season 6 Contributors
Paul Dockery is a Senior Manager of Energy Resource Strategy & Planning for Seattle City Light and the Creative Director of Public Power Underground. 

Ahlmahz Negash is a Principal Data Analyst for Tacoma Power, an energy system researcher, and Executive Producer of Public Power Underground.

Conleigh Byers is an Environmental Fellow at the Harvard University Center for the Environment based at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She uses tools from operations research, electrical engineering, and economics to design decarbonized energy systems, with a focus on power systems operations and planning. Her current research focuses on achieving resource adequacy under deep decarbonization, hosted by Professor William Hogan. She holds a doctorate in Electrical Engineering from ETH Zürich and a dual masters in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Technology & Policy from MIT.

Farhad Billimoria is the Director, Electricity Markets for S&P Global and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. He has previously served as a Principal in Market Design at the Australian Energy Market Operator and has a background in international infrastructure and energy finance, investment and capital markets.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Electron
During the Season 5 Finale, friend-of-the-underground Jordan White referenced the buildout of transmission infrastructure as a “Sisterhood of the Traveling Electron”. As an enthusiast of both romantic comedies and electric utilities, the cross-over merch idea was too perfect to pass up. After-all, just like the magical pants from the early-aughts classic The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, transmission keeps us connected across distances during tough transitions.

Public Power Underground doesn’t have a storefront to sell merch anymore, but there is a feature where I can share a design for others to order from Printful. There’s no revenue coming to Public Power Underground from the sale and I provide no warranty or guaranty for the merch. But I did promise that if I ever translated concept to merch, I’d send it to subscribers of the newsletter. For links to Sisterhood of the Traveling Electron merchandise subscribe on substack at publicpowerunderground.substack.com.

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

A party of special significance to celebrate the eleventy-first and final episode with an energy system analogy world cup championship tournament, celebrity guests, and stump speeches

Friends-of-the-Underground participated in a special, in-person recording of the eleventy-first and final episode of Public Power Underground celebrating our community of electric utility enthusiasts. The episode includes a live performance of Roll On, Enthusiasts with special musical guest Daryl Wayne Dasher joining Arin Guillory and Ian Bledsoe. It also closes the Season 6 Energy System Analogy World Cup with celebrity judges Debra Smith and Daniel Kirschen picking winners in an 8-analogy, single elimination Championship Tournament. And, just like Bilbo Baggins ended his eleventy-first birthday celebration giving a speech on a stump, the season ends with open-mic stump speeches from electric utility enthusiasts. 

07:11 - Short-to-Ground, Analogy Edition

• Top 8 seeds for Energy System Analogy World Cup Championship Tournament
• All 20 Grand Analogies of the Energy System from Season 6

15:51 - Energy System Analogy World Cup Championship Tournament

37:01 - Kurt Miller Stump Speech

40:05 - Crystal Ball Stump Speech

42:42 - Debra Smith Stump Speech

44:02 - Pamela Sporborg Stump Speech

45:50 - Robb Davis Stump Speech

48:54 - Sarah Edmonds Stump Speech

50:34 - Megan Capper Stump Speech

52:16 - Scott Corwin Stump Speech

54:01 - Farhad Billimoria Stump Speech

55:48 - Eric Hiaasen Stump Speech

59:07 - Matt Schroettnig Stump Speech

1:01:44 - Kieran Connelly Stump Speech

1:03:21 - Mary Wiencke Stump Speech

1:05:42 - Doug Marker Stump Speech

1:09:08 - Nicole Hughes Stump Speech

1:10:29 - Conleigh Byers Stump Speech

1:12:00 - Chris Roden Stump Speech

1:15:02 - Ryan Neale Stump Speech

1:16:47 - Humaira Falkenberg Stump Speech

1:20:20 - Closing thoughts from Ian Bledsoe, Arin Guillory, and Ahlmahz Negash

1:24:00 - Closing thoughts from Paul Dockery

If you stay subscribed to Public Power Underground, you may find interesting items in your feed from time to time. Thank you for being a friend of the underground. I hope you have enjoyed the content and feel valued and appreciated.

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

“This paper argues for the centrality of real-time markets, which are cleared sequentially with a single binding interval.”

Prof. Dr. Jacob Mays and Paul Dockery have an in-depth discussion in Hollister Hall at Cornell University about Prof. Mays recently released working paper on Sequential Pricing of Electricity. The discussion is only available as a podcast and is published uninterrupted and unedited.

Mays, J. (2023). Sequential Pricing of Electricity. Working Paper, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University.

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share with friends that are electric utility enthusiasts, like us!

The conversation explores the paper in 8 parts.

1. The goal of the paper

“The goal of this paper is to promote a shift in the discussion of price formation in wholesale electricity markets from a static to a dynamic modeling framework. While the design and analysis of systems with significant reservoir hydropower have long relied on dynamic models, most other systems have come to rely on simpler static models that have nevertheless been useful in contexts with limited variability, uncertainty, and intertemporal constraints. The entry of large quantities of renewable and battery storage has increased the salience of all these factors, necessitating a richer modeling framework.” p. 40“This paper argues for the centrality of real-time markets, which are cleared sequentially with a single binding interval.” p. 3.

2. Framework to assess the effect of price formation proposals on market outcomes

“This paper develops a framework to assess the effect of such proposals on market outcomes, investigating how choices made by wholesale market operators regarding algorithms for commitment, dispatch, and market clearing can affect incentives for operation and investment.” p. 2“Step 1: specifying the model for operations” Section 3.2.1, p. 15“Step 2: specifying a parameterization” Section 3.2.2, p. 15“Step 3: specifying a pricing policy” Section 3.2.3, pp. 15-16

3. Static vs Dynamic modeling frameworks

“The paper’s conceptual goal is a shift from the static picture of the merit-order curve in thermal-dominant markets to a dynamic understanding of price formation. Electricity prices are often colloquially described as the cost to serve an additional unit of load for a given period. In a static, convex economic dispatch model, prices that maximize efficiency both in short-run operations and long-run investment can be calculated as the dual variables corresponding to power balance constraints equating supply and demand. With no intertemporal operating constraints, dual values are typically determined by the fuel cost of thermal resources. In a dynamic model, an additional unit of load in a given period not only entails a direct cost in the present period, but also places the system in a slightly different state entering the subsequent operating period (e.g., with more or less energy stored in batteries). Dynamic models have been long been understood as necessary to the design and analysis of markets in regions with significant reservoir hydropower (see, e.g., Pereira and Pinto (1991) as well as more recent reviews in Steeger et al. (2014) and Aasg ̊ard et al. (2019)). In other regions, including the U.S. systems that serve as the primary motivation of this paper, markets have evolved in a context where storage was negligible. This state of affairs is set to change rapidly over the coming decade, as models typically find that decarbonized electricity systems will feature substantial quantities of storage (Jenkins et al., 2018; Williams et al., 2021; Frazier et al., 2021).” p. 2

4. Importance of dynamic models to regions with storage hydro. p. 38
5. Section 5. Evaluating price formation policies, pages 36-37

“The broader point of the examples is to establish the need for the proposed framework in evaluating price formation: even with the limited scope of tests included here, the models produce a wide range of price outcomes.” p. 37

6. Flexible Ramping Products vs Fast Start Pricing

“We note several differences between the (DLAC − NLB − θ) and (DLAC − RT − θ) policies. First, while we assumed in Section 4.3 that net load biasing would not result in any binding forward financial positions, the (DLAC −RT −θ) policy directly affects the quantity of reserves procured in the binding interval.” p. 30

7. Policy and parameterization are choices that matter: Section 5.3 Long-run consequences, pages 39-40

“The choice of operating policy can have a significant impact on the total revenue across all resources. [...] In general, resource-specific revenues track the total charges.” however “storage is a notable exception with revenues deviating significantly from that seen by the market as a whole.”“They indicate the potential for substantial misallocation of investment due to inefficiencies in spot price formation.”

8. Policy Recommendation: Advocate for high-fidelity simulation tools

“Accordingly, a second policy recommendation is to advocate for high-fidelity simulation tools enabling system operators to compare operational performance and pricing outcomes with alternative algorithmic choices and reserve product specifications, putting them in position to credibly demonstrate the value of new reserve products and parameterize them efficiently.” p. 5.

-----

If you haven’t listened to prior discussion with Prof. Mays, you can check out prior conversations:

Prof. Jacob Mays on Electric Markets and Resource Adequacy
Paul Dockery
·
January 27, 2023

Jacob Mays, PhD, Matt Schroettnig, Ahlmahz Negash, PhD, and Paul Dockery discuss a paper Prof. Mays co-authored on contractual form in electricity reliability obligations, how it applies to the program getting developed in the Northwest, and what perspective he has on electric market development in the Northwest.

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Electric Market Enthusiasm, pt. 1: Professor Jacob Mays on Electric Market Design
Paul Dockery
·
May 19, 2022

Jacob Mays, Assistant Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University, answers Paul’s remedial questions on how electric markets function and what the Pacific Northwest should be considering when approaching market expansion incrementally in a wide ranging and engaging conversation.

-----

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

Inspired by the YouTube series *Hot Ones*, Whitney Muse (Senior Policy Advisor in the White House Office of Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation), Mark Lauby (Senior Vice President and Chief Engineer at North American Electric Reliability Corporation), and Jordan White (Executive Director, Development at GridLiance) join co-hosts Paul and Crystal to discuss increasingly controversial topics while eating a series of increasingly spicy wings. The conversation triangulates hot topics in the energy industry from engineering, policy, and business perspectives.

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share with friends that are electric utility enthusiasts, like us!

Round 1: Mild Spice - ERO Report / Texas & Utah Inverter caused outages

Round 2: Medium Spice - No Transition without Transmission & Regulatory Frameworks for Change

Round 3: Hot - Joint Federal-State Task Force on Electric Transmission  & Western States Transmission Initiative

Round 4: Spicy

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

Steve Pantano from Rewiring America and Danielle Walker from the Department of Energy’s Office of State and Community Energy Programs join Ahlmahz Negash, PhD and Paul Dockery for a discussion of electrification. The crews discuss the Inflation Reduction Act’s Home Energy Rebates, Rewiring America’s IRA Savings Calculator, best practices in building electrification, and the newly announced American Climate Corp!

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share with friends that are electric utility enthusiasts, like us!

08:41 - Hierarchy of Electrification
17:53 - Home Energy Rebates Program
30:44 - Rewiring America Calculator
44:34 - Building Electrification Best Practices - ACEEE report
50:31 - Workforce! 
          American Climate Corp
          Clean Energy Corp
59:27 - Alhmahz’s Insightful Question of the Week
1:06:29 - Electrician for a Day
1:12:52 - Danielle Walker’s Closing Thoughts

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

three energy historians join public power underground for an infotaining and slightly irreverent discussion of the major milestones for the electric industry in the northwest

--------------------

Mark Ohrenschall, Shauna McReynolds and Crystal Ball join and Paul Dockery to discuss the history of the electric industry in the Northwest from acronyms to statutes and a myriad of institutions along the way. There were three primary texts used for the conversation.

1. NewsData’s list of Western Energy Acronyms
2. Public Power Council’s excellent guide to Public Power in the Pacific Northwest, the Public Power Chronicle
3. Public Generating Pool’s famous Organized Market Retrospective. 

The recording ends with Mark Ohrenschall’s closing thoughts on his final day as Executive Editor of NewsData.

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share with friends that are electric utility enthusiasts, like us!

03:27 - Acronym Anagrams

13:06 - Historian’s ranking of major milestones

38:13 - Preference

48:03 - Whoops

56:25 - Energy Policy Acts

58:42 - The Energy Crisis

1:06:57 - Market Evolution

1:21:10 - Mark Ohrenschall’s Closing Thoughts

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

Lorenzo Kristov and Josh Keeling join Ahlmahz and Paul to talk about maximizing the deployment of distributed energy resources but first we make them say something nice about electric utilities

Lorenzo Kristov and Josh Keeling join Ahlmahz Negash, PhD and Paul Dockery for a discussion of FERC 2222, maximizing the distribution-level customer value of distributed energy resources, international examples of unbundling the functions of distribution utilities, and 80/20 advice on how to make the most progress toward DER deployment. First, we make them compliment electric utilities.

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share with friends that are electric utility enthusiasts, like us!

12:17 - say something nice about electric utilities

Lorenzo and Josh brought a lot of great compliments and some not-so-nice compliments. Among the list of compliments they didn’t get to but shared by Josh Keeling afterward:

• Pretty good at the poles and wires game
• Never get confused about the differences between “useful life” and “economic life”
• Captain planet-like super team of lawyers, economists, engineers, and accountants
• Never scared to pilot something
• Always happy to explain what “you just don’t understand” about distribution engineering
• Very optimistic: can always find a way to point out how “used and useful” things are
• Really good at finding new ways to apply the word “innovation”
• Never too quick into something “at scale”
• Really are the best of both world between trudging local government and greedy corporate monopoly

15:51 - discussion of FERC Order No. 2222

• FERC order 2222
• NREL summary
• NARUC status update

25:05 - maximizing the distribution-level and customer value of DERs

• Catalyst w/ Shayle Kahn episode on electrification

40:06 - international examples of unbundling the functions of distribution utilities

48:58 - 80/20 of DER interconnection

• Volts episode with Saul Griffith 
• Interstate Renewable Energy Council, DER interconnection best practices

1:00:05 - Ahlmahz’s insightful question of the week

1:03:10 - DER for a day

1:08:20 - Josh Keeling’s closing thoughts

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

Ric O’Connell and Anna Sommers join Ahlmahz Negash, PhD and Paul Dockery for a deep dive into power planning best practices including planning for extremes, open source models, and best in class computational techniques.

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share with friends that are electric utility enthusiasts, like us!

09:41 - how to explain power planning to a five year old

19:00 - best practices in power planning

58:10 - Ahlmahz’s unfair question of the week: what about AI?

1:03:50 - PUC-for-a-day

for more about open source planning, GridLab recently collaborated with RMI on an open source modeling report. you can find it here.

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

Transmission experts talk about horror stories from permitting Idaho Power's Boardman to Hemmingway transmission line and react to a regional planning organization scorecard

--------------------

Adam Richins, Christina Hayes, and Pam Sporborg join Paul Dockery at Paddy’s Bar & Grill for an after-hour conversation about transmission in the West. The recording starts with another edition of Energy Enthusiasm, Distilled where the experts distill complicated topics in infotaining ways while on a clock. The conversation then tackles the 3Ps of transmission policy (Planning, Permitting, and Paying-for) and closes out with a new, unscripted game: FERC-for-a-Day.

• Permitting: Horror Stories from Boardman to Hemmingway (B2H)
• Planning: Transmission Planning & Development Regional Report Card
• Paying-for: Importance of transmission to Clean Energy Pathways

We also discussed briefly the cultural importance of the Bonneville Power Administration’s rate hearing room for the energy community in the northwest, which led me (Paul) to bring up an Ezra Klein podcast about cultural evolution. A link is included here for those who want the background information.

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share with friends 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

Prof. Dr. Destenie Nock joins Dr. Ahlmahz Negash and Paul Dockery for a conversation about what the grid of the future *should* look like. The discussion dives deep into (1) the energy equity gap, (2) a methodology for finding the optimal expansion of a power system under the objective of maximizing social benefit, (3) the Gini coefficient, and (4) how to use the Strategic Objective Hierarchy combined with the expertise of social scientists to translate community input into rigorously measurable inputs into an optimization model!

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share with friends that are electric utility enthusiasts, like us!

09:24 - A benefit maximization approach to utility planning

Destenie Nock, Todd Levin, Erin Baker, Changing the policy paradigm: A benefit maximization approach to electricity planning in developing countries, Applied Energy, Volume 264, 2020, 114583, ISSN 0306-2619, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114583.

28:13 - Amplifying community leader perspectives

Erin Baker, Destenie Nock, Todd Levin, Samuel A. Atarah, Anthony Afful-Dadzie, David Dodoo-Arhin, Léonce Ndikumana, Ekundayo Shittu, Edwin Muchapondwa, Charles Van-Hein Sackey, Who is marginalized in energy justice? Amplifying community leader perspectives of energy transitions in Ghana, Energy Research & Social Science, Volume 73, 2021, 101933, ISSN 2214-6296, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.101933.

Prof. Dr. Destenie Nock explainer videos: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.destenienock4164/videos

48:53 - Unveiling hidden energy poverty using the energy equity gap

Cong, S., Nock, D., Qiu, Y.L. et al. Unveiling hidden energy poverty using the energy equity gap. Nat Commun 13, 2456 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30146-5

• Video link to “The Energy Equity Gap: Unveiling Hidden Energy Poverty” presentation for Energy Seminar Series at UC Davis
• Video link to Destenie Nock: Identifying Hidden Forms of Energy Poverty
• Video link to Energy Nerd Show
• NOAA’s Meteorological Development Lab’s work on Wet Bulb Globe Temperatures
• NOAA’s experimental tools for calculating Wet Bulb Globe Temperatures and how it compares to heat index
• Evaluating the 35°C wet-bulb temperature adaptability threshold for young healthy subjects

1:07:38 - What should the grid of the future look like?

1:12:42 - Ahlmahz’s insightful question of the week: What’s the overlap between energy justice and energy assistance?

“Jenkins et al. [49] review three core tenets of energy justice: 1) distributional justice, relating to equal distribution of both the costs and benefits of the energy system; 2), recognition justice, relating to the fair representation of individuals; and 3) procedural justice, providing equal access to decision making processes.”From Who is marginalized in energy justice? Amplifying community leader perspectives of energy transitions in Ghana, Section 1:

1:18:27 - from Human Batteries to Solarpunk - a new Public Power Underground game!

• Ezra Klein podcast: What the heck is going on with UFO stories?
• Monk and Robot series by Becky Chambers
• Futurama
• The Fifth Element
• The Matrix
• Avatar
• Men in Black
• WALL-E
• Strange World
• Mad Max
• Iron Man

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

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Debra Smith, Randy Hardy, Bill Drummond, and Steve Wright recorded an info-taining conversation live on-stage at NWPPA’s 83rd Annual Conference and Membership Meeting in Anchorage, Alaska. Debra hosts the three former Administrators of the Bonneville Power Administration who continue to engage in energy policy. The discussion ranges from greatest regrets to reasons for optimism, and proudest moments. At the end Paul Dockery joins to facilitate an energy inspired game called Energy Enthusiasm Distilled.

The episode was edited prior to the news of Debra Smith’s surgery. For updates on her recovery you can find updates on Caring Bridge. Her electric utility enthusiast friends wish her a speedy and full recovery!

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We discuss how utility risk management is a lot like dungeons and dragons: creatively managing risk by leveraging strengths to maximize the likelihood of beneficial outcomes when solving problems.

Kevin Nordt, Paul Dietz, Ahlmahz Negash, PhD, and Paul Dockery talk about managing market risk from utility risk managers perspectives. Including (1) putting uncertainty in perspective, (2) organizational and customer risk tolerance, (3) translating risk tolerance strategies for risk management, and (4) risk based thinking in the context of power supply. Plus the crew answers an insightful question from Ahlmahz and they discuss the set up of an energy inspired dungeons and dragons campaign.

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07:59 - Risks as friend or foe

15:18 - Risk tolerance

32:39 - Risk awareness

52:06 - Risk based thinking in the context of power supply

1:02:52 - Ahlmahz’s insightful question of the week

1:14:14 - Dams and Distribution; setting up an energy industry inspired Dungeons and Dragons campaign

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

A discussion of the building blocks of a just energy transition with Professor Erin Baker, the Faculty Director of the Energy Transition Institute at UMass Amherst.

Professor Erin Baker visited with Ahlmahz Negash and Paul Dockery in-person at the office of the Pacific Northwest Utility Conference Committee (PNUCC) about energy justice, meaningful metrics, and the Holyoke Community Energy Project. The discussion is wrapped by insightful commentary on energy justice from hosts Conleigh Byers, Farhad Billimoria, Paul Dockery, and Ahlmahz Negash.

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2:58 - 30 seconds of theory

• What is energy justice?

Jenkins, K., McCauley, D., Heffron, R., Stephan, H. and Rehner, R., 2016. Energy justice: A conceptual review. Energy research & social science, 11, pp.174-182.

• 3 core tenets of energy justice

Jenkins, K., McCauley, D., Heffron, R., Stephan, H. and Rehner, R., 2016. Energy justice: A conceptual review. Energy research & social science, 11, pp.174-182.

• 5 categories of energy justice metrics

Baker, E., Carley, S., Castellanos, S., Nock, D., Bozeman III, J.F., Konisky, D., Monyei, C.G., Shah, M. and Sovacool, B., 2023. Metrics for decision-making in energy justice. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 48(1), pp.737-760.

11:31 - Interview with Prof. Erin Baker

58:22 - Debriefing from interview w/ hosts Conleigh Byers, Farhad Billimoria, Paul Dockery, and Ahlmahz Negash

1:33:00 - Closing Thoughts from Conleigh Byers & Farhad Billimoria

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Ben Serrurier, Lea Fisher, Matt Schroettnig, and Paul Dockery share some energy themed maybe-good-maybe-bad-brainstorming ideas during a special windowless conference room in-person recording.

Ben Serrurier, Lea Fisher, Matthew Schroettnig, and Paul Dockery were all in Anchorage, Alaska for NWPPA’s 83rd Annual Conference and Membership Meeting so they decided to borrow a windowless conference room for an informal brainstorming session about energy and energy-adjacent ideas. The format for the bonus episode is inspired by a Bill Simmons segment with Kevin Wildes on “The Bill Simmons Podcast” called “Half-Baked Ideas”1. 

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05:50 - Cowpoke ISO

09:20 - Kids & Grids Our Hidden Powers

14:18 - “Space: The Energy Frontier” - Space Elevator w/ Space Solar & Wireless Transmission PG&E & Start-Up Solaren Corp. Plan To Beam Solar Power From Space

21:38 - Wireless Transmission, just on it’s own

24:09 - District cooling Deep Lake Water Cooling System

27:32 - Cut me off, conservation

36:28 - Text-to-bid for price responsive demand; $ for % load reduced https://twitter.com/kyrib/status/1544018634762231808?s=20&t=7ewwz-xBMUixjkXEXe0BCw

45:30 - Connect & Manage for generator interconnection https://twitter.com/jacob_mays/status/1655966663135600640?s=20

50:02 - crypto as a battery; mandatory demand response programs for crypto mining facilities

52:02 - explain the grid to kids with jump rope https://twitter.com/NicoleKelner/status/1631352402086354945?s=20

52:57 - slower planes

55:58 - “Opt-in to save the distribution lines” // community infrastructure opt-in https://twitter.com/waDNR

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

1 the half-baked ideas segment starts at the 1:13:00 mark of the Bill Simmons Podcast episode

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Pam Sporborg, Spencer Gray, Joe Taylor and Paul Dockery debrief and synthesize the discussion from an SPP Markets+ Leadership Forum hosted by Tacoma Power, NV Energy, and the Bonneville Power Administration on May 12th, 2023.

05:04 - Benefits, Opportunities and Barriers to Market Expansion

18:18 - Long-run resource portfolios adapted to market design

30:00 - Seams

41:49 - The toughest outstanding issues for market expansion in the west

56:13 - Final Predictions

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learning lessons about deeply decarbonized electricity markets from around the world including optimal prices in non-convex markets, reliability insurance, and system security

Farhad Billimoria, Conleigh Byers, PhD, Ahlmahz Negash, PhD, and Paul Dockery discuss adaptation of market design for the energy transition including fat tails and increased exposure to extremes; batteries and price responsive demand; natural gas fragility and marginal pricing; and inverter-driven resources and system security. Then the team plays a new game where they synthesize expert explanations of convex vs non-convex pricing and reliability insurance. 

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05:30 - Lessons Learned on deeply decarbonized electric systems from electricity markets around the world with “Handbook on Electricity Markets” and P.L. Joskow’s “From hierarchies to markets and partially back again in electricity: responding to decarbonization and security of supply goals” as background

07:06 - Lesson 1: natural gas fragility and marginal pricing

17:20 - Lesson 2: batteries and price responsive demand

24:23 - Lesson 3: fat tails and increased exposure to extremes

38:20 - Lesson 4: Inverter based grids and system security (synchronous condensers and grid inertia)

48:15 - Wonky energy game synthesizing expert explanations

• Farhad Billimoria provides a 2 minute 20 second explanation of A reliability insurance overlay on energy-only electricity markets1; followed by the rest of the crew’s interpretation
• Conleigh Byers, PhD, provides a 2 minute 20 second explanation of Long-run optimal pricing in electricity markets with non-convex costs2; followed by the rest of the crew’s interpretation (and discussion of computational time for a solution using the Convex Hull pricing34)

1:27:36 - Ahlmahz’s insightful question of the week

1:32:18 - Conleigh Byers, PhD’s Closing Thoughts

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

1 Farhad Billimoria, Rahmatallah Poudineh, Market design for resource adequacy: A reliability insurance overlay on energy-only electricity markets, Utilities Policy, Volume 60, 2019, 100935, ISSN 0957-1787, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2019.100935.

2 Conleigh Byers, Gabriela Hug, Long-run optimal pricing in electricity markets with non-convex costs, European Journal of Operational Research, Volume 307, Issue 1, 2023, Pages 351-363, ISSN 0377-2217, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2022.07.052.

3 P. Andrianesis, D. Bertsimas, M. C. Caramanis and W. W. Hogan, "Computation of Convex Hull Prices in Electricity Markets With Non-Convexities Using Dantzig-Wolfe Decomposition," in IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 2578-2589, July 2022, doi: 10.1109/TPWRS.2021.3122000.

4 C. Byers and G. Hug, "Flexibility Compensation with Increasing Stochastic Variable Renewable Energy in Non-Convex Markets," 2022 17th International Conference on Probabilistic Methods Applied to Power Systems (PMAPS), Manchester, United Kingdom, 2022, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1109/PMAPS53380.2022.9810627.

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Emily Grubert, PhD, Frank Incropera, PhD, Ahlmahz Negash, PhD, and Paul Dockery discuss natural gas distribution system obsolescence, energy security during the transition away from fossil fuels, the magic of heat pumps, increased reliance on electric utility reliability, and the wickedness of the problem of a just energy transition.

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07:03 - Discussion of what constitutes a wicked problem and whether the mid-transition qualifies
     - Climate Change: A Wicked Problem by Frank Incropera, PhD, Chapter 1 - Energy, economics, and climate change
     - Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge | Department of Energy
     - News Releases - Rheem Manufacturing Company

44:57 - Natural Gas distribution systems’ obsolescence
     - Designing the mid-transition: A review of medium-term challenges for coordinated decarbonization in the United States
     - Grubert, E., & Hastings-Simon, S. (2022). Designing the mid-transition: A review of medium-term challenges for coordinated decarbonization in the United States. WIREs Climate Change, 13( 3), e768.

59:19 - Electrification of end-uses and the need for reliability
     - Climate Change: A Wicked Problem by Frank Incropera, PhD, Chapter 10 -      - The ethics of climate change

1:12:03 - Ahlmahz’s insightful question of the week

1:19:49 - Dr. Frank Incropera’s Closing Thoughts

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

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Laura Trolese, Tyler Wolford, Matt Johnson, and Paul Dockery recorded an episode at a spas about how power contracts could change during a transition from bilateral to centrally dispatched markets.

In a special, bonus episode recorded at the One Ocean Resort & Spas in Atlantic Beach, Florida during The Energy Authority’s 2023 Energy Symposium, Laura Trolese, Tyler Wolford, Matt Johnson, and Paul Dockery discuss the impact of transitioning from bilateral markets to centrally dispatched day-ahead markets on long-term wholesale power supply agreements.

Caution: it gets extremely wonky.

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Rob, Kathleen, Ahlmahz, and Paul discuss the transmission expansion: it's importance, it's barriers, and it's path forward.

Rob Gramlich, Kathleen Staks, Ahlmahz Negash, PhD, and Paul Dockery discuss transmission policy, planning, and funding in light of the increased need for an interconnected grid due to electrification of end-uses, new generator interconnections, and increasing footprint of extreme weather events.

07:34 - Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office release of a draft National Transmission Needs Study

23:43 - The Quagmire of Transmission Investment and Cost Recovery

• Rob’s 3 Ps of Transmission Policy Reform
• Rob’s tweets about the importance of solving the cost allocation quagmire
• A brilliant quote by Rob on the conundrum of transmission investment in a New York Times article
• Ahlmahz’s articles (part 1 and part 2) on the Grid as a Public Good

48:26 - Why transmission and market expansion is important to commercial and industrial customers

• Seattle utilities consider massive efforts that could help green our grid by Brendan Kiley in the Seattle Times

59:48 - Interconnection queues and solutions for clearing them

• Prof Jacob Mays hot take about Connect and Manage and how it relates to Resource Adequacy
• Prof Jesse Jenkins solutioning on #energytwitter

1:09:50 - Ahlmahz’s insightful question of the week

1:15:07 - Kathleen Stak’s Closing Thoughts

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

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With quotes from the hit comedy “Shrinking”, Paul navigates the vibes after a Regional Expansion Summit hosted by Seattle City Light, Portland General Electric, and the Bonneville Power Administration

Jan Smutny-Jones, Mary Wiencke, Jim Shetler, and Chris Robinson join Paul Dockery to debrief and synthesize the participants shared understanding after a California/Northwest Regional Expansion Summit hosted by Seattle City Light, Portland General Electric, and the Bonneville Power Administration on March 10th, 2023.

In true Public Power Underground fashion the topics were introduced with quotes from the first two episodes of the new Apple TV comedy Shrinking starring Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, and Harrison Ford who all play psychologists. The timestamps for the quotes are included in the show notes, just in case you want to get some laughs before diving into the discussion.

05:03 - History of Market Development in the West

“Classic compassion fatigue, we ask questions, listen, stay non-judgmental and you don’t make that face” - Dr. Paul Rhoades played by Harrison Ford (Episode 1, 10:13)

19:12 - Benefits, Opportunities and Barriers

“Look, I don't have people in my home, it’s not that I’m antisocial. I know that you do this [referring to Jimmy and Gaby asking probing questions] to shame me because I'm a somewhat private person, but it just strengthens my resolve. I’m pro boundaries, my family is for me, my home is my fortress of solitude” - Dr. Paul Rhoades played by Harrison Ford (Episode 2, 7:54)

48:12 - Decarbonization pathways and the role of Regional Markets

“I know someone does [i.e., who “gets it”], he’s tall and he calls me too much.” - Dr. Paul Rhoades played by Harrison Ford (Episode 2, 17:16)

1:03:55 - A shared understanding of the mutual benefits of ongoing collaboration

“Hey, anybody that helps us raise our kids with love and respect, we should be grateful” - Dr. Paul Rhoades played by Harrison Ford (Episode 2, 12:43)

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!

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Jackie Flowers, PE, Humaira Falkenberg, Karen Heim, and Ahlmahz Negash, PhD discuss pathways to workforces that are representative of our communities in an all-female-cast episode of Public Power Underground.

05:07 - Introduction of Diverse Workforce of the Future article by Jackie Flowers, PE, in NWPPA’s Monthly Bulletin

24:14 - Lessons learned from Tacoma’s experience with the Math-Engineering-Science-Achievement (MESA) program that could apply to open positions at peer utilities today

• An insightful Venn Diagram of belonging1
• The Waymaker by Tara Jaye Frank

46:15 - Sharing wisdom in mentorship and sponsoring

57:38 - Ahlmahz’s Insightful Question of the Week

1:17:03 - Short to Ground

• Billi Kohler, the General Manager of West Oregon Electric Cooperative, is featured in a national rural electric magazine story about workforce changes
• Lane Electric’s 7-member board of directors now includes 6 women working with Debi Wilson, the first female general manager in the co-op’s 83-year history

1:19:40 - Humaira Falkenberg’s Closing Thoughts

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LIVE! from the main stage at The Energy Authority's 2023 Energy Symposium, Paul and Laura moderate a panel on market disruptors with energy executives and leaders

Paul Dockery and Laura Trolese moderate a panel on disruptors to resource adequacy, day-ahead, and real-time markets at The Energy Authority’s 2023 Energy Symposium with Melie Vincent, Richard Dillon, and Jamie Mahne. After a serious discussion of disruptors, they tackle less serious energy analogies in a game called “Disruptors or Duds”.

07:34 - Large weather patterns changing evaluation of resource adequacy

21:40 - Accounting for new uncertainty in day-ahead markets

32:32 - Volatility of natural gas and real-time markets

46:38 - Disruptors or Duds: a niche pop culture or sports reference as an analogue to an energy industry topic

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Sarah Edmonds, Crystal Ball, Ahlmahz Negash, PhD, and Paul Dockery discuss a how resource adequacy design theory applies to resource adequacy program design, why FERC asked questions about market based rate authority, what it means for a program to be interoperable, and where inter-regional transmission is coming from. 

06:08 - Reminder for friends and fans of Therese Hampton to RSVP for her Celebration of Life and information about the Therese Hampton Endowed Scholarship for Economics and Business1at Portland State University.

09:53 - translating theory into a program, debriefing from the interview with Prof. Jacob Mays

23:55 - Market Based Rate Authority and the status at FERC

• FERC Wants More Western Resource Adequacy Program Information
• Western Power Pool’s response to FERC’s deficiency letter

35:45 - Interoperability of a resource adequacy program with multiple markets

• Western US regional grid, reliability efforts reach crossroads in 2023

47:57 - Interregional transmission and the West

• FERC Staff-Led Workshop on Establishing Interregional Transfer Capability Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation Requirements
• FERC urged to set interregional transfer capacity requirements to boost reliability, lower costs
• Inter-regional planning and transmission could help keep the lights on during extreme weather

1:05:55 - Short to Ground; where we TL;DR our way through the rest of the news

• BLM Proposes Solar Plan Expansion to Include 11 Western States
• Harris Attends Ten West Line Groundbreaking
• NRC Certifies First U.S. Small Modular Reactor Design
• Federal Government Says 'Not So Fast' on Diablo Canyon Extension
• Billions in federal dollars could make the Pacific Northwest a hub for renewable hydrogen
• Day-Ahead Market Enhancements decision to be deferred
• Spot Market Power
• La Nina
• NOAA Climate Forecasts
• WY2023 Water Supply Forecast

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Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, where you’re valued and appreciated.

---------------

1 At the hyperlink go to “Search All Funds” and either find or search for the Therese Hampton Endowed Scholarship for Economics and Business. Image below.

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