Jeremi and Zachary, with Dr. Varun Rai, discuss the role of state and national government in energy management, as well as what improvements could be made to Texas's approach to climate crises, and its unregulated, disconnected electrical power grid.

Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "Do Not Be Alone When The Lights Come Back On."

Dr. Varun Rai is the Walt and Elspeth Rostow Professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the director of the UT Energy Institute and the Associate Dean for Research in the LBJ School. Through his interdisciplinary research, delving with issues at the interface of energy systems, complex systems, decision science, and public policy, he is developing effective policy approaches to help accelerate the deployment of sustainable energy technologies globally. He has presented at several important forums, including the United States Senate Briefings, Global Intelligent Utility Network Coalition, Climate One at Commonwealth Club, and Global Economic Symposium, and his research group’s work has been discussed in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Bloomberg News, among other venues. He was a Global Economic Fellow in 2009. During 2013-2015 he was a Commissioner for the vertically-integrated electric utility Austin Energy. In 2016 the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) awarded him the David N. Kershaw Award and Prize, which “was established to honor persons who, at under the age of 40, have made a distinguished contribution to the field of public policy analysis and management.” He received his Ph.D. and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur.

This is Democracy – Episode 137: Energy Catastrophe in Texas