People in Power – A NewsData Podcast

Join us in Part 2 of the latest episode of Energy West, where NewsData's Dan Catchpole and Grid Strategies' Rob Gramlich continue to discuss the design and development of transmission projects throughout the West. Gramlich also discusses new technologies that may benefit the electric grid in the future.

If the West is going to electrify cars and buildings, decarbonize the grid and keep the lights on, it needs more high-voltage transmission, a lot more. One of the nation’s top transmission experts, Rob Gramlich, talks with NewsData reporter Dan Catchpole about how the West can build more and bigger transmission projects. Rob is founder of GridStrategies and coined the mnemonic device, the 3 P's of transmission: planning, permitting and paying. If you solve the 3 P's, you can build more transmission.  This episode is part one of two. Check back later this month for part two! GridStrategies: gridstrategiesllc.com

In the latest episode of the Energy West podcast, Clearing Up's Dan Catchpole and California Energy Markets' Jason Fordney talk about efforts to jumpstart transmission construction in the West, how the upcoming solar eclipse likely could effect the Western grid and how battery inverter faults could cause big problems for the grid.Read more about what’s happening in the power industry in the West at Newsdata’s Clearing Up and California Energy Markets.Follow us on X/Twitter: @CUnewsdata, @CEMnewsdata, @dcatchpoleand @fordneyenergy.

In the latest episode of the Energy West podcast, Clearing Up's Dan Catchpole and California Energy Markets' Jason Fordney talk about the California Independent System Operator’s decision to delay the launch of its extended day-ahead market from 2025 to 2026, Xcel’s plans to invest $15 billion in its energy transition in Colorado and the need for more transmission in the West.Read more about what’s happening in the power industry in the West at Newsdata’s Clearing Up and California Energy Markets.Follow us on X/Twitter: @CUnewsdata, @CEMnewsdata, @dcatchpole and @fordneyenergy.

In the latest episode of the Energy West podcast, Clearing Up's Dan Catchpole and California Energy Markets' Jason Fordney talk about an 11th hour push to form a day-ahead market in the West that includes California AND is independently governed. The initiative drew widespread support from potential participants–and lots of questions about legal feasibility. They also discuss an interview with Southwest Power Pool executive Bruce Rew about the market operator’s expansion of its comprehensive market into the Western Interconnection.Read more about what’s happening in the power industry in the West at Newsdata’s Clearing Up and California Energy Markets.Follow us on X/Twitter: @CUnewsdata, @CEMnewsdata, @dcatchpole and @fordneyenergy.

In the latest episode of the Energy West podcast, Clearing Up's Dan Catchpole and California Energy Markets' Jason Fordney talk about the western United States’ second comprehensive energy market, the future of offshore wind in the West, long-duration battery storage’s arrival, and more. Read more about what’s happening in the power industry in the West at Newsdata’s Clearing Up and California Energy Markets. Follow us on X/Twitter: @CUnewsdata, @CEMnewsdata, @dcatchpole and @fordneyenergy. 

The West is getting a second RTO (or regional transmission organization). The Southwest Power Pool is launching a western branch of its existing RTO, which covers much of the Midwest. Nine Rocky Mountain utilities and power marketers have committed to launching the western branch in 2026. An RTO manages the transmission grid and wholesale electricity market for its participants. Right now, the only market operator in the West is the California Independent System Operator (or CAISO). Since the 1990s, there have been plenty of failed attempts to create another comprehensive market in the West. If the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approves SPP's western expansion, it will not only be the second RTO in the West, it will also be the first RTO operated in Eastern and Western Interconnections. NewsData's Dan Catchpole talked about the news with SPP's Senior Vice President of Operations Bruce Rew. Read more about what’s happening in the power industry in the West at Newsdata’s Clearing Up and California Energy Markets. Follow us on X/Twitter: @CUnewsdata, @CEMnewsdata, @dcatchpole and @fordneyenergy.

In the latest Energy West podcast, California Energy Markets Editor Jason Fordney speaks with CEM Associate Editor Abigail Sawyer about the emerging Western wholesale energy market, a push by Western state regulators to move forward with a regional transmission organization, and a recent forum held in Las Vegas by the California Independent System Operator on its extended day-ahead market proposal.

In the latest episode of the Energy West podcast, Clearing Up's Dan Catchpole discusses this week's top stories from the energy industry in the West, including the California Independent System Operator asking federal regulators to approve a Westwide day-ahead energy market, PacifiCorp's plans to convert coal-fired power plants to burn natural gas, and more. You can find the Energy West podcast on NewsData's podcast page, Apple podcasts, Spotify and other major podcast plat-forms.

In the latest episode of the Energy West podcast, Clearing Up's Dan Catchpole looks at the hot temperatures that recently scorched the West, including Arizona’s heat emergency, a new record high peak demand in the Northwest, new research that says climate-driven droughts will lead to more greenhouse gas emissions, offshore wind of Oregon, and more.Read more about what’s happening in the power industry in the West at Newsdata’s Clearing Up and California Energy Markets.Follow us on Twitter: @CUnewsdata, @CEMnewsdata, @dcatchpole and @fordneyenergy.