With Great Power

Julia Hoos, Head of USA East at Aurora Energy Research, specializes in power market analytics and PJM dynamics. She breaks down PJM’s capacity market challenges and reform risks. She explores whether data centers can supply demand flexibility and how large-load tariffs shape utility responses. She also discusses federal pressure, emergency auctions, and how policy uncertainty affects investment.

Varun Sivaram, CEO and founder of Emerald AI and former energy advisor with a physics and energy policy background, discusses making AI data centers grid-friendly. He shares demos that cut power use, how software creates temporal and spatial flexibility, and plans for a 100 MW “AI factory” in Virginia. Conversations cover partnerships with utilities, hyperscalers, and an all-of-the-above approach to scaling AI without stressing the grid.

Casey Kirkpatrick, Director of Group Strategic Engineering at National Grid with 25+ years in utilities, leads wildfire risk mapping. He discusses lessons learned from other utilities and the Rhizome partnership. They cover surprising seasonal peaks, suburban risk hotspots, span-level geospatial analysis, trade-offs like undergrounding, and how wildfire fits into broader climate resilience planning.

Ben Brown, CEO of Renew Home and former Google/Nest product manager who led research on smart thermostats, discusses how aggregated thermostat shifts can unlock gigawatts of capacity. He explains the study design and randomized trials. He covers regional results, the economics of virtual power plants, and how thermostats can be a gateway to broader home energy resources.

Nikki Bruno, VP of thermal solutions at Eversource who leads geothermal and gas decarbonization work, walks through the utility-led geothermal network in Framingham. She explains how the neighborhood-scale system serves 140 customers. She covers recruiting and trust-building with the community, DOE funding for expansion, and what utilities need to scale networked geothermal.

Heather O’Neill, president and CEO of Advanced Energy United, is a state-level clean energy strategist. She discusses scaling technologies for a 100% clean grid. Topics include virtual power plants, advanced transmission tech, state permitting reform, and how affordability and upcoming gubernatorial races will shape policy.

At age 10, Neil Chatterjee found common ground with his immigrant father through politics. Watching then-Vice President George H. W. Bush spar with Michael Dukakis during a presidential debate on TV,  Neil and his dad connected in a way they hadn’t before.  Years later, after serving as Senator Mitch McConnell’s energy advisor and appointed to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, he found that he needed to shed his partisan views — and his reputation as McConnell’s coal guy — to become a convener. Doing so helped him enact policies to make a more resilient electric grid with more renewable and distributed energy resources.This week on With Great Power, Neil Chatterjee explains why he thinks energy policy has gotten so politicized in the U.S. and what could change that trajectory. He and Brad delve into some of the weedy issues  FERC will be addressing in 2026 and some “wonky solutions" to load growth and other grid challenges. Neil also talks about his current role as chief government affairs officer at Palmetto, a provider of residential renewable energy products. Credits: Hosted by Brad Langley. Produced by Mary Catherine O’Connor. Edited by Anne Bailey. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. The GridX production team includes Jenni Barber, Samantha McCabe, and Brad Langley.

The power sector is at an inflection point.  Skyrocketing load growth and rising energy prices are converging with an aging electric grid, inadequate power supply, and regulatory hurdles. It’s a perfect storm that’s forcing utilities to take a serious look at their business models. But new innovations focused on meeting energy demand and confronting the affordability crisis are tackling these challenges head on.If you’ve been a With Great Power listener over the past five seasons, you’ve heard stories from many of the people behind those innovations. This season, we’re digging even deeper.You’ll hear from some of the leading voices in the power sector, from utilities and energy management companies to developers, community advocates, and grid planners.Stay tuned for all new episodes about the superheroes building the future electric grid, today. Season 6 launches soon. Subscribe to With Great Power on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.With Great Power is a co-production of GridX and Latitude Studios.  Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you get podcasts. For more reporting on the companies featured in this podcast, subscribe to Latitude Media's newsletter.Credits: Hosted by Brad Langley. Produced by Mary Catherine O’Connor. Edited by Anne Bailey. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. The Grid X production team includes Jenni Barber, Samantha McCabe, and Brad Langley.

Utibe Bassey, Vice President of Customer Experience at Dominion Energy, shares her unique approach to leadership rooted in her upbringing in Nigeria, where power was unreliable. She unveils her motto, 'Love as a KPI,' emphasizing human connection in the workplace. The conversation covers her eye-opening experiences at a fast-food chain that shaped her customer service philosophy, innovations in customer experience amidst the Clean Economy Act, and the challenges of evolving call centers post-COVID. Her insights demonstrate how empathy and teamwork can revolutionize the energy sector.

Chris Black, the CEO of GridX and an expert in consumer-product design, discusses the evolving landscape of utilities. He emphasizes the importance of creating user-friendly digital products and how utilities are shifting towards a consumer product mindset. Chris explains GridX's acquisition of InnoWatts and its potential to enhance rate design. He highlights the necessity for utilities to incorporate data analytics and marketing strategies, noting that customer experience will play a pivotal role in transforming the industry.