The jam-packed NARUC Winter Summit was filled with attendees and much discussion on utility regulation in the public interest, as well as the future of the energy and utilities industry.

“The idea of building a safe, resilient utility in California where climate ambitions are high, and the call for PG&E to be able to serve so we can lead the clean energy transition was compelling. I felt that could be a very important body of work professionally, but also personally to know I did something that made a difference.”

“I’m pulling every lever we have to make sure we meet the reliability needs and coordinate the gas and electric side. What’s clear to me is we need somebody, it doesn’t have to be me, FERC, or NERC. We need somebody to step into that gap and make sure they’re focused on the job of protecting our gas reliability.”

"Small modular nuclear has the opportunity to provide a clean energy source, replacing fossil fuel resources, and using existing transmission, such as the proposal for the TerraPower plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming. How can we make sure it’s built in time?"

“If you’re looking at 30-year investments and have to decide now whether to invest in them, even 10 years from now, we can’t predict what reliability needs are going to be to trigger a reliability relief valve. If I heard you correctly, you’re fundamentally rethinking that approach.”

General sessions were packed with utility industry leaders, on a wide range of energy topics, as were the committee meetings.

“Our most important accomplishment was our safety performance. 2023 was Cleco’s best safety performance record in the company’s history."

What do we mean when we say that something is unaffordable? I ask for a very good reason.