Public Power Underground

John Hairston returns to discuss what BPA is doing to navigate an era of transmission expansion for the grid.

John Hairston, the CEO and Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration, shares his enthusiasm for transmission and people in an interview with Paul Dockery and Crystal Ball. The interview is wrapped in informative discussion on energy industry news, research, and reflection by Ahlmahz Negash, Conleigh Byers, Farhad Billimoria, and Paul Dockery.

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

01:36 - How transmission is addressed in seminal texts
05:23 - Short-to-Ground; a segment where we blow a fuse covering the news.
17:17 - John Hairston’s interview with special-correspondent Crystal Ball
41:00 - John Hairston’s analogy; the electric system is like golf
45:24 - Crystal Ball’s analogy; the electric sector is evolving like the eras of Taylor Swift
1:17:33 - Updating our priors
1:15:22 - ESA (Energy System Analogies) World Cup Standings

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."