Public Power Underground

Karen, Matt, and Paul chat with Seattle City Light's general manager and CEO, Debra Smith, about electrification, markets, and people. Plus, a mock electric utility draft during the intermission.

Show Notes

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 list
12:14 - Attracting, retaining, and recruiting public power people
36:56 - 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 & Rec
51:27 - Debra’s thoughts on market development in the Northwest
57:03 - Seattle City Lights approach to electrification and highlights of their recent projects
1:01:46 - Scaling up our workforce as the biggest challenge facing electric utilities
1:10:03 - new merch ideas

You 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.

What is Public Power Underground?

Public Power Underground is more than a discussion about public ownership of electric infrastructure, the infotaining episodes cover the energy enthusiast trifecta of electrification, markets, and people. The hosts interview industry experts on a broad range of energy industry and energy-industry-adjacent topics at the nexus of electric utilities and the energy transition. The podcast doesn’t take itself too seriously and frequently plays energy inspired games like “energy enthusiasm distilled,” “draw an analogy,” and “say something nice about electric utilities."