Energy Central

Too often, the utility industry looks at the buildings sector as simply customers of the power companies, but thanks to rapidly advancing technology and innovative leaders buildings can now be looked at as assets in their own right. Tapping into opportunities like demand response, energy efficiency, on-site generation and storage, and the aggregation of these and other features means that buildings really can be turned into generation assets that measure up with generation itself, especially when done intelligently and thoughtfully. This process of bringing smart grid tools and modern building technologies together to create new opportunities has become the mission of SensorSuite, and specifically the company’s CEO & President Glen Spry. In this episode, Glen joins host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester to discuss the work being done in Energy Efficient Grid Resource Buildings, or EEGRs. As Glen notes, EEGRs are eager to be part of the solution of climate change and bolster grid reliability as opposed to being a liability like the buildings sector of old. This episode will dive deeper into the possibilities of EEGRs and where the utility-building relationship appears to be moving. A special thanks to SensorSuite for supporting this edition of the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast. Key Links: Glen Spry’s Energy Central Profile: https://energycentral.com/member/profile/glen-spry EEGR Buildings are in Peak Demand: https://energycentral.com/o/sensorsuite/eegr-buildings-are-peak-demand EEGR Buildings Target the 58% of all Energy Wasted Each Year: https://energycentral.com/o/sensorsuite/eegr-buildings-target-58-all-energy-wasted-each-year SensorSuite - The emergence of Energy Efficient Grid Resources (EEGRs) to support decarbonization: https://energycentral.com/o/sensorsuite/sensorsuite-emergence-energy-efficient-grid-resources-eegrs-support Energy Central Post with more details and full transcript: https://energycentral.com/o/energy-central/special-edition-energy-efficient-grid-resource-buildings-glen-spry-ceo-president Link to register as a member of the Energy Central community: https://energycentral.com/user/register Did you know? The Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast has been identified as one of the industry's 'Top 25 Energy Podcasts': https://blog.feedspot.com/energy_podcasts/

Episode #48: 'Elevating Customer Care for Electric Cooperative Members’ with Sean Vanslyke, CEO and General Manager of SEMO Electric Cooperative [an Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast] The landscape encompasses a wide variety of power providers, and while investor-owned utilities are often the largest and most influential, it’s the smaller players that may be setting the bar for customer care. Specifically, electric cooperatives recognize their end consumers not just as ratepayers, but indeed as members of the electric co-op, and the smaller and more local nature of these power providers empowers them to more easily meet customers where they are, innovate in new ways to educate and engage those end consumers, and create a customer care ecosystem that’s the envy of larger utilities. To peel back the curtain on the unique relationship electric co-ops have with their members, today’s episode brings in the CEO and General Manager of Missouri’s SEMO Electric Cooperative, Sean Vanslyke. Sean walks podcast host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester through the engagement SEMO’s utilized over the past year and a half to aid its members through COVID, the keep power costs affordable, to empower its surrounding community, and to educate customers and employees alike about every component of the utility business. While an electric cooperative has a more moderate budget and footprint, the largest and smallest utilities alike have many lessons to learn from how, why, and where Sean Vanslyke has created customer service opportunities in his service area. Key Links: Energy Central Post with Full Episode Transcript: https://energycentral.com/o/energy-central/episode-40-elevating-customer-care-electric-cooperative-members%E2%80%99-sean-vanslyke Sean Vanslyke's Energy Central Profile: https://energycentral.com/member/profile/sean-vanslyke/about

Episode #10: ‘The Past & Future of Circuits & How GIS is Transforming the Grid, COVID-19 Response, & More’ with Pat Hohl of Esri - [an Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast] Marking the 10th episode of the Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast, we are joined by Pat Hohl, the Director of Electric Industry Solutions at Esri. Pat is a prolific writer and contributor to the Energy Central community, and he shares with us how even though distribution circuits are beloved—even revered—in the utility business, the future of these building blocks of the grid are undergoing some long awaited evolution. We also hear from Pat how Esri is pushing the boundaries with geographic information systems (GIS) to open up a new world of energy industry data, as well as empowering an even wider spectrum of businesses to streamline operations, sastisfy customers, and even help track and address the COVID-19 outbreak. Pat brings with him over three decades of experience in business and is considered to be a pioneer in leveraging GIS technology for the electric utilities. It’s no wonder his writing is so popular on Energy Central, so we knew we had to bring him in for an episode of the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast! Key Links: Energy Central Post for Episode: https://energycentral.com/c/iu/energy-central-power-perspectives%E2%84%A2-podcast-episode-10-%E2%80%98-past-future-circuits-how Pat Hohl’s Energy Central Profile: energycentral.com/member/profile/204983/about Three Ways Distribution Circuits Will Disappoint You - Part 1: energycentral.com/o/esri/three-way…point-you-part-1 Three Ways Distribution Circuits Will Disappoint You - Part 2: energycentral.com/o/esri/three-way…point-you-part-2 Three Ways Distribution Circuits Will Disappoint You - Part 3: energycentral.com/o/esri/three-way…point-you-part-3 Esri’s ArcGIS for COVID-19: gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdas…67b48e9ecf6

Episode #46: 'Wholesale Power Agency, Small Town Utility, and the Power of Working Together’ with Jody Finklea of FMPA and Jody Young of the City of Bushnell [an Energy Central Power Power Perspectives™ Podcast] In the Energy Central Community, July is all about customer care and everything that means and encompasses for the utility industry. In that light, this episode seeks to highlight the unique relationship between a wholesale power agency and its member utilities, the customer experience not through the lens of the end consumer and its utility but the relationship between the power producer and the local utility and how they team up to make magic happen for the ratepayers. On one side of this story is the electric utility department at the City of Bushnell, Florida, a small city in Central Florida with such a small coverage area and a small team that having resources and expertise in different areas can be a challenge. That’s where Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) enters, as a wholesale power agency that is owned by 31 municipal electric utilities across the state, including Bushnell, and empowers its member utilities. Today, podcast host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester are joined by FMPA’s General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer, Jody Finklea, and Bushnell’s City Manager and Finance Director, Jody Young. They’re here to share how FMPA aided Bushnell to expand the city’s electric customers by a whopping 50%, from 1,100 to nearly 1,800. Increasing the customer base that dramatically allowed the city to then enhance its already reliable power systems and provide affordable power to its customers, generating some critical lessons for customer care across the utility sector. Key Links: Energy Central Post with Full Episode Transcript: https://energycentral.com/o/energy-central/episode-39-wholesale-power-agency-small-town-utility-and-power-working-together%E2%80%99 Jody Finklea’s Energy Central Profile: https://energycentral.com/member/profile/jody-lamar-finklea Jody Young’s Energy Central Profile: https://energycentral.com/member/profile/jody-young/about Power of Working Together for Affordable, Reliable Electricity: https://energycentral.com/c/um/power-working-together-affordable-reliable-electricity

Episode #45: ‘Enhancing Utility Coordination Through Improved GeoSpatial Data Tracking’ with Gord Reynolds, Infrastructure Ontario [an Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast] This week’s episode of the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast dives into the world of infrastructure, and specifically the management of assets found underground that transport our water, gas, and electrons. Asset management at the utility is big and serious business, having lasted in some cases for a century or longer buried deep underneath the ground. Accurately tracking those assets and keeping such records updated in real time is far more complex and underappreciated even for people who may work at a utility. This is why the market for talent in utility asset management is exploding, with GIS technologies and related systems enjoying high demand and advancement into increasing sophistication. To give a good overview of this topic, host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester welcome to the podcast Gord Reynolds, Vice President of Commercial Advisory and Strategy at Infrastructure Ontario. Gord leads a variety of initiatives to improve utility coordination across Canada, including support of two recently passed provincial Acts to streamline the coordination of utility assets to deliver transit projects and broadband on time and within budget across Ontario. One specific aspect of these regulations is the process of setting up a government entity, the Office of Utility Coordination, an asset management platform that will transform how utility work is conducted and tracked moving forward. Gord will provide an overview of what this office does and how it’s changing the world of infrastructure asset management. Key Links: Energy Central Post with Full Episode Transcript: https://energycentral.com/o/energy-central/episode-38-%E2%80%98enhancing-utility-coordination-through-improved-geospatial-data Gord Reynold’s Energy Central Profile: https://energycentral.com/member/profile/gord-reynolds-2 Metrolinx to launch new Office of Utility Coordination: https://energycentral.com/c/um/metrolinx-launch-new-office-utility-coordination-constructconnectcom

This week, the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast turns back to the world of Digital Twins as we welcome back a return guest to the podcast: Brent Jensen, a sales engagement director with Bentley Systems. Bent and his team at Bentley have been hard at work transforming the digital sphere of the utility industry, specifically focused on the grid modernization implications of digital twins and the data-focused opportunities they unlock. After first introducing host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester to the possibilities of digital twin on the grid in his appearance on the podcast last year, Brent picks up where he left off to inform listners about how electric utilities can get started and the cascading benefits that come for forward-looking utilities to integrate these grid software solutions. A special thanks to Bentley Systems for supporting this edition of the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast. Key Links: Brent Jensen’s Energy Central Profile: https://energycentral.com/member/profile/brent-jensen Bentley’s Energy Central Profile: https://energycentral.com/o/bentley Energy Central Post with Full Transcript: https://energycentral.com/o/energy-central/special-edition-how-digital-twins-can-overcome-utility-challenges-brent-jensen Link to register as a member of the Energy Central community: energycentral.com/user/register Did you know? The Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast has been identified as one of the industry's 'Top 25 Energy Podcasts': blog.feedspot.com/energy_podcasts/

Lots of utilities are sharing their clean energy goals for 2030, 2040 and beyond, as a continued focus on climate change and decarbonization appropriate takes center stage. But declaring vague clean energy targets decades in advance can, arguably, be the easy part of the process, the real challenge comes in living up to those promises and remaining accountable to investors, customers, and regulators to meet those goals. Setting and meeting these clean energy targets is the right thing to do, but if it was easy then we would already be there, but as today’s guest knows: the proof is in the pudding. The Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast is joined this week by Greg Bernosky, the Director of Corporate Strategy at Arizona Public Service (APS). APS made waves in early 2020 by publicly pledging to provide 100% clean, carbon-free power to its customers by 2050, with interim targets of 65% clean energy and 45% renewable energy by 2030. As one of the key voices in developing those goals, Greg knows that these weren’t just pulled out of thin are, but were rigorously debated and evaluated internally before sharing with customers and stakeholders. And while he agrees the goals are ambitious, he remains confident that the utility can deliver. As he notes, some utility leaders may fear a day of reckoning if it becomes clear their clean energy goals are too ambitious, but he and his team at APS both recognize the bigger day of reckoning will come if the industry doesn’t do enough to prevent to worst impacts of climate change. To that end, Greg walks host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester through the mindset of APS executives and outlines the roadmap they have for meeting these goals. Key Links Greg Bernosky’s Energy Central Profile: https://energycentral.com/member/profile/greg-bernosky The APS 10-Year Strategic Plan: https://energycentral.com/c/cp/aps-10-year-strategic-plan Energy Central Post with Full Transcript and Exclusive Bonus Clip: https://energycentral.com/o/energy-central/episode-37-%E2%80%98-day-reckoning-clean-energy-targets%E2%80%99-greg-bernosky-director-arizona Link to register as a member of the Energy Central community: energycentral.com/user/register Did you know? The Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast has been identified as one of the industry's 'Top 25 Energy Podcasts': blog.feedspot.com/energy_podcasts/

This week on the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast, we’re tackling the utility climate discussion from the angle of resilience and adaptation. Where most utility climate discussions deal with emissions reductions, decarbonization, and other methods to try to prevent the worst climate change chain reactions, many in the industry are recognizing that, regardless of how swiftly we implement the clean energy transition, we’re still looking at some likely impacts to the environment around us from climate change that’s already been set into motion. For that reason, addressing reactions to and preparations for climate change are just as critical, especially in an industry that has such large, widespread, and critical infrastructure as power companies do. This focus on climate change resilience and adaptation was brought to us by Nelson Yip, the Director of Strategic Planning at Con Edison. Nelson was one of the forces driving Con Edison’s official Climate Change Resilience and Adaptation Report, which he recently shared with the Energy Central community. While the document is impressive and can stand on its own, host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester couldn’t help but bring Nelson into the podcast booth for a deeper dive into this trend-setting document and learn even more from Nelson about the process behind the generation and implementation of this report with an eye towards helping other utilities across the industry take similar steps to prepare for the future. Key Links Nelson Yip’s Energy Central Profile: https://energycentral.com/member/profile/nelson-yip How Con Edison Is Building a Climate-Resilient Energy Delivery System for New York City: https://energycentral.com/c/pip/how-con-edison-building-climate-resilient-energy-delivery-system-new-york-city Link to register as a member of the Energy Central community: energycentral.com/user/register Energy Central post with full transcript: https://energycentral.com/o/energy-central/episode-36-tackling-climate-change-resilience-and-adaptation-nelson-yip-con Did you know? The Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast has been identified as one of the industry's 'Top 25 Energy Podcasts': blog.feedspot.com/energy_podcasts/

Episode #41: ‘The Whole Grid and Nothing But the Whole Grid’ with Doug Houseman, Principal Consultant at 1898 & Co. [an Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast] Today’s episode of the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast brings in a guest who’s long overdue for an appearance in Doug Houseman, a Principal Consultant at 1898 & Co., a Burns & McDonnell division. Doug’s insights into the utility in much sought after, and his writing in the Energy Central community has been undoubtedly prolific as he seeks to impart wisdom to the next generation of power professionals that he’s learned the hard way through a career in utilities that stretches on for several decades. Specifically, Doug has seen an unfortunate trend in the world of thought leadership, media coverage, and roadmaps to focus on quick fixes to the grid. Whether that’s through focusing on overly optimistic silver bullets, the tendency to think and speak in sound bites, or just a myopic view of what solutions are going to carry the power sector, and really all of society, into the future, Doug Houseman is here to stress the importance of whole systems thinking and solutions. “If we want to keep the grid a social asset for all to use, then we need to work on the holistic picture, not a single aspect,” Doug recently wrote on the Energy Central article “The Whole Grid and Nothing But the Whole Grid,” and in this episode host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester invite Doug to dig even deeper on that idea. Key Links: Energy Central Post with Full Episode Transcript: https://energycentral.com/o/energy-central/episode-35-%E2%80%98-whole-grid-and-nothing-whole-grid%E2%80%99-doug-houseman-principal Doug Houseman’s Energy Central Profile: https://energycentral.com/member/profile/doug-houseman The Whole Grid and Nothing But the Grid: https://energycentral.com/c/gr/whole-grid-and-nothing-whole-grid

The U.S. power grid is getting intense focus from all angles these days, from federal initiatives to spend billions of dollars to upgrade the grid infrastructure all the way down to local projects looking to harden transmission infrastructure. Regardless of the scale or lens, though, a pervading type of solution continues to be identified that can accomplish a myriad of goals: the microgrid. Microgrids are effective and innovative tools that, when utilized optimally, can boost how resilient, affordable, and clean a local power system can be. In today’s episode, Bruce Schadler joins the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast to share with host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester about the vast impact his team has been able to create with targeted microgrid projects. Acting as the Director of Project Management at SourceOne, an energy consulting company for Veolia North America, Bruce and his team have implemented microgrid solutions across New York at sites that include NYU, the New York Public Library, Hudson Yards, and many more. Bruce shares his keen insights about how these solutions, and in particular the Hubgrade service from Veolia, have left an unmistakable fingerprint across the Empire State to prioritize efficiency, digital innovation, sustainability, and resilience. A special thanks goes to Veolia North America for supporting this edition of the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast. Key Links: Bruce Schadler's Energy Central Profile: https://energycentral.com/member/profile/bruce-schadler Link to register as a member of the Energy Central community: energycentral.com/user/register Energy Central Post with Podcast Transcript: https://energycentral.com/c/gr/energy-central-power-perspectives%E2%84%A2-podcast-special-edition-innovative-microgrid Did you know? The Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast has been identified as one of the industry's 'Top 25 Energy Podcasts': blog.feedspot.com/energy_podcasts/