How are utilities supposed to balance 1) strategic grid planning with 2) strong stewardship of the tree canopy we all rely on?

It requires a new approach to vegetation management—one rooted in global information sharing that transcends competitive bounds. That’s what today’s guests—Dennis Fallon, Executive Director of the Utility Arborist Association, and Justin McQuistan, Corporate Partnerships Manager at the Arbor Day Foundation—are building.

And this week, Kim & Lee getting the inside scoop on how they’re doing it.

Because trees and vegetation certainly can work in favor of utilities…it’s just about the right tree in the right place. This episode serves as a roadmap for utility leaders who want to redefine their vegetation management approach to go from reactive to proactive.

PLUS: The Arbor Day Foundation is giving away free trees. They’ll plant one free tree for the first 200 Piloting the Future listeners who go to this link: https://get.arborday.org/innovationforce

Thanks for listening, and go claim your tree now. See you soon.

Why can’t we be friends? A new POV on utility vegetation management

Wildfires, hurricanes, cyberattacks—utilities are under siege from extreme events. But what if there were a better, calmer, and smarter way to handle them?

In this episode of Power Perspectives, host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester are joined by Matt Schnugg, Chief Product Officer at Schneider Electric’s Digital Grid business to talk about a transformative new framework called Holistic Event Management. It’s an approach that moves beyond siloed solutions and reactive decision-making—toward unified, proactive digital platforms that support operators in both blue-sky and black-sky conditions.

Drawing from his experience leading the rollout of Schneider Electric’s One Digital Grid Platform, Matt shares how utilities can reduce the **c**ognitive burden on their teams during moments of chaos and build a response strategy that’s not just reactive—but anticipatory. From wildfire preparation to grid restoration, we explore how digital transformation is becoming a lifeline for resilience.

Listen in to learn how today’s utility event management got so fragmented and reactive, and how culture, alignment, and digital integration are key to successfully addressing emergencies moving forward.

Key Links:
Energy Central Post: https://www.energycentral.com/podcasts/post/the-utility-emergency-playbook-gets-a-makeover-2NtReLZGxsmg5zb

Schneider Electric on Energy Central: https://www.energycentral.com/SchneiderElectric

Video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lg_1xxFAai8

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 emergency playbook gets a makeover

When a tech giant comes knocking, how does a utility say make room for them in a way that ensures the best outcomes for its existing customers?

That’s the question at the heart of Mississippi’s leap into the global spotlight, as Amazon Web Services chose the state for one of its largest-ever data center investments. And for Entergy Mississippi, this wasn’t just about plugging in servers — it was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernize the grid, replace retiring generation, invest in community infrastructure, and keep rates affordable for customers, including the 20% living below the poverty line.

In this episode of Power Perspectives, podcast host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester are joined by Haley Fisackerly, President and CEO of Entergy Mississippi. In this conversation, Haley outlines how this deal came together after years of effort, what it means for clean energy and resiliency in the region, and how his team manages to balance the demands of hyperscale data centers with the realities of local communities. 

From navigating regulatory hurdles to ensuring affordability and equity, Haley shares lessons every utility leader should hear before the next big tech partnership lands on their doorstep.

Key Links:
Sign up for the Energy Central Daily Newsletter: https://energycentral.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Energy Central Post for this episode: https://www.energycentral.com/podcasts/post/how-this-utility-ceo-helped-land-amazon-s-16-billion-power-investment-HPe8T88l2ugWwIg

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

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

How this utility CEO helped land Amazon’s $16 billion power investment

The Esri Utility Network is more than a technology upgrade. It’s a strategic leap forward that helps utilities transform asset modeling, improve data security, and enhance operational decision-making…while enabling real-time visibility and better data sharing across departments to solve problems with less friction and greater interconnection.

Making the jump to the Utility Network isn’t easy, though. That’s where today’s episode comes in—a detailed guide to the why, how, and when of making the leap to this new framework for mapping and planning.

David Miller, Executive Consultant at SSP Innovations, leverages 20 years of expertise to help utilities migrate to the UN—and establish priorities, game plans, ambitions, and systems needs. Today on The GISt, he’s breaking down his process for utilities of all shapes and sizes. 

This episode is brought to you by SSP Innovations.

SSP Innovations is a leading Esri Platinum Partner serving the electric and gas utility industries. Electric and gas utilities across North America trust SSP for strategic consulting, GIS and data managed services, Utility Network migrations, system integration, and long-term support. From the introduction of the Utility Network platform, SSP has led the way with strategic consulting, data preparation, and implementation services. Many of the largest utility companies in North America have chosen SSP for their Utility Network migration projects and celebrated their successful completion.

Want to learn more about SSP Innovations? Right this way: https://www2.sspinnovations.com/utility-network-podcast

The utility leader’s modern playbook for GIS

The conversation around AI in energy often centers on what it consumes. But what about what it can contribute? 

Nowhere is that question more relevant than in nuclear power — a resource that is both critical to decarbonization and too often slow to adopt new tools. In this episode of Power Perspectives, podcast host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester sit down with Trey Lauderdale, Founder & CEO of Atomic Canyon, a startup pioneering the first on-premise AI platform designed for nuclear power plants. 

Trey shares his unconventional journey from healthcare startups to energy innovation, and how his company is already helping modernize operations at Diablo Canyon, one of the country’s most critical nuclear facilities. He highlights the challenges (and surprising wins) of bringing AI to conservative utility environments, while laying out the playbook for how AI can cut reactor engineering timelines by years. 

If you’ve been watching the parallel hype cycles around AI and nuclear and wondering where they truly intersect, then buckle up and enjoy this conversation that cuts through the noise with a vision from inside the control room.

Key Links
Sign up for the Energy Central Daily Newsletter: energycentral.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Energy Central Post for this episode: https://www.energycentral.com/podcasts/post/can-ai-modernize-nuclear-this-ceo-thinks-so-HXAZ6xmDCb3561h

Video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/yyMuQkEluA8

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

Atomic Canyon: http://www.atomic-canyon.com/

Can AI modernize nuclear? This CEO thinks so

Being a leader is about more than just knowing electrons. It’s about showing up every day ready to set the pace and tone for your team—this episode is the playbook for doing just that.

Today on Piloting the Future, Kim & Lee tackle the idea of influence beyond authority—how energy leaders are becoming change champions, no matter their titles, budgets, or team sizes.

We’ve got two experts leading the charge: Jody Allison (VP of Customer Transformation at Xcel Energy) & Brandy Bolden (Chief Customer Officer at SMUD).

Jody and Brandy are serving up an insightful look at how they drive change in their orgs—managing ambiguity, driving strategic efforts, leveraging AI as a teammate, finding the value prop in customer expectations, winning community support, getting comfortable with risk, navigating authenticity vs. reality…and so much more.

This conversation is a great listen for anyone eager to learn how to navigate the non-technical aspects of their jobs (because those matter, a lot). 

Want to know what leadership in the modern utility world looks like? Hit play.

Learn more about Utility2030 here: https://www.utility2030.org/leadership

How to be an energy leader—no matter your job title

When we look to the future of the electric utility industry, what do we see?

Better data. More efficiencies. Smarter grids. Simpler asset management. At least—that’s what we’re all hoping for. 

To make it happen? It’s all about location, location, location. And that’s where GIS comes in: Moving into the future of power, GIS will be instrumental in challenging the status quo, improving utilities’ understanding of where things are (from outages to assets to customers), leveling up what regulatory compliance really means, and breaking down siloes across the power org.

Today on our finale of The GISt, we hear from Dr. Comfort Manyame, director of geospatial R&D at EMPACT Engineering and an expert in GIS for nearly 30 years. Dr. Manyame covers it all, from the intersection of GIS and AI to the skillset of the next generation of remarkable power professionals. 

Accessible GIS is the key to bringing this industry into its next era. Today, we’re talking about how that happens, who stands to benefit the most, and where we’re headed next.

Moving beyond the map: How GIS takes utility leaders from reactive to proactive

The U.S. electric grid is under historic pressure. Record-breaking demand from electrification, AI, and data centers is colliding with extreme weather and aging infrastructure, while policy fights and project cancellations stall the very transmission projects needed to strengthen reliability. For utility leaders, the question isn’t if these stresses will hit home — it’s how quickly and how prepared they’ll be when they do.

In this episode of Power Perspectives Podcast, host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester sit down with Christina Hayes, Executive Director of Americans for a Clean Energy Grid, to unpack why transmission is the backbone of the energy transition — and why utilities can’t afford to ignore it. Christina shares insights from ACEG’s latest research and publications, breaks down the permitting roadblocks, and offers practical guidance on what CEOs and decision-makers must know to navigate this make-or-break moment for the grid.

Key Links
Sign up for the Energy Central Daily Newsletter: energycentral.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Energy Central Post for this episode: https://www.energycentral.com/podcasts/post/why-transmission-could-save-or-sink-the-energy-transition-91bMwgXGfiaqbmF

Video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XUCjBs16qNI

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

Fewer New Miles: Strategic Industries Held Back by Slow Pace of Transmission: https://cleanenergygrid.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ACEG_Grid-Strategies_Fewer-New-Miles-2025_Rev-1.pdf

Large-Scale Transmission Deployment Saves Consumers Money: https://cleanenergygrid.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/GS_Transmission-Deployment-Saves-Consumers-Money_vf.pdf

Resource Adequacy Value Of Interregional Transmission: https://cleanenergygrid.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/250610_RAValueInterregionalTx_Corrections.pdf

Why transmission could save (or sink) the energy transition

Move fast and break things? Not at utilities. More like move slowly and keep the lights on.

Utilities have a reputation for being slow to innovate and adapt. Where does that come from? Well…they’re highly regulated, they’re used to financing investments with a guaranteed rate of return, and they’re on the hook for BIG bills if innovation goes south.

All those realities contribute to the capital bias in energy—the inefficient phenomenon in which traditionally regulated utilities are incentivized to favor capital-intensive investments over cost-effective operational expenses (read: tech advancements). Simply put? More trillion-dollar poles and lines, fewer million-dollar demand response programs, for example.

It’s not a permanent problem, though. Utilities can get faster in meeting the demand moment…and today on Piloting the Future, we explore exactly how they’re going to keep pace with the hyperscalers outspending them on innovation by leaps and bounds.

Today’s guests: Dr. Elizabeth Cook, VP of Technical Strategy at AEIC, and Ken Silverstein, Senior Contributor at Forbes. They join Kim and Lee in a deeply insightful, forward-thinking conversation about breaking through gridlock by overcoming this capital bias to determine who will own the power future: utilities...or Big Tech?

Don’t miss this first episode of our Gridlocked miniseries—building the grid of the future requires taking some risks…safely. And this week, we’re exploring how that becomes possible.

Who will power the AI future?

Wildfires are no longer just a seasonal threat — they’re a year-round crisis reshaping the way utilities must plan and operate. With billions in damages each year and mounting regulatory and reputational risks, utilities are under intense pressure to respond faster, smarter, and more proactively to protect both the grid and the communities they serve. The challenge: most control rooms aren’t equipped with the integration and situational awareness needed to act decisively in the heat of the moment.

In this episode of Power Perspectives, podcast host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester are joined by Dan Lysaker, Director of Product Design at AspenTech Digital Grid Management, to explore how advanced distribution management solutions (ADMS) can provide the real-time visibility and control utilities desperately need. Dan shares lessons learned from utilities in wildfire-prone regions, explains the value of integrating fire data into a single operational view, and discusses how utilities worldwide are rethinking resilience strategies. 

If you’re a utility decision-maker looking to harden your grid against tomorrow’s wildfire threats, this conversation is a must-listen.

Key Links
Sign up for the Energy Central Daily Newsletter: energycentral.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Energy Central Post for this episode: https://www.energycentral.com/podcasts/post/utilities-are-fighting-wildfires-with-data-FgCr1EknTFrnIOy

Video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1hDmfegC_i4

Dan Lysaker on Energy Central: https://www.energycentral.com/member/sldMU0QXZ6

AspenTech on Energy Central: https://www.energycentral.com/aspentech

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

Utilities are fighting wildfires with...data?

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, hosted by Jason Price and Matt Chester.

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.