Strategy & Planning

Conversations with Xcel Energy – Colorado President Robert Kenney, SVP of Integrated System Planning Lon Huber, SVP of Transmission Sandra Johnson, and VP of Data Centers and Large Loads Jack Ihle.

Energy is about physics and policy, but it is always about people. Behind the modeling and the rate cases, there are families trying to keep life running. If we keep innovating with this much intention, we can ensure a more stable future for the communities our children will inherit.

“Some of the most impactful improvements in utility operations happen in places that rarely get attention – the everyday processes that support the crews and equipment keeping the lights on. One example is fleet operations.”

“Most tap water systems are tested daily and often more frequently, using independent labs — not like bottled water, submitting to just an annual independent plant inspection. A lot can happen during the other 364 days of the year.”

“State commissions battle information overload. An effective path forward would be design and adoption of a jurisdiction-aware XBRL taxonomy to transform the tsunami of filings into structured, comparable information while improving auditability and comparability across jurisdictions.”

“We want to make sure we’re extracting as much value out of the existing system as possible, so we expect to open a docket on time-varying rates for electric customers. We’re also looking at flexible interconnection.”

“The big concern in PJM is that Maryland is a relatively small state. We can have strict regulations that are pro-consumer. But if an adjoining state decides to negotiate badly, those embedded costs could end up in the grid, and we end up paying for it.”

“When the PSC looks at large load customers, we want to ensure they pay their fair share, existing customers are protected from subsidizing speculative demand, and system reliability and transmission readiness are maintained.”

Conversations with Florida Chair Gabriella Passidomo Smith, Maryland Chair Kumar Barve, and Massachusetts Chair Jeremy McDiarmid with PUF Senior Advisor Paul Kjellander.

“NARUC President Ann Rendahl and others have spent a lot of time trying to get Commissioners across the country to realize that wildfire isn’t just a Western issue. We focus on wildfire in the West and trying to elevate that conversation across the country has been frustrating.”