Distribution Systems w/ Prof. Kyri Baker

special celebrity guest star Kyri Baker brings a power system professor's perspective to our discussion of winter storm elliott, building electrification, and transformer shortages

Show Notes

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

06:36 - hot takes and lessons to be learned from Winter Storm Elliott

• oral history of the winter storm elliott takes on #energytwitter compiled by Brian Bartholomew
• TVA and Duke Energy notices of level 3 Energy Emergency Alerts
• PJM, MISO, and SPP energy emergency alerts
• paper co-authored by Prof Baker on the Texas freeze of February 2021

19:26 - debrief from White House Electrification Summit

• RTO Insider coverage
• recording of the event
• Dafoe, S., Krarti, M., and Baker, K. (March 7, 2022). "Optimal Designs of Grid-Connected Energy Efficient and Resilient Residential Communities." ASME. J. Eng. Sustain. Bldgs. Cities. February 2022; 3(1): 011004. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4053908

33:00 - transformer shortages and why distribution needs to be taken more seriously in discussion of electrification

• Utility Dive coverage of transformer shortages by Robert Walton
• APPA survey of its members shows that production of distribution transformers is not meeting current demand
• Inaction on electric transformer crisis adds to reliability concerns, APPA warns

43:25 - Short to Ground; where we TL;DR our way through the rest of the news

• Power restored to 4 Pierce County utility substations after Christmas Day vandalization
• FERC Orders NERC Reevaluation of Substation Security Standards Following Attacks by Greg Mason in Clearing Up
• C. Crozier, A. Pigott and K. Baker, "Spatial Arbitrage through Bidirectional Electric Vehicle Charging," 2022 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting (PESGM), 2022, pp. 1-5, doi: 10.1109/PESGM48719.2022.9916944.
• Senate passes bill to increase EV battery recycling as part of defense budget
• Power Supply Negotiations End for Washington Aluminum Smelter by Dan Catchpole in Clearing Up
• A Changing Landscape: Native American Tribes Turn to Renewable Energy by Iolande Bloxsom in California Energy Markets
• 19 Participants Formally Commit to WRAP's Binding Phase by Dan Catchpole in Clearing Up
• Two Northwest Clean Hydrogen Proposals Advance in Federal Grant Program by Dan Catchpole in Clearing Up
• Atmospheric Rivers Deluge California, but No Relief for Long-Term Drought by Linda Dailey Paulson in California Energy Markets
• NuScale Submits Standard Design Application for Small Modular Reactor With NRC by Steve Ernst in Clearing Up
• Spot Market Power
• La Nina
• NOAA Climate Forecasts
• WY2023 Water Supply Forecast
• Energy-Themed Carols to Liven the Holiday Season from Clearing Up

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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."