People In Power

“By combining lower operating and financing costs with a growing customer base to help share those costs, we can reduce upward pressure on rates over time.”

“Customers currently qualify for the energy affordability program if household income is below 60% of state median income. This will soon extend to moderate-income households. Customers can demonstrate this to utilities by identifying enrollment in state and federal programs, such as the home energy assistance program or Medicaid.”

“The big issue we’re looking at this year is one that could impact capital costs in a public power utility; the need for tax-exempt municipal financing. The tax-exempt status would instantly raise costs if it were taken away.”

“There’s a temporal challenge, with EVs, data centers, and substation investments. Those decisions to enable serving that load are made 5-to-7 years before load shows up. It’s carrying 5-to-7 years of costs before seeing benefits. In the short term, you’re challenged by the impact on rates.”

“The beauty of economic development is if done right, it increases utility revenues and puts downward pressure on rates because of the increase in utility sales-billing volumes.”

“With the combination of a complete RPS, that moves to total fruition at one hundred percent renewable energy, and going beyond net neutral on carbon emissions, Hawaii has one of the more robust energy policies anywhere.”

“100% of generation should come from renewable resources by 2045. There’re definitions of what’s considered renewable generation. We’re a finite land mass. There’s no inter-island cable. Each island needs to figure out the right mix.”

“We are making large investments in the electric grid, both transmission and distribution, as well as a significant investment in new and clean generation.”

“We have over $5 billion in proposed projects pending before state regulators – the largest total generation projects I’ve ever seen in Wisconsin. Economic development is strong in Wisconsin, and for us to meet the energy needs, we need to build the additional capacity and the distribution and transmission.”

“AI and cloud computing are contributing to the demand for electricity but are also a solution to helping manage it, along with other challenges like aging infrastructure, sustainability initiatives, and providing safe, reliable, and affordable energy.”