People In Power

“Our new resource stack includes power purchase agreements, solar projects of our own, and what I believe is the largest distributed battery array in the country. We have deployed batteries across nine substations, ranging from 8 MW up to 33 MW.”

“We have a lot of interest in data centers coming to West Virginia. Our legislature just passed the governor’s microgrid bill, which allows for new generation behind the meter with minimum regulation. But also, if the developer chooses, projects can connect to the utility.”

“The Smart Energy Plan is a program passed through the Missouri legislature to increase reliability. A lot of our infrastructure has been around for 50 to 60 years and is getting close to end of life where it’s time to be replaced with newer, stronger, hardened infrastructure.”

“The data center load under contract will more than double the peak demand of Indiana Michigan Power Company over the next five years. This is a terrific opportunity but also presents a significant challenge in terms of grid upgrades, increased generation capacity requirements, and capital outlays.”

“I’ve been warning that we’re heading for a reliability crisis. It’s a simple Econ 101 equation. Supply is going down with premature retirements of generation and not building enough. Then, we’re seeing exponential increase in demand.”

Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, and Nevada recently approved tariffs for new large load customers. This panel at the 2025 NARUC Summer Policy Summit explored the state objectives regulators consider when evaluating tariffs and which tariff design elements support those goals. On the panel were moderator and North Carolina Commissioner Floyd McKissick Jr., moderator and Virginia Commissioner Kelsey Bagot, SEPA Senior Manager, Emerging Technology Ann Collier, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Deputy Department Leader Natalie Mims Frick, Verrus Head of Energy Jeff Bladen, and ALN Policy and Law, LLC President Angela Navarro, a former Virginia Commissioner.

This panel at the 2025 NARUC Summer Policy Summit explored competing policy demands. On the panel were moderator and NARUC Senior Director Kim Duffley, ISO New England CEO Gordon van Welie, District of Columbia Commission Chair Emile Thompson, Northeast Power Coordinating Council CEO Charles Dickerson, Avangrid Networks CEO Joe Purington, GT Power Group President Glen Thomas, and Copper Monarch Principal Vincent Duane.

The 2025 NARUC Summer Policy Summit featured a conversation between Exelon CEO Calvin Butler and NARUC President and Georgia Commissioner Tricia Pridemore. There was a lot to talk about with Butler, who leads one of the nation’s largest utility companies, serving more than 10.7 million customers through six fully regulated transmission and distribution utilities – Atlantic City Electric, BGE, ComEd, Delmarva Power, PECO, and Pepco. He also is chair of the board of the Edison Electric Institute and leads some twenty thousand Exelon employees.

“Last year, the governor pushed for a siting and permitting bill that is one of the first in the nation on getting clean energy sited in the state. That bill is about having predictable timelines that are shorter with less appeals and provide an opportunity for people to participate in these proceedings.”

“Since our work at the DPU is related to people’s everyday lives without them truly knowing it, we make sure we’re communicating effectively through a combination of print media, social media, and our website.”