Strategy & Planning

“When I started, we were talking about advanced metering infrastructure and piloting smart meters. Now, we’re talking about virtual power plants and microgrids. Watching that transformation and helping communicate it in a way people can grasp has been exciting.”

“A lot of Commissions have a system for docketing and the name we came up with is eDocket. This is an internal system that streamlines and automates all of our case-related tasks. It’s a workflow, with built-in notifications, collaboration tools, and much more.”

“As we pursue the mission of the PSC to ensure safe and reliable utility services at reasonable rates, we take into account the political and legislative considerations, as well as precedent. Our goal is to ensure an order is appellate proof as best we can.”

“The city council passed emergency legislation to say whoever the next nominee is with the Commission must have some level of expertise in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and utilities. I told the mayor I’d be willing to serve.”

“What is the purpose? Reliable, affordable, and sustainable. Why are we doing it? We’re doing it for the people in the District of Columbia. To what end? To move the District’s goals forward. That’s progress.”

Conversations with Chair Emile Thompson, Commissioner Ted Trabue, General Counsel Dionne Joemah, Deputy Executive Director Paul Martinez, Strategic Communications Director Kellie Didigu, OTRA Director Poorani Ramachandran, and Consumer Outreach Officer Karimah Bilal.

I keep thinking about how often people say our industry struggles to tell its own story. Utility regulation is more complex and more consequential than ever, and when we get deep into the details, it’s easy to forget that there are real people behind every decision. And more often than not, we’re all working toward the same broader outcomes.

“Through the AEIC Center for Operational Excellence, we’ve launched a multi-part workshop series dedicated to large load enablement, bringing together system planning, engineering, operations, and customer-facing leaders to identify practical strategies, barriers, and breakthroughs.”

“One of the most underappreciated risks is the condition of aging thermal infrastructure. Without proactive life management, the utility sector risks unexpected failures. For regulators, this raises questions about how asset integrity is assessed and how lifecycle risk is factored into planning and rate cases.”

“The energy transition is the operating reality for utilities and regulators today. Decisions being made now, particularly at the state level, will shape whether the evolving power system remains resilient, affordable, and accessible for all customers.”