Public Power Underground

Conleigh, Farhad, Ahlmahz, and Paul start season six with a discussion of ways to understand the energy system and analogies that can be used to explore its complications

Conleigh Byers, Farhad Billimoria, Ahlmahz Negash, and Paul Dockery discuss various ways of understanding the energy system in the Season 6 Premiere of Public Power Underground. The episode starts with “Short-to-Ground,” a TL;DR segment where the hosts run through summaries of topical news from around the world and then have a short discussion of trends in the industry. Paul then introduces the ground rules for a season-spanning Energy System Analogies World Cup tournament. Lastly, the hosts discuss analogies for the energy system for consideration by future guests on Season 6. 

You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share with friends that are energy enthusiasts, like us!

04:17 - Promotion for Conleigh’s upcoming presentation for the Harvard Kennedy School’s Energy Policy Seminar: “The Future of Resource Adequacy in a Decarbonized Grid" - March 25, 2024 - Register with the link

06:54 - Short-to-Ground; a segment where we blow a fuse covering the news.
27:57 - 2024 ENERGY SYSTEM ANALOGIES WORLD CUP
33:04 - The electric sector is like the human body
37:00 - The electric sector is like a water catchment and irrigation system
44:30 - The electric sector is like back country skiiing
49:38 - Electric utilities function like a P-I-D controller for the energy system
59:43 - The electric sector is like air
01:01:20 - The electric sector is like the Mumbai dabbawala tiffin service
01:06:03 - The electric sector is like a game of twister
01:08:59 - Ways of understanding the energy system are like moral theories for right action

Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, it’s work to watch!

Creators & Guests

Host
Conleigh Byers
Host
Paul Dockery

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."