Public Power Underground

Paul Dockery, Jason Fordney, Abigail Sawyer, and Dan Catchpole field listener submitted questions from all types of energy enthusiasts. Plus, we have a Bluey Inspired intermission game with the Honorable Katie Mapes, Matt Schroettnig, and Jon Hart.03:12 - Dan Campbell wonders about the DER value proposition for Public Power13:24 - Dr. Kyri Baker pitches an airline idea for electric utilities27:13 - Travis Kavulla has a contracting question34:46 - Mary Wienke wants to know how we think about new technology developmentBen Serrurier’s work on A Fair Green Deal for the Last Coal Plant in MississippiFamily Guy’s recurring bit with the Kool Aid Man44:51 - Robert Cromwell asks a bunch of questions about transmissionMISO board approves $10.3B transmission plan to support 53 GW of renewables, coverage by Utility Dive57:04 - Intermission Game - energy industry Bluey Scholars on character parallels1:20:40 - TL;DR segment called “Just a Text”Mike Bloomberg from Groundwork DataBryce Johanneck of Quanta TechnologyTherese Hampton proposes a conundrumBill Drummond poses a question Simon Mahan wants to talk about squirrelsMary Wienke with a testimonial1:31:04 - New Merch: “Objectively Enthusiastic”We hope you enjoyed the Fourth Season. Remember to share this with any friends you have that are electric utility enthusiasts, like us! Share the link to merch on shopify. And podcast links on Apple Podcast and Spotify. Subscribe on here so you don’t miss Season 5 or any bonus content in between.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

Bear Prairie, the General Manager of Idaho Falls Power, is the last interview in our Electric Utility Recruiting series! In this 8th and final episode Bear reminds Humaira, Brian, and Paul that public power is a movement, and encourages all of us to spread the message throughout or communities.Idaho Falls Power is a municipal electric utility that has served the city of Idaho Falls, Idaho since 1900. The utility owns and operates five hydropower plants that deliver about one-third of the city’s electricity needs. In addition to the electric utility they offer high-speed, affordable, internet capability for homes and businesses.Electric Utility Recruiting video seriesAttracting a new workforce into electric utility professions is going to be one of the key challenges of the next 20 years, and electric utility enthusiasts need to build up recruiting skills to meet the challenge. So Public Power Underground took the opportunity, while it was recording on location at the opening reception for NWPPA’s Annual Meeting in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to pull aside executives from across the region and quiz them on their best recruiting pitches to attract new folks to electric utility professions.We were honored to be joined by John Hairston, Mark Johnson, Sarah Giomi, Scott Corwin, Scott Simms, Scott Coe, Scott Rhees, Sarah Edmonds, Marc Farmer, Crystal Ball, and Bear Prairie. We hope you found value in our video series and got some insights into messages that can work to recruit new professionals to the electric utility workforce.You can find our merch on shopify. 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!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

Crystal Ball is bringing the power of good ideas to Public Power Underground with her appearance in our Electric Utility Recruiting series. The entertaining conversation with Crystal Ball, Humaira Falkenberg, Brian Fawcett, and Paul Dockery includes Crystal’s recruiting pitch that “Electric utilities are sexy again.” Public Power Underground is an origin story for the Humaira Falkenberg → Crystal Ball friendship and the duo talk about the way community brought them together.PNUCC is a not-for-profit trade association of consumer-owned and investor-owned electric utilities and other power industry partners that share a common interest in the efficacy and reliability of the Northwest Power system. This forum facilitates a unique function in the Northwest where complex and divisive industry issues are brought to the table and discussed in an environment where members put aside competitive differences to chart a mutually beneficial course forward.Electric Utility Recruiting video seriesAttracting a new workforce into electric utility professions is going to be one of the key challenges of the next 20 years, and electric utility enthusiasts need to build up recruiting skills to meet the challenge. So Public Power Underground took the opportunity, while it was recording on location at the opening reception for NWPPA’s Annual Meeting in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to pull aside executives from across the region and quiz them on their best recruiting pitches to attract new folks to electric utility professions.We were honored to be joined by John Hairston, Mark Johnson, Sarah Giomi, Scott Corwin, Scott Simms, Scott Coe, Scott Rhees, Sarah Edmonds, Marc Farmer, Crystal Ball, and Bear Prairie. The interviews will be released individually over the coming weeks as special, bonus episodes.You can find our merch on shopify. 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!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

Marc Farmer, Clatskanie PUD’s General Manager, joins Humaira Falkenberg, Brian Fawcett, and Paul Dockery on Public Power Underground to participate in our Electric Utility Recruiting video series. Marc also gives a great pitch for joining Clatskanie PUD.Clatskanie PUD is an Oregon electric utility serving the communities and surrounding areas of Clatskanie, Rainier, and Westport. With Marc’s support, Clatskanie PUD’s Power Department started Public Power Underground while finding ways to cope with remote work during the pandemic. Marc’s enthusiasm and support for the program continues.Electric Utility Recruiting video seriesAttracting a new workforce into electric utility professions is going to be one of the key challenges of the next 20 years, and electric utility enthusiasts need to build up recruiting skills to meet the challenge. So Public Power Underground took the opportunity, while it was recording on location at the opening reception for NWPPA’s Annual Meeting in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to pull aside executives from across the region and quiz them on their best recruiting pitches to attract new folks to electric utility professions.We were honored to be joined by John Hairston, Mark Johnson, Sarah Giomi, Scott Corwin, Scott Simms, Scott Coe, Scott Rhees, Sarah Edmonds, Marc Farmer, Crystal Ball, and Bear Prairie. The interviews will be released individually over the coming weeks as special, bonus episodes.You can find our merch on shopify. 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!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

Sarah Edmonds, the Western Power Pool’s President and Chief Executive Officer, join Humaira Falkenberg, Brian Fawcett, and Paul Dockery on Public Power Underground to participate in our Electric Utility Recruiting video series. Before kicking off the interview she encouraged us to broaden our approach to include all electric utilities in our target audience. We capture some of that conversation as well.The NWPP Corporation, doing business as the Western Power Pool, is based in Portland, Oregon. Having evolved from its informal origins of three engineers on loan from member utilities in 1941 to the existing staff today, the WPP strives to help its customer organizations achieve maximum benefits of coordinated operations.Electric Utility Recruiting video seriesAttracting a new workforce into electric utility professions is going to be one of the key challenges of the next 20 years, and electric utility enthusiasts need to build up recruiting skills to meet the challenge. So Public Power Underground took the opportunity, while it was recording on location at the opening reception for NWPPA’s Annual Meeting in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to pull aside executives from across the region and quiz them on their best recruiting pitches to attract new folks to electric utility professions.We were honored to be joined by John Hairston, Mark Johnson, Sarah Giomi, Scott Corwin, Scott Simms, Scott Coe, Scott Rhees, Sarah Edmonds, Marc Farmer, Crystal Ball, and Bear Prairie. The interviews will be released individually over the coming weeks as special, bonus episodes.You can find our merch on shopify. 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!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

Kurt Miller, Dan Catchpole, KC Mehaffey, and Paul Dockery get together for a regularly formatted episode to talk about electric utility and electric-utility-adjacent news from a Power Department’s perspective. The crew covers the Murray-Inslee draft report, Australia’s electric market getting suspended, natural gas price slump after a fire, transfer of management of a fish hatchery to the Nez Perce Tribe, and Falconry at the Dalles Dam.19:10 - A draft report developed for Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray to examine the impacts of breaching the four lower snake river damsCoverage by KC Mehaffey in Clearing Up on the report and reactions to the reportA study commissioned by NWRP and prepared by Energy GPS Consulting LLC on the full power cost replacement analysis for the lower Snake River dams33:12 - Australian Energy Market Operator suspended their national electric marketCoverage by the GuardianDiscussion and analysis on The ConversationThe Professor Jacob Mays InterviewThe Professor Frank Wolak Interview43:53 - Freeport’s Liquified Natural Gas had an unplanned outaged, and it impacted national natural gas marketsGrubert, E., & Hastings-Simon, S. (2022). Designing the mid-transition: A review of medium-term challenges for coordinated decarbonization in the United States. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, e768. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.76848:25 - Transfer of management of the Dwarshak National Fish Hatchery to the Nez Perce Tribe, also known as the NimiipuuCoverage by The Spokesman56:51 - The ancient art of falconry used to help reduce salmon predation1:03:49 - TL;DR segment known as “Energy West …. Lite”Water, Weather Conditions Ripe for Boost in Sales for BPAPGE Considers Accelerating Renewables AcquisitionsIdaho Regulators Approve Faster Bridger Depreciation for Idaho PowerCPUC Approves Resource-Adequacy PlansCAISO DMM Suggests Clarifications to Extended Day-Ahead Market ProposalNRU Hires Matt SchroettnigClatskanie PUD Case Study on Wildfire Risk AssessmentEnergy News RoundupYou can find our merch on shopify. 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!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

Scott Corwin, Scott Simms, Scott Rhees and Scott Coe joined Humaira Falkenberg, Brian Fawcett, and Paul Dockery on Public Power Underground to participate in our Electric Utility Recruiting video series.Scott Corwin is the Executive Director of NWPPA.Scott Simms is the Executive Director of Public Power Council.Scott Rhees is the General Manager and CEO for Franklin Public Utility District.Scott Coe received a lifetime achievement award at the 2022 NWPPA Annual Meeting.Electric Utility Recruiting video seriesAttracting a new workforce into electric utility professions is going to be one of the key challenges of the next 20 years, and electric utility enthusiasts need to build up recruiting skills to meet the challenge. So Public Power Underground took the opportunity, while it was recording on location at the opening reception for NWPPA’s Annual Meeting in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to pull aside executives from across the region and quiz them on their best recruiting pitches to attract new folks to electric utility professions.We were honored to be joined by John Hairston, Mark Johnson, Sarah Giomi, Scott Corwin, Scott Simms, Scott Coe, Scott Rhees, Sarah Edmonds, Marc Farmer, Crystal Ball, and Bear Prairie. The interviews will be released individually over the coming weeks as special, bonus episodes.You can find our merch on shopify. 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!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

Sarah Giomi recruits college students for Energy Northwest’s Public Power Internship program. Thankfully, she agreed to join Humaira Falkenberg, Brian Fawcett, and Paul Dockery on Public Power Underground to participate in our Electric Utility Recruiting video series.Energy Northwest is a joint operating agency formed by the Washington state legislature in 1957, representing the convergence of small and big public power. Their consortium of 27 public utility districts and municipalities across Washington takes advantage of economies of scale and shared services that help utilities run their operations more efficiently and at lower cost, to the benefit of more than 1.5 million customers. The agency further improves quality of life throughout the Northwest through the generation of clean, reliable electricity from nuclear, wind, hydro and solar projects.Electric Utility Recruiting video seriesAttracting a new workforce into electric utility professions is going to be one of the key challenges of the next 20 years, and electric utility enthusiasts need to build up recruiting skills to meet the challenge. So Public Power Underground took the opportunity, while it was recording on location at the opening reception for NWPPA’s Annual Meeting in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to pull aside executives from across the region and quiz them on their best recruiting pitches to attract new folks to electric utility professions.We were honored to be joined by John Hairston, Mark Johnson, Sarah Giomi, Scott Corwin, Scott Simms, Scott Coe, Scott Rhees, Sarah Edmonds, Marc Farmer, Crystal Ball, and Bear Prairie. The interviews will be released individually over the coming weeks as special, bonus episodes.You can find our merch on shopify. 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!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

Professor Frank Wolak, the Holbrook Working Professor of Commodity Price Studies in the Department of Economics at Stanford University who also works as the Director of the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development, joins Paul Dockery for the third installation of our Electric Market Enthusiasm series. 04:13 - my lede for Professor Wolak’s working paperWolak, Frank A. "Long-term resource adequacy in wholesale electricity markets with significant intermittent renewables." Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy 3.1 (2022): 155-220.10:22 - the Reliability Externality and it’s relation to the Missing Money problem16:48 - suspending exports in scarcity events20:27 - Standardized Fixed Price Forward Contract market auctions34:50 - the Energy Market Game48:28 - The Future of Electricity Retailing and How We Get There52:43 - developing market depth on the demand sideYou can find our merch on shopify. 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!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

Mark Johnson, the General Manager of Flathead Electric Cooperative, joins Humaira Falkenberg, Brian Fawcett, and Paul Dockery on Public Power Underground to participate in our Electric Utility Recruiting video series.Flathead Electric Cooperative serves over 56,000 members in and around the area of Kalispell and Libby, Montana. It has grown from 82 miles of line serving 117 farm homes in December of 1938 to what is now the second largest electric utility in Montana.Electric Utility Recruiting video seriesAttracting a new workforce into electric utility professions is going to be one of the key challenges of the next 20 years, and electric utility enthusiasts need to build up recruiting skills to meet the challenge. So Public Power Underground took the opportunity, while it was recording on location at the opening reception for NWPPA’s Annual Meeting in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to pull aside executives from across the region and quiz them on their best recruiting pitches to attract new folks to electric utility professions.We were honored to be joined by John Hairston, Mark Johnson, Sarah Giomi, Scott Corwin, Scott Simms, Scott Coe, Scott Rhees, Sarah Edmonds, Marc Farmer, Crystal Ball, and Bear Prairie. The interviews will be released individually over the coming weeks as special, bonus episodes.You can find our merch on shopify. 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!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, CEO and Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration, joins Humaira Falkenberg, Brian Fawcett, and Paul Dockery on Public Power Underground to participate in our Electric Utility Recruiting video series.Before John’s recruiting pitch, Humaira Falkenberg opens with a message of change, a message of hope, and a message of inclusion in her cold open as the episodes celebrity guest host.Electric Utility Recruiting video seriesAttracting a new workforce into electric utility professions is going to be one of the key challenges of the next 20 years, and electric utility enthusiasts need to build up recruiting skills to meet the challenge. So Public Power Underground took the opportunity, while it was recording on location at the opening reception for NWPPA’s Annual Meeting in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to pull aside executives from across the region and quiz them on their best recruiting pitches to attract new folks to electric utility professions. We were honored to be joined by John Hairston, Mark Johnson, Sarah Giomi, Scott Corwin, Scott Simms, Scott Coe, Scott Rhees, Sarah Edmonds, Marc Farmer, Crystal Ball, and Bear Prairie. The interviews will be released individually over the coming weeks as special, bonus episodes. You can find our merch on shopify. 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!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

Elliot Mainzer, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the California Independent System Operator (ISO), joined Crystal Ball, Matt Schroettnig, and Paul Dockery for the second installation of our Electric Market Enthusiasm series. We try to keep it light while discussing governance, transmission, price formation, stakeholder engagement, and CAISO’s new five year strategic plan. To break up the heavy topics we play an intermission game!05:16 - newly released 5 year Strategic Plan14:27 - Governance, legislative change, and Concurrent Resolution 188 introduced by Assembly member Chris Holden, also, Elliot’s TEDx127:27 - an Intermission Game called “better know an RTO CEO by getting them to reveal a preference of competing energy-interpreted gifs in a championship bracket” 40:36 - Transmission Planning and Elliot’s “WEIM Transfer Paths” infographic51:27 - High beams on market evolution and price formation21:06:14 - the Duke Silver of Western Power MarketsYou can find our merch on shopify. 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!Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, it’s work to watch!----------------------1 TEDxPortland 2011 - Elliot Mainzer - The Power Grid2 Mays, Jacob and Jenkins, Jesse, Electricity Markets under Deep Decarbonization (April 19, 2022). USAEE Working Paper No. 22-550, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4087528 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.408752 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

Using the Zach Lowe podcasting technique, Crystal Ball, Humaira Falkenberg, Matthew Schroettnig, and Paul Dockery review their top-5 most interesting energy news stories from so far in 2022 . . . . at a pub . . . together . . . in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on the eve of NWPPA’s Annual Meeting.The stories they covered are listed in a google sheet they used to talk from. Rather than translate the google sheet into bullet points, we’re just including a hyperlink to the working doc.If you have an interesting story from 2022 you’d like to contribute, just add it to the sheet under “Friends of the Underground”. 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

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. Since Professor Mays is an academic, it feels fitting to include citations for the materials referenced. Please excuse any errors in citation.Mays et al., Private risk and social resilience in liberalized electricity markets, Joule (2022), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2022.01.004Mays, Jacob and Jenkins, Jesse, Electricity Markets under Deep Decarbonization (April 19, 2022). USAEE Working Paper No. 22-550, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4087528 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4087528Mays, J., Morton, D.P. & O’Neill, R.P. Asymmetric risk and fuel neutrality in electricity capacity markets. Nat Energy 4, 948–956 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-019-0476-1F. A. Wolak, Economic and political constraints on the demand-side of electricity industry re-structuring processes, Review of Economics and Institutions 4 (1) (Feb. 2013). doi:10.5202/rei.v4i1.101.URL https://doi.org/10.5202/rei.v4i1.101Grubert, E., & Hastings-Simon, S. (2022). Designing the mid-transition: A review of medium-term challenges for coordinated decarbonization in the United States. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, e768. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.768Mays, J., A mini-thread on my and @JesseJenkins working paper, Electricity Markets under Deep Decarbonization. (April 28, 2022). Twitter.com. Jenkins, J., Texas's grid is straining again, as a spring heat wave finds ERCOT with about 1/3 of thermal power plants down, some for scheduled outages (prep for summer), others forced outages due to equipment failures, including 1 coal and 6 gas units. A few threads on the situation... (May 14, 2022). Twitter.com. You can find our merch on shopify. 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!Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, where you’re valued and appreciated. 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

Ben Serrurier, Jason Fordney, Arin Guillory, and Paul Dockery talk about the latest in public power, public-power-adjacent news and exciting acronyms, including BPA in the EIM, CREPC-WIRAB, all-things Tx, NuScale IPO, and another WSJ article!04:07 - a new merch idea coming from the FDR speech Ben quotes in the cold open08:19 - Arin Reports14:21 - BPA joined the EIM on May 3rdBPA press releaseCAISO press release20:28 - Committee on Regional Electric Power Cooperation // Western Interconnection Regional Advisory Body (CREPC-WIRAB)Ben’s live tweet of the eventCREPC WIRAB agendaJason Fordney’s article34:53 - Ari Peskoe’s Utility Dive guest articleJim DiPeso’s coverage of FERC’s Notice of Proposed RulemakingKeegan Moyer’s (Energy Strategies, Partner) presentation on Transmission Planning from CREPC-WIRAB43:13 - NuScale starts trading on the NYSECoverage from The Oregonian (link from Joel Myer’s Energy News Digest, thanks Joel)Stock tracking49:19 - WSJ’s Katherine Blunt covers Electricity Shortage Warningsthe February article by Katerine Blunt on the “increasingly unreliable” power gridBloomberg’s coverage of California state officials warningDan Catchpole’s coverage of PNUCC’s Northwest Regional Forecast (NRF)The EI/GridLab/Telos report on CA 20301:02:31 - TL;DR the rest of the news in “Energy West, lite”Rick AdairK.C. MehaffeyK.C. MehaffeyLinda Dailey PaulsonJim DiPeso“News Roundup”You can find our merch on shopify. 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!Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, where you’re valued and appreciated. 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

Bill Drummond, Dan Catchpole, Karen Heim, and Paul Dockery talk about the latest in public power and public-power-adjacent news, including Lineworker Appreciation Day, solar developers betting on RTO development, what’s going on with the battery supply chain, and jumpstarting interregional transmission!08:45 - Arin Reports with Karen Reporting14:10 - Lineworker Appreciation Day21:11 - solar developers betting on RTO development31:08 - a bunch of battery storiesCAISO is developing a new participation model for energy storage resourcesa Southern California Edison’s energy storage project is facing delaysRivian Chief Executive Officer, RJ Scaringe has a warningSupply chain issues facing batteries41:21 - DOE’s $2.5 billion Transmission Jump Start Program50:01 - TL;DR the rest of the news in “Energy West, lite”K.C. MehaffeyRick AdairLinda Daily PaulsonRick AdairAbigail Sawyer“News Roundup”Albuquerque JournalYou can find our merch on shopify. Remember to share this with any friends you have that are electric utility enthusiasts like us!Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, where you’re valued and appreciated. 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

Debra Smith, the General Manager and Chief Executive Officer for Seattle City Light, joined the Karen, Matt, and Paul for a special bonus discussion about the electric utility enthusiast trifecta: Electrification, Markets, and People. We also get some jokes, elephant noises, an intermission game, and some new merch ideas.05:49 - what’s going well, a numbered list12:14 - Attracting, retaining, and recruiting public power people36:56 - an Intermission Game called “Fantasy Utility Draft” where we do a mock electric utility draft from the characters of Schitts Creek, Succession, Ted Lasso, and Parks & Rec51:27 - Debra’s thoughts on market development in the Northwest57:03 - Seattle City Lights approach to electrification and highlights of their recent projectsCurbside EV chargingNew electric bus charging baseElectrification study developed in collaboration w/ EPRI1:01:46 - Scaling up our workforce as the biggest challenge facing electric utilitiesbackground from interview w/ Jesse JenkinsSaul Griffith’s book Electrify and link to Rewiring Americathe hk tweet1:10:03 - new merch ideasYou can find our merch on shopify. Remember to share this with any friends you have that are electric utility enthusiasts like us!Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, where you’re valued and appreciated. 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

Robert Trinnear, Abigail Sawyer, Brian Fawcett, and Paul Dockery talk about the latest in public power and public-power-adjacent news, including IPCC’s working group 3 report, the nationalization of National Grid, a $4.7 million fine by FERC, electrifying heavy duty trucks, and public power whitepapers!08:02 - Arin Reports with Brian Reporting16:28 - IPCC’s Working Group 3 ReportThe Guardian article on Working Group 3 conclusionsThe Guardian article on IPCC reports and what they address29:29 - UK government buys ESO from National Grid37:32 - Constellation NewEnergy pays fine for violating CAISO market rules42:25 - Nevada joins EV MOU47:57 - Preference customers publish papers on Provider of ChoicePPC’s “PUBLIC POWER POST-2028 CONCEPT PAPER”PNGC’s “Post-2028 BPA Contract Framework and Concept Paper”52:37 - TL;DR the rest of the news in “Energy West, lite”Wholesale electric prices in CAISOColstrip operator Talen Energy reportedly preparing for bankruptcyBiden Invokes Defense Act to Boost Critical MineralsYou can find our merch on shopify. 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!Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, where you’re valued and appreciated. 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

Matt and Paul have a meandering conversation with Chris Kroeker from NW Natural about H2’s role in the energy transition.04:01 - all the colors of hydrogen17:32 - difference between hydrogen (H2) and renewable natural gas (CH4)21:23 - How much H2 can go in CH4 transmission and distribution lines?26:58 - How much H2 can be used in natural gas power plants?29:35 - H2’s role in industrial decarbonization (include paper mills)31:50 - Infrastructure necessary to get H2 to industrial loads (and money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that may go toward it)36:50 - How much hydrogen infrastructure does a billion dollars get ya!? 39:15 - Is there an inverse heat rate for the electricity to H2 conversion? 55kWh/kg-H2, 1kg-H2 = 135,000 btu 55kWh/135,000btu or 2,454 btu/kWhInverse heat rate (a.k.a. the Cold Hart Rate) = 1 / 2.454 MMBTU/MWh = 0.4075 MWh/MMBTUBreak even price for electrolysis at $30/MWh = 0.4075 MWh/MMBTU * $30/MWh = $12.22/MMBTUI decided to check my concepts against known efficiencies of Proton exchange membrane electrolysis cells3.4121 MMBTU = 1 MWhEfficiency of electrolysis conversion from MWh to H2, η = ~70%η*3.4121MMBTU/MWh = 2.38847 MMBTU/MWh Inverse heat rate (a.k.a. the Cold Hart Rate) = 1/2.38847 MMBTU/MWh = 0.4187 MWh/MMBTU Break even price for electrolysis at $30/MWh = 0.4187 MWh/MMBTU * $30/MWh = $12.56/MMBTUSpecial thanks to Chris Kroeker and Jonathan Hart for finding mistakes in my initial math. In exchange for Jon’s help resolving my error, I will forever refer to this conversion as the “Cold Hart Rate”. I don’t know if that was useful, if you have thoughts about the usefulness of an inverse heat rate or better math, let me know.Remember to share this with any friends you have that are electric utility enthusiasts like us!Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, where you’re valued and appreciated. 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

Therese Hampton, Jason Fordney, Crystal Ball, and Paul Dockery talk about the latest in public power and public-power-adjacent news, including Blue Wolf Capital, minimum pool elevation for power generation at Glen Canyon Dam, FERC’s take on ROE, innovation at Douglas County PUD, a new President and CEO at WPP, and two new members of WMEG!06:45 - Arin Reports with Crystal Reporting13:29 - Blue Wolf Capital is pursuing the restart of the Intalco aluminum smelter Larry Brown opinion piece in The Seattle TimesScott Simms rebuttal in The Seattle Times18:47 - Glen Canyon Dam approaching minimum pool elevationCoverage by Jake Bittle at GristAP coverage in October of 2021US Bureau of Reclamation Reservoir Storage DashboardUS Drought Monitor map24:20 - FERC Lowers PG&E Transmission ROE, related coverage in Utility Dive34:16 - Douglas County PUD is innovating with renewable hydrogen (and maybe, possibly, someday expanding)40:21 - The Western Power Pool announces the selection of Sarah Edmonds as President and CEO44:22 - TL;DR the rest of the news in “Energy West, lite”52:30 - the Western Markets Exploratory Group (“W”- “meg”) added two new members since announced in October of 202156:56 - BREAKING NEWS from the Chair of the Western Energy Imbalance Market Governance Review CommitteeRemember to share this with any friends you have that are electric utility enthusiasts like us!Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, where you’re valued and appreciated. 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

In a wide ranging, engaging, and entertaining conversation, Humaira, Matt and Paul interview Jesse Jenkins. Jesse is an assistant professor at Princeton University with a joint appointment in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and Environment. He is also an affiliated faculty with the Center for Policy Research in Energy and Environment at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and an associated faculty at the High Meadows Environment Institute. He leads the Princeton ZERO Lab - the Zero carbon Energy systems Research and Optimization Laboratory -- which conducts research to improve decision-making to accelerate rapid, affordable, and effective transitions to net-zero carbon energy systems.05:26 - Public Power's role in the energy transition17:13 - Intermission Game: “Parametric Uncertainty or Structural Error”28:46 - How much are we gonna electrify? and is a Northwest RTO necessary for our region to do it?40:59 - Nuanced approached to the energy transition52:52 - Hope for the kids58:40 - The Demand Balance Constraint, on merchOne area of conversation we didn’t get to because we ran out of time isthe Power Genome project and GenX model which Jesse has been involved in developing. Hopefully he’ll come back again to dive into open source models, and how electric utilities can utilize them in public processes.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!Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, where you’re valued and appreciated. 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

Ahlmahz Negash, Dan Catchpole, Karen Heim, and Paul Dockery talk about the latest in public power and public-power-adjacent news, plus a preview of an upcoming interview with Northwest Natural’s Chris Kroeker about the future of hydrogen!06:48 - Arin Reports with Karen Reporting12:13 - Ukraine and the European Union to urgently link electric grids (which successfully occurred after recording)19:13 - Columbia REA let’s employees bring dogs to work22:44 - Spring 2022 Energy Justice Speaker Series26:50 - Jason Fordney’s article debriefing Arne Olson’s presentation at the February 25th NewsData and CJB Energy Economics video conference on Western Electric System Transformation29:53 - Ahlmahz talks about her paper on Allocating the Cost of Demand Response Compensation in Wholesale Energy Markets37:29 - Matt and Paul talk to Northwest Natural’s Chris Kroeker42:03 - TL;DR the rest of the news in “Short to Ground”other sources of energy news related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine mentioned in the episodeGermany may speed up renewables (Reuters)No taboos for Germany’s energy future (Reuters)Another energy podcast tackles macro energy impacts (The Carbon Copy)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!Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, where you’re valued and appreciated. 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

We assembled an ad-hoc crew to record an emergency podcast. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks to @DrEricDing for breaking the news into @aPowerManager’s feed.Remember to share this with any friends you have that are electric utility enthusiasts like us!Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, where you’re valued and appreciated. 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

In this bonus episode Matt and Paul have a conversation with the Executive Director of PGP and former Vice President of Transmission Regulation and Market Policy for PacifiCorp: Mary Wiencke!Reference Materials:PGP’s Market RetrospectiveWestern States’ Market Study prepared by Energy StrategiesHandbook on Electricity Markets FERC Landmark OrdersRemember to share this with any friends you have that are electric utility enthusiasts like us!Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, where you’re valued and appreciated. 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

Russ Mantifel, Jason Fordney, Paul Dockery, and Ludgie Gelin talk about the latest in public power and public-power-adjacent news, plus a preview of an upcoming interview with PGP’s Mary Wiencke!08:08 - Arin Reports with Paul Reporting14:20 - Roundtable on rural broadband at Mason PUD #3 plus other broadband news21:38 - CAISO adopts Phase 1 of Resource Sufficiency test rule changes30:24 - The Wall Street Journal’s long-form article on the grid’s reliability44:30 - the cost of going underground51:05 - 2021 Power Plan in pre-publication, final form58:50 - Matt and Paul talk to PGP’s Mary Wiencke1:09:49 - TL;DR the rest of the news in “Sound Bites”Remember to share this with any friends you have that are electric utility enthusiasts like us!Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, where you’re valued and appreciated. 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

Rebecca Sexton, Crystal Ball, Dan Catchpole, and Paul Dockery run through the latest in public power and public-power-adjacent news. There are a few instances where we go off the rails - - - as it often does when discussing public-power-adjacent news.1:12 - Rebecca breaks news in her opening, Celebrity Guest, monologue11:46 - Arin Reports with Rebecca Reporting15:20 - follow up on Arin Reports with discussion on Northeast natural gas prices21:10 - CAISO issued a 20-year draft transmission outlook plan (coverage by NewsData and Utility Dive)29:40 - Hydropower’s Contributions to Grid Reliability and Resilience (coverage by Utility Dive)36:36 - we go off the rails (calling on BPA people who have access to THE teletype, we need a sound sample!)40:02 - Maersk is launching an offshore vessel-charging venture44:45 - 2022 Pan-Pacific Winter High Seas Expedition48:00 - Silicon Valley Clean Energy’s Controlled EV-Charging Pilot53:36 - TL;DR the rest of the newsYou 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!Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, where you’re valued and appreciated. 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

In this bonus episode Matt and Paul have a conversation with the Administrator and Chief Executive Officer of Bonneville Power Administration: John Hairston!4:50 - One-Year Anniversary Celebration and presentation of an honorary fry-weight Anadromous Championship15:25 - Boardman to Hemingway (B2H) news20:34 - New content begins here!21:43 - A new, public power underground game: seen // heard // nothing25:45 - Fish risk (on hydro operations)37:03 - Organizational re-alignment45:52 - what electrification might mean for BPA’s transmission business unit50:25 - a promo for BPA’s Science Bowl51:05 - Administrator’s choice of topics59:52 - parenting advice (maybe the first “Parent Corner” segment on the underground?)Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, where you’re valued and appreciated. 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

4:39 - Arin Reports8:16 - B2H news13:58 - Advanced nuclear fission projects in the news and fun twitter follows23:10 - Dispatches from #energytwitter on ev charger siting32:35 - California Public Utilities Commission takes up NEM 3.0 and Jason has some thoughts41:20 - Seattle City Light’s newly released electrification study48:57 - Matt and Paul interview BPA CEO and Administrator, John Hairston and celebrate his one year anniversary as Administrator1:07:30 - TL;DR the rest of the newsYou can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, 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

Karen Heim, Dan Catchpole, Ian Bledsoe, and Paul Dockery get up to speed on public power and public-power-adjacent news!04:05 - Arin Reports with Ian Reporting!08:20 - Northwest winter storm14:36 - BPA's land acquisition program 20:23 - Another electric truck25:21 - EDAM stakeholder process update30:13 - PG&E Building ‘Remote Grids’ in Fire-prone Areas, and containerized microgrid systems38:20 - Where Does Santa Go When the Arctic's Summer Ice Is Gone?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!Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, where you’re valued and appreciated. 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 the finale for Season 3 and our Holiday Special! We welcomed special celebrity guests Crystal Ball, Emeka Anyanwu, Russ Mantifel, and NewsData’s Mark Ohrenschall to do a 2021 Energy News Countdown and 2022 prognostication. The episode is interspersed with Energy Carols!08:06 Careful ‘cause it’s time change46:04 Silver Generators1:08:54 Simply forming a wonderful western market1:18:52 O Power Plan1:24:52 Ridiculous Things [a Daryl Wayne Dasher original and fitting tribute to public power underground]The 2021 Energy News Countdown includes a discussion of each of the celebrity guests’ top 5 energy news stories. Each of us had our own list with our own reasons, it’s a great conversation. My top 10 is included here for your enjoyment! Spoiler alert, my list wasn’t the best list!#10 WRAP Phase 3A#9 BPA Rate Decrease#8 Ted Lasso/Dolly Parton/Energy Twitter cross-over#7 The Power Grid makes John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight”#6 Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act#5 Heat Dome event#4 Texas blackout#3 European energy crisis driven by Natural gas ^$ #2 Iron Air, Long Duration Batteries#1 F150 EVPublic 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

Michelle Manary, Bonneville Power Administration’s Chief Financial Officer who is on assignment to the Department of Energy as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Electric Delivery, joins Matthew Scroettnig (EWEB’s Power Planning Supervisor & Staff Counsel) and Paul Dockery (Clatskanie PUD’s Director of Energy Resources) to go deep into the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, electrification’s impact on long-term planning, how to prepare for grant funding, SEASONAL TIME CHANGE, and how much she misses all our wonderful workshops in the Pacific Northwest.If you watched s3e10, Infrastructure Week!, you have already heard the first part of the interview. The conversation picks back up in this video at 13:54. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. We hope you enjoy the conversation. Happy Thanksgiving everybody! 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 season 3, episode 10 - Infrastructure Week! for Public Power Underground. Michelle Manary joins us to chat about the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act! Also joining is Juergen Pilot from the National Offshore Wind Research & Development Consortium and returning champion Kurt Miller. 07:28 - Arin Reports with (the newest Honorary Member of the Power Department) Crystal Ball Reporting!13:39 - FERC, States Kick Off New Task Force Focused on Transmission Buildout16:15 - Juergen Pilot, the National Offshore Wind Research & Development Consortium's Program Manager, answers a series of questions about offshore wind as quickly and entertainingly as possible27:41 - Agrivoltaic Farming!31:05 - Microgrid powering buses in LADWP's service territory32:23 - Kurt Miller is championing hydropower’s inclusion in the Build Back Better Act38:16 - Combined Geothermal power production and Lithium extraction41:59 - Dispatches from #EnergyTwitter: @JesseJenkins did an outstanding, google sheets, summary of all the energy-related provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act47:24 - Michelle Manary joins to chat about DOE, BPA, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act1:04:37 - TL;DR news stories we ran out of time to discussYou 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!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

Scott Coe, a public power leader who started under the Greatest Generation, rose to leadership amongst boomers, and has led organizations with Boomers, Millenials, and, maybe even, zoomers, joins Matthew Scroettnig (EWEB’s Power Planning & Staff Counsel) and Paul Dockery (Clatskanie PUD’s Power Manager) to talk about all things public power and public-power-leadership.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

It’s season 3, episode 9 - Leading Innovation Week! for Public Power Underground. Underground regulars (Karen Heim, Brian Fawcett, Ludgie Gelin, and Ian Bledsoe) are joined by our returning Podcast Ambassador from Clearing Up, Dan Catchpole. The episode includes conversations about blockchain technologies with NRU’s Resource Analyst, Ellyn Groves, and a preview of a longer interview by Special Correspondent Matt Schroettnig of Emerald PUD’s General Manager, Scott Coe. The full interview of Scott Coe will be in a follow-up BONUS episode, next week.02:54 - Arin Reports with Ian Reporting06:29 - Cooking, Hot Water Grew Residential Demand During Pandemic11:27 - Ellyn Groves joins as a Special Research Specialist to talk about Blockchain and Paul unpacks some NFTs20:22 - BPA Study May Be 'Early Warning' of Trouble for Clean Energy Goals22:43 - NMPRC Hearing Examiner Recommends Against $8-Billion PNM-Avangrid Merger24:43 - Nuclear Power is having a moment30:21 - Preview of blockbuster Scott Coe interview w/ Special Correspondent, Matt Schroettnig40:37 - TL;DR news stories we ran out of time to discussYou 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!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

It’s season 3, episode 8 - Distributed Demand Resource Response Week! for Public Power Underground. Underground regulars (Karen Heim, Arin Guillory, Ludgie Gelin, and Paul Dockery) are joined by our Podcast Ambassador from California Energy Markets, Jason Fordney this week. The episode includes conversations with Tacoma Power’s Ahlmahz Negash grant funding for microgrids and distributed resources, and PNUCC’s Shauna McReynolds and Tomás Morrisey about Demand Response and Distributed Generation in the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s draft 2021 Power Plan.05:18 - Arin Reports08:46 - The Arizona Corporation Commission is clashing with Arizona Public Service13:13 - Ahlmahz Negash, PhD, talks Clean Energy Fund awards for grid modernization projects21:45 - Southern California Edison transitioning residential customers to Time-of-Use rate plans22:49 - The Diesel-Fired California Dream30:15 - Shauna McReynolds and Tomás Morrissey talk about Distributed Generation and Demand Response in NWPCC’s draft 2021 Power Plan48:30 - Avista and Puget Sound Energy file final clean energy implementation plans51:07 - A Bipartisan Infrastructure Package makes it through Congress53:19 - Dispatches from #EnergyTwitter: Maine Voters reject transmission and John Oliver talks Power Grid58:17 - TL;DR news stories we ran out of time to discussRemember to share this with any friends you have 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

It’s season 3, episode 7 - Markets Week! for Public Power Underground. Underground regulars (Brian Fawcett, Arin Guillory, Ian Bledsoe, and Paul Dockery) are joined by our Podcast Ambassador from Clearing Up, Dan Catchpole, to get our listeners up to speed on public-power and public-power-adjacent news. The episode includes special, feature conversations with The Energy Authority’s (TEA) Chris Lewis and John Raiford to talk about the state of Natural Gas Markets, and Public Generation Pool’s Therese Hampton and Steve Kerns about PGP’s Market Retrospective.03:49 - Arin Reports06:16 - TEA’s Chris Lewis and John Raiford explain what’s going on with Natural Gas Markets23:08 - Global supply chain issues are hitting California’s energy industry24:07 - Some more Colstrip action in Federal Court25:13 - Chinook salmon in the Salish Sea leads to surprising findings about southern resident orcas26:42 - Therese Hampton (Executive Director) and Steve Kerns (Senior Technical Advisor) talk about PGP’s Organized Market Retrospective39:53 - Our friends from Cowlitz PUD made the news42:18 - Market expansion is in the news and on people’s minds43:56 - PJM released study on transmission build out to handle offshore wind50:20 - TL;DR news stories we ran out of time to discussYou can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks to all the newest Friends of the Underground who have joined us since last week. Remember to share this with any friends you have 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

Your friends at the Power Department are excited to announce that we’re teaming up with NewsData to make Public Power Underground better, bigger, and more sustainable.In a special, bonus episode the friends you’ve come to know as the voices of the Underground (Karen Heim, Brian Fawcett, Arin Guillory, Ian Bledsoe, Ludgie Gelin, and Paul Dockery) reminisce a little about what we’ve enjoyed so far, we talk with NewsData’s Editor-in-Chief, Mark Ohrenschall, about the collaboration, and get insights from Mike Shepard, the CEO of NewsData’s parent company, Pioneer Utility Resources, and Marc Farmer, the General Manager of Clatskanie PUD, about listeners should look forward to from the Underground going forward.03:37 - Mark Ohrenschall talks about the collaboration10:31 - lightning round questions with the Voices of the Underground15:22 - Mike Shepard and Marc Farmer join Paul to talk about what listeners should expect26:44 - more lightning round questions and we discuss the future of the Anadromous Championship BeltYou can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks to all the newest Friends of the Underground who have joined us since last week. Remember to share this with any friends you have 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

It’s season 3, episode 5 - Live from the Benson! week for Public Power Underground. In an upbeat, LIVE, recording we get communication celebrities from across the region to come read some news for us on this week’s episode. The episode also includes a couple of wonderful interviews with industry experts. We talk with BPA’s Industry Economist, Daniel Fisher, about product development philosophies, and with Electric Vehicle enthusiast, Loren McDonald, about Level 1 charging infrastructure.04:05 - Arin Reports with the City of Roseville’s Erin Frye Reporting 11:16 - WMEG (Western Markets Exploratory Group) was announced! 13:00 - Clearwater Power Company’s Jeff Marshall talks SCL’s Renewable Hydrogen Research Project 18:48 - The WRAP (Western Resource Adequacy Program) moves to its implementation phase 20:07 - Daniel Fisher talks about post-2028 (Provider of Choice) product development philosophies 40:50 - Clallam County PUD’s Nicole Hartman joins to talk about a proposal for carbon sequestration, energy plant in Port Angeles 45:10 - Loren McDonald of EVAdoption.com and @EVAdoptionTweet joins to talk about Level 1 charging 1:00:50 - Best-Friend-of-the-Underground Kurt Miller joins to talk about the joy of pregnant Southern Resident orcas, and CLAIM THE ANADROMOUS CHAMPIONSHIP BELT 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 season 3, episode 4 - Fish Risk! week for Public Power Underground. We cover everything from permafrost to Dolly Parton on this week’s episode hosted a combination of new stars (Ludgie Gelin and Betsy Bridge), returning star (Arin Guillory), and regular co-host (Paul Dockery). The highlight is a wonderful interview with the Director of BPA’s Fish & Wildlife Program, Crystal Ball, where we try to better understand fish risk for preference customer considering a post-2028 contract with BPA. We also get a visit from Special Correspondent, and star of the Underground, Matt Schroettnig. The whole thing is wonderful.04:05 - Arin Reports 07:38 - Three news releases from BPA 10:42 - safe, small, TRANSPORTABLE nuclear reactor 12:24 - Oregon Solar Program update 17:52 - Matt Schroettnig appears as Special Guest Correspondent to talk about submarine supergrids 27:34 - Portland General Electric topic that is very-accountant-nerdy 29:18 - The Cold Climate Housing Research Center is designing Alaskan housing for a future of changing climate 33:40 - Crystal Ball, the Director of BPA's Fish & Wildlife Program, helps clarify fish risk for preference customers considering a post-2028 contract with BPA 56:42 - Dispatches from #energytwitter starring Dolly Parton, Ted Lasso, and #HotFERCSummerPublic 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

It’s season 3, episode 3 - Into the Metaverse! week for Public Power Underground. We covered a BROAD range of news this week, and caught up with some celebrities including THE Vice President of Origination for Avangrid, Holly Carias, a BLUE CHECK mark, Dan Catchpole, and the curator of #energytwitter, Simon Mahan.04:20 - Arin Reports 09:13 - Summary of wildfire impacts on BPA transmission lines 11:29 - PPC’s Mike Linn joins to chat about CAISO’s recently announced Extended Day-Ahead Market forum 18:21 - Northwest Coming Up Short of Regional Energy Savings Goal 19:29 - Dispatches from #EnergyTwitter w/ @dcatchpole & @SimonMahan 35:03 - A perfect storm hits UK's natural gas market 37:26 - Holly Carias, Avangrid’s VP of Origination, joins to chat about all things renewables including the U.S.'s first offshore wind project securing funding 51:06 - Fusion and some powerful magnets 52:46 - Oregon didn't meet it's target of 50,000 Zero Emission Vehicles by 2020 53:59 - Direct carbon air capture - a vacuum got installed 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

It’s season 3, episode 2 - Into the Metaverse! - week for Public Power Underground. We caught up with a couple special guests, and got back into the regular format covering public-power and public-power-adjacent news.02:17 - Arin Reports 07:16 - Temporary Gas Plants in California 10:02 - Tu Phan talks Power Markets and Metaverse 20:04 - PNNL’s Research on Heat Pump Water Heaters 22:16 - Roger Gray talks about BPA post-2028 product design concepts 37:37 - Broadband expansion to rural areas 39:02 - Northwest Power and Conservation Council releases draft 2021 Power Plan 40:09 - High Columbia Temperatures Worry Steelhead WatchersPublic 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

Public Power Underground successfully pulled off its first-ever-livestream as our Season 3 Premiere! We broadcasted LIVE from across the region, simultaneously. Karen Heim and Humaira Falkenberg joined from remote locations to provide color commentary, insights, and questions.Joining the Underground on-location at the NWPPA Annual Conference were a series of very special guests who became the newest Friends of the Underground and summarize 3 days of conference content in one hour! We also covered some news stories we missed during our summer break in between guests. It was action-packed!08:01 - Arin Reports with Karen Reporting 11:18 - Plug-Pass Promo 12:37 - Scott Corwin, Executive Director of NWPPA 19:49 - BPA rate case 22:09 - Scott Peters, CEO of Columbia Rural Electric Association 27:42 - Heat Dome 30:10 - Michelle Bertolino - Electric Utility Director for the City of Roseville & NWPPA Board President 36:50 - Mutual Aid help for Hurricane Ida 38:05 - Brad Janorschke, General Manager of Homer Electric Association 46:13 - The WRAP 47:27 - Bear Prairie, General Manager of Idaho Falls Power 54:28 - The Legislative Path to Increasing BPA Borrowing Authority 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

Season 3 is the season to ROLL ON ENTHUSTIASTS, ROLL ON! Public Power Underground took the summer off, but with kids headed back to school it's time for the fall season to kick off. We've got some plans. The plans are bound to change. The Underground's own Arin Guillory, CPA and Ian Bledsoe combined their talents to make this special Season 3 theme song inspired by Woody Guthrie's Roll On Columbia, but re-imagined for electric utility enthusiasts. We hope you enjoy, and are ready for the next adventure. 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

It’s the SEASON FINALE, and to celebrate the conclusion of another wonderful season of Public Power Underground we invited a special guest of honor, Susan Ackerman, to join us for an after dark, mailbag episode.Susan recently announced her retirement from her role as Eugene Water and Electric Board’s (EWEB) Chief Energy Officer. To celebrate her career and ask her deeply personal and occasionally inappropriate questions the Underground invited a cast of extraordinary characters from around the region to join the underground for the happy-hour-ish episode.Joining us for the episode were:Karen Heim, PPC’s Office Administrator and Public Power Underground’s Editor-at-LargeTherese Hampton, PGP’s Executive Director who is making a debut appearance on Public Power UndergroundMegan Capper, EWEB’s Energy Resources Manager and Hero of the UndergroundMatt Schroettnig, EWEB’s Power Resources Counsel and member of the Anadromous Championship circleHumaira Falkenberg, Pacific Count PUD’s Power Resource Manager and enthusiastic public power advocateBetsy Bridge, NRU’s General Counsel emeritus and newly recruited Executive Producer for Public Power UndergroundCrystal Ball, BPA’s Fish & Wildlife Program Director and newly recruited Brand Manager for Public Power UndergroundMegan Stratman, NRU’s Rates & Policy Director and Special -all-the-topics-she’s-willing-to-talk-about-CorrespondentWe’re not sure when we’ll be back for Season 3, so hit the subscribe button so you’re notified of the Season Premiere!Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts. Public Power Underground, it’s work to watch.to sign up for the newsletter visit our 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

It’s Harquahala Hypothesis! week on Public Power Underground! Northwest power markets are a topic of interest for the Underground, and we dive into a forward market theory on to start the news. After the market hypothesis, we talk to EWEB’s Jon Hart about his philosophy of market fundaments, check-in on transportation electrification with Clark Public Utilities’ Matt Babbitts, learn about public power recruiting from Energy Northwest’s Sarah Giomi, and revisit one of our recurring topics (Resource Adequacy) with PGP’s Lea Fisher.01:48 - Arin Reports04:10 - [an unplanned fishing update from celebrity angler, Brian Fawcett]05:49 - Harquahala Hypothesis06:47 - a Philosophy of Market Fundamentals w/ EWEB’s Jon Hart14:49 - Debrief from BPA’s 2nd Quarter QBR Technical Workshop15:38 - Clark Public Utilities’ Matt Babbitts on Transportation Electrification & APPA’s EV Toolkit26:46 - CoBank Launched a Power Podcast28:20 - Talk to Sarah Giomi about Energy Northwest’s public power utility internship program that was highlighted in February’s NWPPA Bulletin (page 16)34:57 - Lamborghini announces an all-electric-car (and the F-150 Lightning was revealed)44:28 - PGP’s Lea Fisher talks NWPP’s RA programPUBLIC (POWER) SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: We’re recording a special after-dark, mailbag episode with Best Friend of the Underground Susan Ackerman on May 26th. It will serve as Public Power Underground’s Season 2 finale. Don’t miss the sappy conclusion to the season, subscribe on YouTube, apple podcast, spotify, and here on substack to make sure you don’t miss the Season 2 finale or the Season 3 premier!Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts. Public Power Underground, it’s work to watch.to sign up for the newsletter visit our 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

We’re Catching up on all-the-news! this week on Public Power Underground! After a restful week hiatus we’re back catching up on all we missed. Joining to get us up to speed were Clearing Up’s Steve Ernst, Forth’s Erin Galiger, and NRU’s Megan Stratman!01:22 - Arin Reports06:49 - Colonial Pipeline begins restart of operations after a cyberattack 09:15 - Clearing Up's Steve Ernst joins to catch me up litigation and arbitration surrounding Colstrip15:12 - Fitch Ratings issues Rating Action Commentary on Energy Northwest and BPA16:29 - Debrief from BPA’s Q2 Quarterly Business Review18:51 - Forth’s Erin Galiger joins the Underground to talk about electric tractors!26:25 - Ford F-150 Lightning is getting unveiled on a livestream May 19th at 6:30pm 28:59 - NRU’s Megan Stratman joins to talk about the proposed BP-22 Rate Settlement and BPA’s Provider of Choice process44:28 - Public Power Underground original reporting of our very own news story about Emerald PUD’s pandemic pet policy: An Ian Bledsoe Special ReportPUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: We’re recording a special after-dark, mailbag episode with retiring Best Friend of the Underground Susan Ackerman on May 26th. Send us your mailbag questions by May 20th for us to talk about after-hours in a happy-hour-ish version of Public Power Underground!Public Power Underground, it’s work to watch. Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts.to sign up for the newsletter visit our 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

It’s Return Counts are Up! week on Public Power Underground! Some great guest news and insight from returning Friends of the Underground this week. There’s a lot going on in the region and we’re just trying to keep up. We also talk a lot about EVs, because we really find electric vehicle public charging interesting.01:52 - Arin Reports05:45 - Guest News: PNUCC’s Tomás Morrisey talks about the NRF14:31 - Guest News: PNGC’s Greg Mendonca records a promo for an open position19:47 - PPC’s Executive Director, Scott Simms, gives an update on their Blue Sky initiative31:36 - Pole-Mounted Electric Vehicle Public Chargers35:21 - PGE and Daimler Trucks North America build the first vehicle charging site specifically for heavy-duty trucks38:50 - Steller sea lion removal news is back as the number of Chinook climbing Bonneville Dam fish ladders is on the rise40:16 - Debrief from BPA’s April 27th Energy Imbalance Market Implementation WorkshopPUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: We’re recording a special after-dark, mailbag episode on May 26th. Send us your mailbag questions for us to talk about after-hours in a happy-hour-ish version of Public Power Underground! We’ll be joined by MANY SPECIAL GUESTS AND ONE SUPER-SPECIAL CELEBRITY GUEST!!!!Public Power Underground, it’s work to watch. Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts.to sign up for the newsletter visit our 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

It’s Resource Adequacy double-feature! week on Public Power Underground! We talk about the Northwest Power Pool’s Resource Adequacy program in back-to-back interviews. First with NWPP’s Chief Operating Officer, Gregg Carrington, and the second interview with Chair of WSPP’s Operating Committee, Matthew Schroettnig. And to get caught up on the BP-22/TC-22 rate cases we talk to PPC’s Mike Deen about what’s going on!01:31 - Arin Reports05:11 - Celebration of ClearingUp’s 2000th edition07:22 - PPC’s Mike Deen joins to talk BP-22/TC-22 rate process15:06 - PG&E’s Community Microgrid Enablement Program18:01 - “Agro-voltaic” solar projects21:11 - PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT; Ted Lasso, Season 2 is coming22:17 - NWPP’s Gregg Carrington gives advice on approach to the RA program for those that aren’t power pool members34:42 - Chair of WSPP’s Operating Committee, Matt Schroettnig, talks about how a RA product might go through the process to develop a standard product exhibit/rider43:30 - Anadromous Championship Belt return counts w/ Karen Heim and Lauren Tenney DenisonPublic Power Underground, it’s work to watch. Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts.to sign up for the newsletter visit our 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

It’s Cluster of Symbiotic Markets! week on Public Power Underground! Naming for this week’s episode came from a wonderful interview of The Energy Authority’s (TEA) Director of Power Trading - West, Tu Phan. We also got a double-feature interview with Kurt and Austin from Northwest River Partners, and continued our series of interviews by Public Power Underground’s Special Salmon War Correspondent, Matthew Schroettnig, this time touching base with Northern Wasco County PUD’s Roger Kline about the future of the federal system and Public Power Council’s Blue Sky initiative.01:43 - Arin Reports; 04:40 - TEA’s Tu Phan joins to talk markets (and also talk NFTs and NBA Top Shots); 17:05 - More about NFTs (definitely too much about NFTs); 18:41 - Seattle City Light’s microgrid test bed; 19:22 - Northwest River Partners double-feature where we talk to Kurt Miller and Austin Rohr; 30:02 - Distribution Systems increasingly at risk for cyber attacks; 32:16 - Updated Genesis Forecast for Federal Hydro-generation; 33:56 - A shareable article about snow’s impact on the region that is accessible and fun even for people outside our industry; 34:58 - Matt Schroettnig interviews Roger Kline about the future of the federal system and PPC’s Blue Sky initiative; 52:13 - Correcting the record from last week, w/ some Charging Speed Fee promoPublic Power Underground, it’s work to watch. Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts.to sign up for the newsletter visit our 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

It’s Bring Your Ideas! week on Public Power Underground! A lot of guests and guest news this week. Arin Reports (01:16), Tacoma Power’s Ahlmahz Negash, PhD, talks about demand response (04:21), Puget Sound Energy’s Integrated Resource Plan identifies biodiesel peakers (19:30), Guest News from Oregon Department of Energy’s Blake Shelide (20:46), Brian Johnson introduces Holly Dohrman’s interview on the post-2028 Provider of Choice process (26:24), Financial Times article on the next step in battery development (41:30), Debrief from April 7th Technical Management Team discussion (47:18), Guest News from NewsData’s Mark Ohrenschall on the upcoming Grid Resilience webinar (50:00), NewsData’s News Bulletin on Power & Transmission Customers call for BP-22 Comprehensive Settlement (54:46).Public Power Underground, it’s work to watch. Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts.to sign up for the newsletter visit our 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