Can electric school buses change the paradigm of power, permanently?

Today on Power Perspectives, we’re finding out—with Kevin Matthews, Head of Electrification at First Student. With the launch of the V2X Smart Energy Hub project in Brooklyn, First Student and Con Edison are pioneering a new way to use electric school buses as mobile energy assets, helping the grid balance demand while reducing emissions.

Kevin shares the vision behind First Student’s electrification efforts, the unique challenges and opportunities of transitioning large fleets to electric, and how the V2X Hub provides cleaner air and a more resilient grid for the community.

Tune in to learn about:
- The motivation behind electrifying the city's school buses
- How the V2X Smart Energy Hub works and why it’s a game-changer
- The benefits of leveraging school buses as mobile energy storage
- Overcoming skepticism & other lessons learned from collaborating with a utility as massive as Con Edison

Join host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester as they dive into the cutting edge of fleet electrification and grid innovation with Kevin Matthews.

Key Links: 
Energy Central Post with Full Episode Transcript: https://energycentral.com/o/energy-central/wheels-bus-make-grid-go-round

Kevin Matthews Energy Central Profile: https://energycentral.com/member/profile/kevin-matthews

Ask a Question to Our Future Guests: Do you have a burning question for the utility executives and energy industry thought leaders that we feature each week on Power Perspectives? Leave us a message here for your chance to be featured in an upcoming episode: www.speakpipe.com/EnergyCentralPodcast

The wheels on the bus make the grid go-round

What if your next utility crew didn’t drive, but flew? Autonomous drones are no longer experimental toys, they’re rapidly become indispensable tools for utilities facing today’s most pressing challenges: extreme weather, aging infrastructure, and reliability amid rising demand. 

In this episode of *Power Perspectives*, we explore how autonomous drones are becoming essential tools for modern utilities—helping detect failures before they happen, reducing field crew risks, and speeding up outage response. To highlight this topic, our guest is Christina Park, Senior Director of Energy Strategy at Skydio, an industry leader at the forefront of AI-powered drone technology. Christina shares lessons from her years leading digital transformation at NYPA and explains how utilities can successfully scale drone programs from one-off pilots to enterprise-wide deployments.

From the role of autonomy and AI to tackling inertia within large utility organizations, Christina offers a clear-eyed look at the real-world challenges—and massive opportunities—that drones bring to energy infrastructure.

Key Links:
Energy Central Post with Episode Transcript: https://www.energycentral.com/podcasts/post/why-every-utility-will-have-a-drone-fleet-sooner-than-you-think-OwiMdjzaSz1cLgt

Video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MV7aGqwfIDA

Christina Park on Energy Central: https://www.energycentral.com/member/ahfqLnthAM

Ask a Question to Our Future Guests: Do you have a burning question for the utility executives and energy industry thought leaders that we feature each week on Power Perspectives? Leave us a message here for your chance to be featured in an upcoming episode: www.speakpipe.com/EnergyCentralPodcast

Why every utility will have a drone fleet sooner than you think

The U.S. just became the world’s largest exporter of LNG—but is that a blessing or a burden? In this global-scale episode of *Power Perspectives*, we step away from local grid topics to dive into the international dynamics shaping the global energy markets. To do so, we are joined by Anne-Sophie Corbeau of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. In this conversation, she breaks down how America’s LNG surge is reshaping alliances, inflaming tensions, and creating unexpected risks for utilities back home.

From backchannel Russian gas flows into Europe to the breakdown of U.S.-China LNG deals, Corbeau offers insight on what’s *really* driving the gas market—and what utility executives, regulators, and investors need to be watching closely in the months ahead during the Trump 2.0 Administration. From the status of LNG as a strategic asset and a geopolitical wildcard to the specifics of U.S. interactions with China and Russia, Anne-Sophie highlights the right signals for utility leaders to keep an eye on in these international markets, as well as advice for how to plan around political and policy volatility in Washington. 

This episode is a must-listen for utility professionals trying to navigate an energy landscape that is increasingly global, volatile, and politically charged.

Key Links:
Energy Central Post with Episode Transcript: TBD

Video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/KtVrDZcTIKY

Ask a Question to Our Future Guests: Do you have a burning question for the utility executives and energy industry thought leaders that we feature each week on Power Perspectives? Leave us a message here for your chance to be featured in an upcoming episode: www.speakpipe.com/EnergyCentralPodcast

A geopolitical wildcard: How the global gas market impacts utilities

What do two GIS experts say when you ask them about the importance of data management for utilities? 

“You can’t manage what you can’t see.”

“If the data is wrong, bad things happen.”

“Without data, you have no control.” 

This week on The GISt, we’re diving deep into GIS as a tool to address latency, remove siloes, and help utilities do less on-prem…so they can do more overall.

The root of all this innovation? GIS technology. It’s what pulls disparate data together so power teams can make better decisions, bridge more gaps, and find—as this week’s experts put it—their “aha moment.”

In the first of three top-notch episodes of The GISt with our partners at Esri, we’re joined by Director of Electric Utility Solutions Bill Meehan & Director of Electric Industry Solutions Pat Hohl.

This episode is brought to you by Esri. 

Esri is the global market leader in GIS software, location intelligence, and mapping. With Esri software you can add the power of location to modernize how you work. Esri helps to digitally transform utilities by enabling users to create, discover, share, and use maps anywhere, anytime, on any device. The Esri ArcGIS system is a comprehensive GIS allowing organizations to analyze and share their data across the organization. Operators and managers access ArcGIS for improved operational awareness and decision making. Field and office staff use ArcGIS to manage, update, and analyze information about customers, network assets, and work orders. To find out how to digitally transform your utility visit [www.esri.com/electric] to learn more.

Don’t miss the next two episodes of The GISt ft. Esri—covering GIS for discovery and for collaboration…two key components of scaling reliable, resilient power systems.

See you next time.

Utilities have a data problem. Is GIS the solution?

U.S. utilities have invested tens of billions of dollars in Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) over the last two decades. As those first-generation deployments approach end-of-life, utilities are facing difficult questions: Did AMI deliver on its promises? Was the investment justified? And what comes next?

To get to the bottom of that and look ahead to what comes next in AMI 2.0, Power Perspectives is joined by Steven Lupo, Managing Director for North America at Trilliant. As a seasoned utility and smart grid expert, he’s primed to explain how utility leaders can make smarter, more future-proof investments in the next wave of grid modernization. 

From balancing risk with innovation, to understanding the real-world performance of next-gen smart meters, this conversation digs into both the strategic and technical sides of AMI 2.0. Whether you're an exec weighing your next major capital deployment or a regulator reviewing grid plans, this episode will sharpen your understanding of where the AMI conversation is headed next.

Key Links:
Energy Central Post with Episode Transcript: https://www.energycentral.com/podcasts/post/is-ami-worth-the-hype-DZTSUYfFCUlfc7D

Video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/r5NckcpesYU

Steven Lupo on Energy Central: https://www.energycentral.com/member/tXQtRCMm57

Trilliant on Energy Central: https://www.energycentral.com/Trilliant

Ask a Question to Our Future Guests: Do you have a burning question for the utility executives and energy industry thought leaders that we feature each week on Power Perspectives? Leave us a message here for your chance to be featured in an upcoming episode: www.speakpipe.com/EnergyCentralPodcast

Is AMI worth the hype?

Tackling energy’s biggest problems requires true innovators to start somewhere—small solutions turn into enormous ones, faster than you might think.

This week on Piloting the Future, hosts Kim Getgen and Lee Krevat hear from David Burchfield, Cofounder of BuildingLens, and Katherine Juengel, Green Cities Industry Liaison at Prosper Portland, about the way Portland is supporting energy innovation—and making community a cornerstone of power programs—one step at a time.

We cover distributed energy (the lowest hanging fruit for innovators, as our guests put it), the role of risk taking for utilities that truly want to think for the future, and how to work backwards from the customer to create solutions worth adopting—along with so much more.

Listen in for an up-close look at how Portland and the innovators who call it home are proving that transformation is just one relationship away.

Piloting the Future: There’s no innovation without community buy-in, ft. BuildingLens & Prosper Portland

For decades, utility performance has been judged by how well companies met regulatory requirements—but is that enough for the energy transition ahead?

In this episode of Power Perspectives, we look at what it means for a utility to evolve beyond compliance, as we’re joined by Guy Chalkley, CEO of Endeavour Energy in Australia, and Richard McIndoe, Executive Chairman of Edge Zero. Together, they’re helping utilities shift from a risk-averse, regulation-driven mindset to one rooted in customer outcomes, DER integration, and future-focused innovation.

Australia has faced a rapid influx of distributed energy resources (DERs) and customer-driven change, forcing utilities to respond years ahead of their global peers. U.S. utilities now have an opportunity to learn from that experience—before the disruption lands at their doorstep. That need for transformation means this episode is essential listening for utility executives, regulators, planners, and customer engagement teams alike. It’s not just about the technology—it’s about rethinking the entire framework of utility success.

Key Links:
Energy Central Post with Episode Transcript: https://www.energycentral.com/podcasts/post/redefining-utility-success-w-australia-s-biggest-power-pros-uYOsBQ94fRvllO9

Video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/M7M8w3QfGmA

Richard McIndoe on Energy Central: https://www.energycentral.com/member/BBML0B8KoT

Edge Zero on Energy Central: https://www.energycentral.com/edgezero

Ask a Question to Our Future Guests: Do you have a burning question for the utility executives and energy industry thought leaders that we feature each week on Power Perspectives? Leave us a message here for your chance to be featured in an upcoming episode: www.speakpipe.com/EnergyCentralPodcast

Redefining utility success w/ Australia's biggest power pros

When you see relationships and patterns, you don’t just take a peek at opportunities—you get a preview of risks…and a chance to get out in front of changes that need to be made.

That’s the power of GIS as a tool for discovery.

Why? Because looking at your reality in a spatial context opens up a new world of discoverability—and that can quite literally take utilities from “I hope so” to “now I know what to do.” Creating that tapestry of high-value information can change everything for power pros.

In the second of three top-notch episodes of The GISt with our partners at Esri, we’re joined again by Director of Electric Utility Solutions Bill Meehan & Director of Electric Industry Solutions Pat Hohl. And these two? They’re breaking down some of the coolest ways utilities are leveraging GIS and mapping to do better business—including how one Esri client quadrupled their asset renewal program effectiveness in just one year. 

This episode is brought to you by Esri.

Esri is the global market leader in GIS software, location intelligence, and mapping. With Esri software you can add the power of location to modernize how you work. Esri helps to digitally transform utilities by enabling users to create, discover, share, and use maps anywhere, anytime, on any device. The Esri ArcGIS system is a comprehensive GIS allowing organizations to analyze and share their data across the organization. Operators and managers access ArcGIS for improved operational awareness and decision making. Field and office staff use ArcGIS to manage, update, and analyze information about customers, network assets, and work orders. To find out how to digitally transform your utility visit [www.esri.com/electric] to learn more.

Don’t miss the next episode of The GISt ft. Esri—covering GIS for utility collaboration. See you next time.

How utility leaders predict the future with GIS

Behind the energy transition’s headlines about megawatts and microgrids lurks a quiet but critical crisis: a severe shortage of skilled trade workers. These electricians, technicians, lineworkers, and other trade professionals keep the power flowing, yet they’re retiring faster than they’re being replaced — leaving an enormous talent gap just as the grid needs to expand and modernize.

In this episode of Power Perspectives, Ruchir Shah, Founder and CEO of SkillCat, joins the conversation to break down how we can rescue the skilled trades pipeline, attract new talent, and modernize training for a rapidly evolving energy industry. Whether you’re a utility executive, HR leader, regulator, or simply someone concerned about energy’s future, this episode will give you a fresh look at why skilled trades matter more than ever, what you can do to help keep this essential workforce strong, and how to attract new, young talent to our sector.

Key Links:
Energy Central Post with Episode Transcript: TBD

Video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DWhYps7-Wto

Ask a Question to Our Future Guests: Do you have a burning question for the utility executives and energy industry thought leaders that we feature each week on Power Perspectives? Leave us a message here for your chance to be featured in an upcoming episode: www.speakpipe.com/EnergyCentralPodcast

The utility workforce wakeup call

Welcome to the Energy Central Podcast Network—your ultimate resource for the biggest ideas, boldest perspectives, and best insights from across the electric power industry.

We publish…

Power Perspectives. From CEOs of major utilities to founders of energy tech startups pushing the envelope, Power Perspectives curates the news, thought leaders, and big picture conversations most important to modern power professionals—every week on Tuesdays.

Piloting the Future. Hosts Kim Gergen and Lee Krevat go deep with the leaders, innovators, and forward thinkers responsible for not just imagining where our power future is headed…but building it day by day.

The GISt. This action-packed limited series demystifies the rapidly evolving world of Geographic Information Systems through focused, expert-led deep dives into the most future-defining GIS topics.

And there’s even more to come.

Energy Central is a community where 250K electric power professionals share, learn, and connect in a collaborative environment. Want to join in? Visit www.EnergyCentral.com to register for free.

The wheels on the bus make the grid go-round

Energy Central

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