Public Power Underground

three energy historians join public power underground for an infotaining and slightly irreverent discussion of the major milestones for the electric industry in the northwest

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Mark Ohrenschall, Shauna McReynolds and Crystal Ball join and Paul Dockery to discuss the history of the electric industry in the Northwest from acronyms to statutes and a myriad of institutions along the way. There were three primary texts used for the conversation.
  1. NewsData’s list of Western Energy Acronyms
  2. Public Power Council’s excellent guide to Public Power in the Pacific Northwest, the Public Power Chronicle
  3. Public Generating Pool’s famous Organized Market Retrospective
The recording ends with Mark Ohrenschall’s closing thoughts on his final day as Executive Editor of NewsData.

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

03:27 - Acronym Anagrams
13:06 - Historian’s ranking of major milestones
38:13 - Preference
48:03 - Whoops
56:25 - Energy Policy Acts
58:42 - The Energy Crisis
1:06:57 - Market Evolution
1:21:10 - Mark Ohrenschall’s Closing Thoughts

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

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."