The Energy Central Community isn’t powered by algorithms or our Community Team alone: it’s powered by you. Every thoughtful post, insightful comment, and timely link shared by our members is what keeps this community curious, informed, and moving forward.
As we look back on yet another month of great insights shared, it’s time to shine a spotlight on the community members who went above and beyond to keep the conversations flowing in December. With that, I’m excited to introduce our Monthly Top Contributors for January 2026.
Each month, we highlight three standout contributors who made a real impact—whether by consistently driving discussion, sharing deep expertise, or jumping in as a newer voice and making waves right away. Our recognitions fall into three categories: Grid Builder of the Month, Power User of the Month, and Rising Star of the Month.
Without further ado, here are your January 2026 Top Contributors 👇
Grid Builder of the Month: Tokachi Kamimura
For starting the conversation that generated the most engagement across the Energy Central platform.
Post: AI Needs a Flight Recorder for the Grid (9 total comments)
Notable Comments:
Tokachi Kamimura: Matt — great question, and I think your “tracked changes” analogy is exactly what people assume.
In many real systems, there is a record of events/edits (often multiple logs, across services). The issue is that the “baseline” is usually designed for operations and troubleshooting, not for post-incident accountability:
logs rotate / get overwritten (cost + retention policy)
different components log different slices (hard to reconstruct a single, reliable timeline)
access is privileged and the operator is the sole narrator (third parties can’t independently verify)
timestamps can be inconsistent across systems, and log integrity isn’t guaranteed end-to-end
records are “tamper-possible” unless integrity is anchored outside the operator’s control
So it’s not that there’s no history — it’s that the history often isn’t audit-grade or dispute-resistant. Cryptographic chaining + external time anchoring turns “we have logs” into “we can prove these logs weren’t rewritten after the fact.”
On your last question: it’s both. Retention cost and operational constraints drive log rotation, and there’s also a common assumption that “internal logs are sufficient” until a major incident creates an adversarial or legal context.
Curious: from what you’ve seen, is the bigger blocker usually retention/cost, or the organizational appetite to make logs independently verifiable?
Stephanie Giraud: This feels like the point where AI stops being just a tech issue and starts becoming a governance one. Once systems are actually making decisions, not just offering suggestions, the bigger question isn’t “was the model right?” but “can anyone outside the control room clearly see what happened and why?” At some point, “the model said so” isn’t going to cut it. The public is going to want real transparency and accountability. And honestly, the first major outage tied to autonomous decision-making is going to force some uncomfortable conversations about who’s responsible, who can override the system, and where humans still need to stay in the loop. That’s what gives me pause. Really curious to hear how operators are thinking about this.
Power User of the Month: Robert Waltermayer
For driving community discussion with the most thoughtful and active commenting this month.
Total Comments: 14
Notable Comments:
On NEWS: Data Center Power Play | Union of Concerned Scientists: The base load or peak loads demands can be supplied by CHP, CCGT with natural gas and Hydrogen. Here is a comparison of recently power plants that you can choose for your needs. As I mentioned solutions are there, just ask the right door and budget.
Rising Star of the Month: Maria DeChellis
For jumping into the Energy Central community as a new member and making an immediate impact through valuable contributions.
Member since: September 9, 2010
Highlights: Having been a member for many years, Maria shared her first piece that got some great engagement and feedback from the community:
Grid Flexibility vs. Housing Reality: Demand Response Has a Rental Housing Problem
Starting now, the winners will enjoy a special badge on their Energy Central profile for the next month recognizing their selection.
Maybe next month, you’ll be a top contributor! Need more motivation? We’re raffling off a special prize at the end of the year, and only top contributors will be entered to win.
So keep posting, commenting, and connecting!
Next recognition coming the first week of March