Shift Key with Robinson Meyer and Jesse Jenkins Live From New York Climate Week: The AI and Electricity Moment
19 snips
Sep 26, 2025 
Sean Casten, a Democratic U.S. Representative and clean-energy advocate, discusses the Cheap Energy Act and how it aims to align utility interests with consumers. Arushi Sharma Frank, a former Tesla energy executive, highlights her work with Emerald AI, focusing on how data centers can adapt to support grid flexibility. Amanda von Allman from Salesforce dives into leveraging AI for corporate sustainability. Together, they explore the urgent need for regulatory changes, tech-utility collaboration, and innovative solutions to manage rising electricity demand.
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Cheap Energy Equals Clean Energy
- Cheap energy and clean energy align: making energy cheaper often makes it cleaner and politically popular.
- Casten argues changing utility profit incentives will accelerate deployment of cost-saving grid tech.
Interconnection Bottlenecks Raise Prices
- Markets overwhelmingly choose zero-marginal-cost resources like wind, solar, and storage.
- Delays in interconnection and wires cause price spikes even as cheap generation exists.
Align Utility Profits With Customer Savings
- Restructure utility incentives with performance-based ratemaking to reward cost-saving investments.
- Share savings with customers so utilities and consumers pursue the same goal.