Snowtel w/ Nicole Hughes

special celebrity guest star Nicole Hughes brings a renewable energy advocate perspective to our discussion of uncle BIL and aunt IRA, transmission planning, and governance

Show Notes

Nicole Hughes, Karen Heim, Ahlmahz Negash, PhD, and Paul Dockery address topical energy issues and share stories in the latest episode of Public Power Underground.

06:43 - debrief from The NY Times article on the opportunities awaiting electric utilities

• How utilities can maximize IIJA and IRA benefits
• a new way to reference the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (aka the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)

24:34 - another run at transmission siting reform

• SEEC releases Policy Brief on Permitting Reform for the Clean Energy Future
• REPEAT project report on Electricity Transmission
• Michael Cembalest’s 12th annual energy report
• We recorded on Monday December 5th. Permitting reform legislation has gained some momentum in the days since. If we recorded again today, we’d probably have more to say!

39:34 - Southwest Power Pool Markets+ detailed design proposal 

• Coverage in Utility Dive by Robert Walton
• Coverage in Clearing Up by Dan Catchpole

57:11 - Short to Ground; where we TL;DR our way through the rest of the news

• BPA Proposes New Transmission Line Near Tri-Cities by Stever Ernst in Clearing Up
• NuScale SMR Project Still on Track, While Costs Rising by Steve Ernst in Clearing Up
• Southern California Natural Gas Supplies Good, Barring Extreme Cold by Linda Dailey Paulson in California Energy Markets
• CPUC Allows PG&E to Exit Enhanced Oversight Process by Anne Ernst in California Energy Markets
• Clark Public Utilities Acquires Output From Box Canyon Dam by Steve Ernst in Clearing Up
• Hydropower Uneconomical in Willamette Project, DEIS Says by KC Mehaffey in Clearing Up
• NuScale, Shell, others to develop hydrogen production concept with heat from small modular reactor by Stephen Singer in Utility Dive
• Spot Market Power
• La Nina
• NOAA Climate Forecasts
• WY2023 Water Supply Forecast

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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."