Energy Central
The EC Network
Welcome to the Energy Central Podcast Network—your ultimate resource for the biggest ideas, boldest perspectives, and best insights from across the electric power industry.
We publish…
Power Perspectives. From CEOs of major utilities to founders of energy tech startups pushing the envelope, Power Perspectives curates the news, thought leaders, and big picture conversations most important to modern power professionals—every week on Tuesdays.
The Watt & Why. Dive deep into utility business strategies, straight from the minds of the leaders deciding what comes next. Host Mike Smith leverages his own decades of power utility industry experience and leadership to get to the bottom of what inspires, drives, and challenges utility decision makers.
Piloting the Future. Hosts Kim Gergen and Lee Krevat go deep with the leaders, innovators, and forward thinkers responsible for not just imagining where our power future is headed…but building it day by day.
The GISt. This action-packed limited series demystifies the rapidly evolving world of Geographic Information Systems through focused, expert-led deep dives into the most future-defining GIS topics.
And there’s even more to come.
Energy Central is a community where 250K electric power professionals share, learn, and connect in a collaborative environment. Want to join in? Visit www.EnergyCentral.com to register for free.
We publish…
Power Perspectives. From CEOs of major utilities to founders of energy tech startups pushing the envelope, Power Perspectives curates the news, thought leaders, and big picture conversations most important to modern power professionals—every week on Tuesdays.
The Watt & Why. Dive deep into utility business strategies, straight from the minds of the leaders deciding what comes next. Host Mike Smith leverages his own decades of power utility industry experience and leadership to get to the bottom of what inspires, drives, and challenges utility decision makers.
Piloting the Future. Hosts Kim Gergen and Lee Krevat go deep with the leaders, innovators, and forward thinkers responsible for not just imagining where our power future is headed…but building it day by day.
The GISt. This action-packed limited series demystifies the rapidly evolving world of Geographic Information Systems through focused, expert-led deep dives into the most future-defining GIS topics.
And there’s even more to come.
Energy Central is a community where 250K electric power professionals share, learn, and connect in a collaborative environment. Want to join in? Visit www.EnergyCentral.com to register for free.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Dec 23, 2025 • 0sec
What does clean energy mean for coal towns?
What happens to communities centered on fossil fuels as the clean energy transition accelerates?Because this seismic shift is more than just technical—it'll no doubt bring economic and human impacts to communities that rely on the business of fossil fuels, from coal towns to Texas oil hotspots. With every transition-focused policy, entire regions built around the production of coal and gas must face profound uncertainty about jobs, tax bases, and long-term stability.Today on Power Perspectives, we're exploring what an equitable clean energy future can look like—for both petrostates and electrostates. Host Kinsey Grant Baker is joined by Noah Kaufman, Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy and former Senior Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Today, Noah leads the Resilient Energy Economies Initiative, which examines how fossil fuel–reliant communities can navigate the transition without being left behind.The conversation explores the real economic risks facing coal, oil, and gas communities, the differences between petrostates and electrostates, and the warning signs policymakers and utilities should be watching for.Signup for the Energy Central Daily Newsletter: https://energycentral.beehiiv.com/subscribe
Dec 18, 2025 • 0sec
A Google exec’s POV on the energy bets worth making
Raiford Smith, Google's Global Head of Power & Energy, a seasoned technologist and innovator in sustainable solutions, shares fascinating insights on modern energy challenges. He emphasizes the urgent need for utilities to adopt diverse technologies and AI to enhance grid resilience. Discussing Google's strategic energy partnerships, Raiford advocates for scalable tech solutions. He also highlights the balance between tech innovation speed and utility conservatism, while passionately expressing his love for the dynamic energy industry.
Dec 16, 2025 • 0sec
The grid's biggest cyber threats, according to an FBI vet
Every utility leader wants to know: What can we do to protect an increasingly complex grid from security threats, both cyber and physical?This week on Power Perspectives, Adam Lee, Vice President and Chief Security Officer at Dominion Energy, sits down with host Kinsey Grant Baker to dissect the real, scalable strategies for defending the modern grid from today’s growing threats.And Adam is certainly an expert—complete with a distinguished security-focused background that brought him from FBI to the utility providing power to the Pentagon, naval bases, and some of the world’s most energy-intensive data centers.Listen in for a look at how Dominion is approaching cyber and physical security as a unified discipline and why partnerships across government, law enforcement, and the private sector are becoming essential to grid resilience.Signup for the Energy Central Daily Newsletter: https://energycentral.beehiiv.com/subscribe
Dec 11, 2025 • 0sec
What’s really keeping utility CEOs up at night
Jay Stowe, founder and CEO of Stowe Utility Group and former CEO of major municipal utilities, dives into the pressing issues faced by energy leaders today. He highlights the evolving role of customers in energy decisions and the urgent need to tackle the affordability crisis. Jay shares insights on balancing a diversified energy portfolio, including renewables and nuclear, while addressing the impact of AI on workforce dynamics. Their conversation sheds light on defining success through customer satisfaction and operational efficiency amid an ever-changing energy landscape.
Dec 9, 2025 • 0sec
How to un-duck the grid
Craig Lewis, the Founder and Executive Director of the Clean Coalition, dives into the energy challenges posed by the 'duck curve.' He discusses how local solar and distributed energy resources can effectively flatten this curve, reduce transmission costs, and enhance grid resilience. Craig also challenges traditional views on energy generation, advocating for localized solutions instead of over-investment in transmission infrastructure. With case studies like the Sierra Blanca Microgrid, he highlights the economic and environmental benefits of innovative energy planning.
Dec 4, 2025 • 0sec
Judith Curry: We’re wrong about climate change
How can we engage with an energy transition without massive swings in power reliability? Is climate change really just a big cop-out for utility leaders? Or is it a larger predicament that we need to strategize around? What’s the best means of reducing vulnerability and increasing resilience for an energy industry in flux?Today on The Watt & Why, host Mike Smith welcome renowned climate scientist Dr. Judith Curry for a wide-ranging conversation about the intersection of energy abundance and climate stewardship. From the challenges to wind and solar proliferation to the timing of pulling off the energy transition to all of the above vs. best of the above…Mike and Judith are breaking it all down in this insightful, provocative conversation.
Dec 2, 2025 • 0sec
SPP's plan to power 18 million futures—straight from the CEO
The grid of tomorrow is being built today—and the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) is at the center of that transformation.That transformation is being spearheaded by Lanny Nickell, President and CEO of SPP, and host Kinsey Grant Baker welcomes him to this week’s episode of Power Perspectives. This conversation features an exploration of how one of the nation’s most collaborative regional transmission organizations is managing record load growth, integrating renewables, and planning for a future of reliability, affordability, and resilience.Listen in to hear Lanny unpack the key trends shaping the modern energy landscape, from data center demand and electrified oil fields to the $18 billion in infrastructure investments that will define the next era of grid reliability.Signup for the Energy Central Daily Newsletter: https://energycentral.beehiiv.com/subscribe
Nov 24, 2025 • 0sec
How capacity markets broke—and what it takes to fix them
Christoph Graf, a Senior Economist at NYU's Institute for Policy Integrity, dives into the crisis surrounding capacity markets. He explores the effects of rising auction prices in PJM and questions if these markets can adapt to modern demands like data center growth and decarbonization efforts. Graf contrasts existing reliability models, suggests strategies to enhance grid performance, and advocates for innovations spurred by high prices. With a focus on practical steps for utilities, his insights shed light on balancing affordability and reliability in an evolving energy landscape.
Nov 20, 2025 • 0sec
The grid tech solving the visibility gap
With risks flying at utility leaders from every angle—extreme weather, outages, wildfires, and many more—knowing what’s happening on the grid at any moment isn’t just nice. It’s mission critical.So how is next-gen sensing tech helping power pros get better visibility into real-time grid realities? This week on Piloting the Future, Kim and Lee explore with Scott Lindsay, Director of Sales at GridWare, and Billy Terry, COO at Consumers Power.Sensing and fault detection can help us build a more resilient grid. And the tech behind these major moves? It’s getting better and better, as Scott and Billy point out. Listen in for a look at what this investment in the grid’s future could mean for all of us. Because at the end of the day, visibility doesn’t just enable operational excellence. It’s everything.
Nov 17, 2025 • 0sec
Is 100% clean energy really possible?
The global energy transition isn’t theoretical anymore—it’s happening right now. But how fast can we go, and how far can renewables really take us?In this episode of Power Perspectives, hosts Kinsey Grant Baker sits down with Mark Jacobson, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of the Atmosphere/Energy Program at Stanford University, to explore one of the most polarizing questions in energy today:100% clean energy, is it actually possible?For decades, Jacobson has modeled the path to a world powered entirely by wind, water, and solar, contending that fossil fuels, carbon capture, or nuclear aren’t necessary to meet the future energy needs. His research has influenced global climate policy, inspired states to adopt renewable targets, and sparked fierce debate across the energy sector.Whether you’re a skeptic of his stance or co-signer that the future can be all renewable, this conversation challenges assumptions and asks the most important question in energy today: what if the solutions we need are already here?Key Links:Mark Jacobson’s Stanford Profile: https://profiles.stanford.edu/mark-jacobsonMark Jacobson on X: https://x.com/mzjacobsonSignup for the Energy Central Daily Newsletter: https://energycentral.beehiiv.com/subscribe
