Chris Black had always planned on being an architect. But during his freshman year in college, he pivoted to computer science. On the surface, it looked like a strange change of course. But Chris saw parallels in the importance of form and function in both fields. Computer science eventually led Chris to the energy sector, where he brought his passion for making great digital products to the world of utility rates and programs. In 2022, Chris became the CEO of GridX.This week on With Great Power, Chris Black talks about why he’s so focused on product design and creating great user experiences. He also discusses GridX’s recent acquisition of energy data analytics company InnoWatts, and explains why and how GridX will continue to grow through mergers and acquisitions. Chris also shares his views on the ways that utilities are evolving and why he considers them to be product companies.Credits: Hosted by Brad Langley. Produced by Mary Catherine O’Connor. Edited by Anne Bailey. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. The GridX production team includes Jenni Barber, Samantha McCabe, and Brad Langley.
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24:03
Can your EV save the grid?
During a visit to Silicon Valley in 2015, Nick Woolley realized that the many Teslas he saw whizzing past him were not just new cars, they could also be distributed energy resources. He was working for National Grid in his native England at the time, but he couldn’t shake the idea that EVs could provide demand flexibility to the grid in a way that could benefit drivers and utilities alike.In 2018, he founded ev.energy to develop a platform for managed EV charging using real-time, dynamic price signals. Today, ev.energy works with utilities, drivers, and charger manufacturers to automate EV charging in order to shift demand from peak hours and reward drivers in the process.This week on With Great Power, Nick Woolley talks about the ChargeWise pilot program in California, which is using dynamic price signals to optimize EV charging. So far, it has saved consumers more money than time-of-use rates while evening out grid demand. Nick also describes what it would mean to scale dynamic charging nationwide.Credits: Hosted by Brad Langley. Produced by Mary Catherine O’Connor. Edited by Anne Bailey. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. The GridX production team includes Jenni Barber, Samantha McCabe, and Brad Langley.
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24:01
A second shot at smart meters
In 2015, Laura Sherman and her colleagues from Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet’s office rode horses into a special part of the Rocky Mountains called the Thompson Divide. Laura had landed in Sen. Bennet’s office after grad school as part of a policy fellowship with the American Academy for the Advancement of Science. At the time she was a legislative assistant to Sen. Bennet. She and her colleagues were working on legislation to protect federally-owned portions of the Divide from future energy and mineral extraction. It was all part of a plan she made years earlier, while studying geochemistry at the University of Michigan. Laura realized that to influence climate policy, she needed to connect her research to policymakers. Today, Laura continues to connect people and policy as president of the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council, a trade association that’s advancing clean power in the state.This week on With Great Power, Laura Sherman talks about the state of advanced metering infrastructure in Michigan, why she wants utilities to deploy next-generation smart meters, and the value the technology provides to Michiganders and consumers everywhere.Credits: Hosted by Brad Langley. Produced by Mary Catherine O’Connor. Edited by Anne Bailey. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. The GridX production team includes Jenni Barber, Samantha McCabe, and Brad Langley.
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23:32
Crunching the numbers on the nuclear renaissance
Mike Kramer has always liked puzzles. But in 2017 he faced one harder than any sudoku. This one involved the livelihoods of hundreds of American families. As director of business operations and the chief financial officer for Exelon Corporation’s eastern region, Mike Kramer was accountable for the financial health of seven nuclear generation facilities across four states. And things were not looking good.The trend lines for nuclear power had been heading down. In much of the country, renewables had reached grid parity and cheap natural gas was edging out nuclear power. He couldn’t make the math work at one of the reactors Exelon had operated for nearly 50 years – Three Mile Island Unit One. So in September 2019, it shut down. But last fall, things started turning around. Exelon spin-out Constellation, where Mike is now VP of data economy strategy, is restarting the plant as the Crane Clean Energy Center. And things are looking up at Constellation’s nuclear plant in Clinton, Illinois, which it is relicensing to operate for another 20 years.This week on With Great Power, Mike shares his take on the nuclear energy renaissance, what it’s been like to go from decommissioning to recommissioning a plant, and what growing demand for emissions-free power means for Constellation’s nuclear fleet across the country.With Great Power is a co-production of GridX and Latitude Studios.Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you get podcasts. For more reporting on the companies featured in this podcast, subscribe to Latitude Media's newsletter.Credits: Hosted by Brad Langley. Produced by Mary Catherine O’Connor. Edited by Anne Bailey. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. The GridX production team includes Jenni Barber, Samantha McCabe, and Brad Langley.
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24:56
Energy outreach from small towns to the world stage
In the early 2000s, when she was doing legal work in her native Texas, Sheri Givens held state government roles that put her in the thick of energy policy-making. And in 2009, Texas Governor Rick Perry appointed Sheri the chief executive of Public Counsel of the Texas Office of Public Utility Counsel. That made her, in effect, the consumer advocate for all 20 million Texas utility ratepayers.To do that job well, Sheri wanted to sit down with consumers across the state. So she spent days crisscrossing the state in her truck advising consumers on their energy utility choices.Sheri went on to consultancy and executive roles in the energy sector. Now, as president and CEO of the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA), a non-profit organization for energy sector professionals, she still has that same enthusiasm for empowering people. Amid tremendous demand for clean energy and deep uncertainty around federal energy policy, SEPA convenes folks from across the sector, the country, and the world to learn from each other. This week on With Great Power, Sheri shares why she’s bullish on states' progress toward clean energy goals despite federal headwinds, and what strategies utilities are using to advance policy and innovation right now.With Great Power is a co-production of GridX and Latitude Studios.Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you get podcasts. For more reporting on the companies featured in this podcast, subscribe to Latitude Media's newsletter.Credits: Hosted by Brad Langley. Produced by Erin Hardick and Mary Catherine O’Connor. Edited by Anne Bailey. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. The Grid X production team includes Jenni Barber, Samantha McCabe, and Brad Langley.
The electric grid is one of the most complex machines ever built. And it’s changing faster than ever. ‘With Great Power’ is about the people building the future grid, today. Each episode features stories about the technology, climate, security, and economic shifts that are reshaping utilities and the electricity system.
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