Public Power Underground

An expert panel including Laura Trolese, Carrie Simpson, and Jeff Spires draw distinctions between choices in market design with the help of professional sports analogies.

Show Notes

In the fifth installment of Public Power Underground’s Electric Market Enthusiasm series, an expert panel including Laura Trolese (Senior Market Design & Policy Analyst, The Energy Authority), Carrie Simpson (Director - Western Markets, Xcel Energy), and Jeff Spires (Director - Power, PowerEx) discuss different choices made in market paradigms and how it all makes sense. 

Specifically the discussion is framed as a compare and contract episode of different market design choices, but in a fun, infotaining way using professional sports analogies whenever possible. The notes from the analogies are available as a google sheet (← link works).

05:59 - Resource Adequacy is like Roster Management for professional sports leagues
25:24 - Real Time Markets are “the game”
43:34 - Day Ahead Markets are like practice / training / coaching
55:50 - Transitioning from bilateral to centrally dispatched markets make comparisons complex
01:09:23 - Transmission cost recovery is as controversial as who pays for professional sports stadiums

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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."