Advertise on podcast: Public Power Underground

The next season of Public Power Underground is coming soon with a new format and new regular hosts. Subscribe to make sure you don't miss the season premiere! After a short break, Public Power Underground is coming back for its sixth season of energy enthusiasm! This season Paul Dockery and Ahlmahz Negash will be joined by world-renowned energy researchers Conleigh Byers and Farhad Billimoria to investigate energy industry and energy-industry-adjacent topics by bringing together expert insights with practitioner perspectives.  The episode format for Public Power Underground has evolved for Season 6, which will include a new, season-spanning energy-inspired game. Tune in for the season premiere for more. Season 6 ContributorsPaul Dockery is a Senior Manager of Energy Resource Strategy & Planning for Seattle City Light and the Creative Director of Public Power Underground.  Ahlmahz Negash is a Principal Data Analyst for Tacoma Power, an energy system researcher, and Executive Producer of Public Power Underground. Conleigh Byers is an Environmental Fellow at the Harvard University Center for the Environment based at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She uses tools from operations research, electrical engineering, and economics to design decarbonized energy systems, with a focus on power systems operations and planning. Her current research focuses on achieving resource adequacy under deep decarbonization, hosted by Professor William Hogan. She holds a doctorate in Electrical Engineering from ETH Zürich and a dual masters in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Technology & Policy from MIT. Farhad Billimoria is the Director, Electricity Markets for S&P Global and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. He has previously served as a Principal in Market Design at the Australian Energy Market Operator and has a background in international infrastructure and energy finance, investment and capital markets. The Sisterhood of the Traveling ElectronDuring the Season 5 Finale, friend-of-the-underground Jordan White referenced the buildout of transmission infrastructure as a “Sisterhood of the Traveling Electron”. As an enthusiast of both romantic comedies and electric utilities, the cross-over merch idea was too perfect to pass up. After-all, just like the magical pants from the early-aughts classic The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, transmission keeps us connected across distances during tough transitions. Public Power Underground doesn’t have a storefront to sell merch anymore, but there is a feature where I can share a design for others to order from Printful. There’s no revenue coming to Public Power Underground from the sale and I provide no warranty or guaranty for the merch. But I did promise that if I ever translated concept to merch, I’d send it to subscribers of the newsletter. For links to Sisterhood of the Traveling Electron merchandise subscribe on substack at publicpowerunderground.substack.com.

special celebrity guest star Kieran Connolly brings his enthusiasm for hydrogeneration and public power to the recording where we talk markets, ira, smr, and energy emergencies

special celebrity guest star Travis Kavulla brings a regulator's perspective to the discussion of election results, NARUC, bifurcated price formation, and legislatures mandating RTO participation

special celebrity guest star Lea Fisher brings a market expert perspective to our discussion of WRAP, market evolution, and reliability assessments; plus i close it out with news of my own

Goodbyes are hard and tend to be cringeworthy. WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A SPECIAL EPISODE!!! The original cast of Public Power Underground gets together for a nostalgic recording with a throwback script to celebrate Ian Bledsoe's promotion to Senior Power Analyst, and acknowledge Paul Dockery's last day at Clatskanie PUD. 3:48 - Celebration of Ian Bledsoe's promotion to Senior Power Analyst!8:06 - Conveyance of Anadromous Championship smelt belts for best friends of the underground because they kept coming back12:03 - Paul gives a pep talk on the difficulty of transitions while Ian plays the ukelele Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, it's work to watch!

special celebrity guest star Nicole Hughes brings a renewable energy advocate perspective to our discussion of uncle BIL and aunt IRA, transmission planning, and governance

a live recording from the happy hour lounge after Northwest Public Power Association's Power Supply Conference w/ guest stars Debra Smith, Arne Olson, and Laura Trolese!!

special celebrity guest star Kyri Baker brings a power system professor's perspective to our discussion of winter storm elliott, building electrification, and transformer shortages

special celebrity guest star Jacob Mays brings a market design professor's perspective to our discussion of resource adequacy, electric markets, and deregulation vs restructuring

special celebrity guest star Sarah Edmonds brings a executive officer's perspective on resource adequacy program design, market based rate authority, interoperability, and transmission

LIVE! from the main stage at The Energy Authority's 2023 Energy Symposium, Paul and Laura moderate a panel on market disruptors with energy executives and leaders Paul Dockery and Laura Trolese moderate a panel on disruptors to resource adequacy, day-ahead, and real-time markets at The Energy Authority’s 2023 Energy Symposium with Melie Vincent, Richard Dillon, and Jamie Mahne. After a serious discussion of disruptors, they tackle less serious energy analogies in a game called “Disruptors or Duds”. 07:34 - Large weather patterns changing evaluation of resource adequacy 21:40 - Accounting for new uncertainty in day-ahead markets 32:32 - Volatility of natural gas and real-time markets 46:38 - Disruptors or Duds: a niche pop culture or sports reference as an analogue to an energy industry topic You can find our merch on shopify. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Remember to share this with any friends you have that are electric utility enthusiasts like us! Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, where you’re valued and appreciated.

Jackie Flowers, PE, Humaira Falkenberg, Karen Heim, and Ahlmahz Negash, PhD discuss pathways to workforces that are representative of our communities in an all-female-cast episode of Public Power Underground. 05:07 - Introduction of Diverse Workforce of the Future article by Jackie Flowers, PE, in NWPPA’s Monthly Bulletin 24:14 - Lessons learned from Tacoma’s experience with the Math-Engineering-Science-Achievement (MESA) program that could apply to open positions at peer utilities today An insightful Venn Diagram of belonging1The Waymaker by Tara Jaye Frank46:15 - Sharing wisdom in mentorship and sponsoring 57:38 - Ahlmahz’s Insightful Question of the Week 1:17:03 - Short to Ground Billi Kohler, the General Manager of West Oregon Electric Cooperative, is featured in a national rural electric magazine story about workforce changesLane Electric’s 7-member board of directors now includes 6 women working with Debi Wilson, the first female general manager in the co-op’s 83-year history1:19:40 - Humaira Falkenberg’s Closing Thoughts You can find our merch on shopify. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Remember to share this with any friends you have that are electric utility enthusiasts like us! Public Power Underground, for electric utility enthusiasts! Public Power Underground, it’s work to watch!