Ohio’s House Bill 6 scandal has become one of the most consequential utility corruption cases in US history, and its fallout is still shaping politics, regulation, and public trust in the energy sector.

In this episode, host Kinsey Grant Baker speaks with investigative journalist Kathiann Kowalski about how a bill that was designed to support nuclear plants became the center of a $60 million bribery scheme, the conviction and 20-year sentence of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, and the broader web of utility, lobbying, and regulatory influence that followed.

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Vegetation management is often treated like routine maintenance, but for utilities it is really about keeping the grid safe under real operating conditions. And on the modern grid, clearance planning has become more complex than ever, while utilities can no longer rely on “blue sky” assumptions when assessing vegetation risk.

To dive deeper into the topic, host Kinsey Grant Baker is joined by Otto Lynch of Bentley Systems to discuss how myriad factors impact the engineering realities of keeping the grid constantly operational. Including considerations like conductor sag, high operating temperatures, wind blowout, ice, and structure deflection all change the real distance between a line and nearby vegetation. Too often, utilities underestimate risk and simply clearing an entire right-of-way is not always the smartest or safest answer. Instead, Otto makes the case for more selective, engineering-driven vegetation management that balances reliability, cost, and public trust.

The episode also takes a close look at compliance and standards, including what can go wrong when utilities ignore the finer details of wire movement, altitude, or “determined by designer” language in the rules. For utility leaders looking to reduce wildfire risk, improve reliability, and avoid unnecessary maintenance spend, this conversation offers a practical roadmap for building a more mature vegetation-management program over the next five years.

Thanks to Bentley Systems for making this episode possible. Bentley Systems is the infrastructure engineering software company delivering innovative solutions that advance and sustain the world's infrastructure. Trusted globally, Bentley's energy portfolio, including Power Line Systems, SPIDA, OpenUtilities, and EasyPower, empowers energy professionals to design, build, and operate smarter, more resilient systems.

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California has long been the proving ground for America’s energy transition, and it’s also where the politics, culture, and storytelling around that transition are being tested in real time. Messaging comes from all corners of the public landscape, including movies, sports, and video games, in addition to the institutions like utilities. Where is there potential to do more with that storytelling?

In this episode, host Kinsey Grant Baker sits down with Sammy Roth, former climate columnist at the Los Angeles Times and voice behind the Climate-Colored Goggles substack, to explore how renewable industries are selling their story in a fraught political moment, why affordability and reliability are increasingly central to the climate conversation, and how rising demand is reshaping the debate around clean energy. Sammy argues that the energy transition is not just about economics, technology, and regulation, it’s also about culture.

The conversation digs into how utilities, policymakers, and clean energy advocates talk about tradeoffs, where messaging often falls short, and what successful storytelling looks like when the public is skeptical. From climate framing to the role of movies, sports, and media, the episode examines why clean energy progress may depend as much on narrative as on infrastructure. The discussion also looks at California as a case study for broader national politics. With energy and climate increasingly shaping elections and policy debates, Sammy shares what the state’s governor’s race reveals about voter priorities, how data centers are changing the conversation, and what lessons utilities and candidates should take into 2026.

Register for Energy Central’s live happy hour in DC on June 23: https://luma.com/hw57eoea

Climate-Colored Goggles: https://www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/

The obvious choice for California governor: https://www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/california-governor-climate

Vattenfall commercial with Samuel L. Jackson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uEpdIKzspA

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Data centers are arriving faster than the grid can be built to serve them, creating real risk for developers, utilities, and customers alike. This won’t surprise anyone who’s been paying attention, but one potential solution that isn’t making the headlines is worth a deeper dive: bridge power.

In this episode, Kinsey Grant Baker chats with Jim Smith, President of PowerSecure, to explore how bridge power helps data centers come online while they wait for utility service and larger infrastructure buildouts to catch up. Jim explains why bridge power represents a timely market response,and how natural gas microgrids can provide continuous prime power for several years before transitioning into long-term resiliency and flexibility assets. The conversation also digs into why this model is different from traditional backup generation, where battery integration fits in, and how these systems can help manage load ramps and grid congestion during the interconnection process.

Jim shares what good coordination looks like between utilities, developers, and providers, what mistakes bridge power can help avoid, and why the post-bridge value of these assets matters. For utility leaders and data center developers alike, this episode offers a practical look at how to keep projects moving without waiting years for the grid to catch up.

Thanks to PowerSecure for making this episode possible. PowerSecure is the nation's leading provider of microgrids and energy solutions. With over 25 years of experience, PowerSecure has developed, installed, and managed more than 3 Gigawatts of microgrid capacity and saved companies over $1 billion in energy efficiency upgrades. To learn more about PowerSecure and bridge power solutions, visit PowerSecure.com.

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A new Pew survey suggests the public is drawing some sharp conclusions about why electricity bills are rising, and not all of them are flattering to utilities. But does public perception match reality, and how much does it actually matter when trust is broken either way?

To dive into that survey and a subsequent poll of the Energy Central audience, this episode brings together the Energy Central team of Kinsey Grant Baker, Molly Glick, and Matt Chester to unpack the survey results, including the eye-opening finding that 64% of Americans say utility companies raising profits is the main reason their bills are going up. The conversation digs into what is actually driving rising bills, how utilities are responding, and why the public trust gap may be bigger than many leaders realize.

The team also breaks down the reactions from Energy Central readers and how utilities are balancing the need for massive capital investment with the challenge of serving both hyperscalers and everyday customers. This context naturally leads to a discussion on communication, strategy, and regulation. What does good messaging look like when utilities are trying to explain why they are spending more? Is this simply a communications problem, or something deeper in the structure of the business?

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Central Hudson Gas & Electric is in the middle of a major five-year transformation aimed at becoming what CEO Stephanie Raymond calls a “premium utility” — one that leads on performance, reliability, trust, customer focus, and innovation. But what exactly does that mean?

In this episode, host Kinsey Grant Baker chats with Stephanie Raymond of Central Hudson and Josh Eife, Managing Director at Greencastle, to unpack how Central Hudson 2.0 came together, what sparked the need for a sweeping reevaluation, and what happens when a utility decides the status quo is no longer enough. Stephanie walks us through the six pillars shaping the transformation: Growth, Organizational Effectiveness and Optimization, Workforce Engagement, Customer Excellence, Grid Resilience and Reliability, and Work Transformation. The conversation also gets into the practical reality of leading change while keeping day-to-day operations running.

Now about a year into execution, the conversation covers what has changed, what surprised leadership, and what lessons emerged early in the process. For utility leaders navigating their own change journeys, this episode offers a grounded look at what it takes to build a “premium utility” in practice, and what that future might mean for both customers and employees.

Thanks to Greencastle Consulting for making this episode possible. For nearly 30 years, Greencastle has implemented critical initiatives in highly regulated, high-stakes environments—like utilities—turning strategy into real, measurable results. 100% veteran-owned and operated and headquartered in Pennsylvania, Greencastle specializes in strategy execution: aligning leadership, strengthening governance, and ensuring critical initiatives actually deliver. Whether you’re navigating enterprise-level transformations, grid modernization, or other complex technology programs and regulatory demands, Greencastle embeds with your team to drive clarity, accountability, and real outcomes.

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China’s energy buildout has become one of the defining stories of the global energy transition. And the impacts aren’t constrained just to what happens in China, but the impacts are felt globally and are critical for U.S. utilities and policymakers to understand.

In this episode, host Kinsey Grant Baker sits down with Henry Sanderson, journalist, author, and founder of the Volt Insight newsletter, to explore how China became the world’s largest energy infrastructure builder and what that means for everything from renewables to AI to global competitiveness. Henry explains how China’s power system differs from those in the U.S. and Europe, why the country has been able to scale clean energy technologies so quickly, and how its state-directed investment model has enabled massive buildout in generation, transmission, batteries, and grid modernization.

Henry also zooms out to the global implications, discussing China’s dominance in supply chains for solar, batteries, and other clean energy technologies, how that gives the country economic and geopolitical leverage, and whether the U.S. can still compete in an energy system increasingly shaped by electrification and AI. For utility leaders trying to understand where the future of energy power, manufacturing, and grid investment is heading, this conversation offers a clear and sobering look at the scale of China’s advantage.

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Hydroelectric utilities face a different kind of risk than most other power operators: when a dam is involved, the consequences of failure are not just operational, but they are deeply tied to emergency planning, evacuation, and public safety. That means planning is even more important, and the statistical methods behind that planning must be regularly examined.

To get into this critical topic, Kinsey Grant Baker speaks with Chris Goodell of Kleinschmidt Associates, along with Priya Jain and Eric Toth of East Bay Municipal Utility District, about how a pioneering probabilistic approach to dam-breach inundation mapping is changing the way utilities think about uncertainty, response, and communication. Their conversation walks through how inundation maps are used by planners, first responders, and downstream communities when every minute matters. The episode also explores how the team managed tens of thousands of scenarios, how outputs were translated into actionable information, and why this approach can give emergency managers and utility teams a much more complete picture of risk.

By diving into a real world case study, these experts highlight what the probabilistic work can reveal, and how it reshapes next steps for the project team. For utility decisionmakers, this timely discussion shows how embracing uncertainty — rather than simplifying it away — can lead to stronger planning, clearer communication, and better outcomes when infrastructure risk is on the line.

Thanks to this episode’s sponsor, Kleinschmidt Associates. Kleinschmidt Associates provides engineering, regulatory, and environmental consulting to energy companies and government agencies across North America. For over half a century, we have delivered innovative, practical solutions to complex challenges and sensitive issues. Working at the intersection of science, policy, and engineering, we provide practical solutions for complex renewable energy, water, and environmental projects.

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How does a major utility plan for an energy future that is growing more complex by the day? From data centers to an aging grid to an affordability crisis and more, utility leaders are staring down challenges that are more intertwined and urgent than ever, and managing them all is no small feat.

In this episode, host Kinsey Grant Baker chats with Gil Quiniones, CEO of ComEd, to unpack the utility’s latest four-year plan and how it addresses some of the biggest pressures reshaping the grid: explosive data center demand, aging infrastructure, affordability concerns, and reliability expectations that keep rising every year. Gil walks us through what makes northern Illinois such a magnet for hyperscale growth, how ComEd is planning for concentrated load without overbuilding or shifting costs to other customers, and what it means to operate a transmission-and-distribution utility without owning generation.

Listen in to get the inside scoop about how ComEd is thinking about affordability, equity, and near-term energy efficiency solutions while still making the long-term investments needed to strengthen the grid.

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Utilities depend on accurate field data to keep maps current, manage vegetation, and respond quickly when the grid is under stress, but that gets much harder when the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) isn’t reliable, access is restricted, or conditions make it unsafe for crews to get close.

In this episode of Power Perspectives, host Kinsey Grant Baker chats with Laser Tech’s Derrick Reish, Steve Colburn, and Joe Cronn to explore how utilities collect critical measurements in urban, forested, and GNSS-denied environments without sacrificing speed, safety, or data quality. The conversation digs into the real-world consequences of measurement gaps across utility workflows, from planning and compliance to emergency response and outage recovery.

To explore how laser rangefinders can help fill those gaps in the field, Derrick, Steve, and Joe walk through how the tools work, when utilities realize they need them, what a pilot or deployment typically looks like, and what best practices help teams get the most value from them. For utility leaders looking to maintain reliable data in difficult conditions, this episodes offers a practical look at how to measure what matters when the usual tools fall short.

Thanks to Laser Tech for sponsoring this episode. Collect accurate asset positions in GNSS-impaired environments with LaserGIS. Using offset laser measurement methods, field crews can maximize productivity while working more efficiently in the field. When crews can collect GIS data faster, staying under budget becomes much more likely. And with laser offset workflows, teams can save time while still capturing critical measurement data—all from safe locations.

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