You know electricity works hard for you. So don't you take electricity lightly... Without electricity, you'd be in the dark. Like a cave man was, way before man's world was lit up. -Jiminy Cricket, Disney cartoon
1. Interview of former Duke CEO Jim Rogers
[Climate change legislation in 2009] could have passed in the Senate, but the White House was MIA. Because they had just passed health care. They weren't prepared for another major legislative push. There is a lot you can read into the fact that they took a pass.
Also, there were seventeen moderate Democrats from states where more than fifty percent of power production came from coal. These Senators and Majority Leader [Harry] Reid were reluctant to act on climate change legislation at that time. You had both a Democratic Senate and administration not pushing for passage.
We should have resolved this issue then. We could have resolved it. But the Democrats said no...
It came so close. It was good for EEI to be leading on this issue. Actually, the great fact that I love is that between 2005 and 2015, with no price on carbon, the industry has reduced carbon emissions twenty-one percent.
2. Interview of former Florida Progress EVP Stan Garnett
I've always tried to stay in shape. I don't like going into a gym. Being a soccer referee, you had no choice but to stay in shape. You had to run like crazy doing your job. So for me, it was my exercise program.
I did over one thousand matches in the United States Soccer Federation in my career. Every so often a player or coach would say something rude to me.
You're trained not to react to that. I think I never did. But it really helped me when I was an occasional expert witness for my company. It became funny. Somebody would say something and I'd say to myself, "Well I've heard a lot worse than that."
3. Paul Afonso, Lauren Azar, Dian Grueneich, Jim Hoecker, "Preparing for the Inevitable"
Metcalf. Ukraine. Super Storm Sandy. The risks to the nation's bulk power delivery network are growing. The threat of physical and cyber attacks now compound the risks from natural disasters.
As former utility regulators and policymakers, we urge utilities, network operators, and regulators to recognize these growing risks, work together to develop robust grid resiliency and recovery plans, and implement a shared inventory model as a cost-effective way to expedite restoration of the power delivery network if severe weather strikes or parts of the grid come under attack.
$24 and the must-read must-keep August issue of Public Utilities Fortnightly is yours. Just contact Joe Paparello at paparello@fortnightly.com.
Steve Mitnick, Editor-in-Chief, Public Utilities Fortnightly
E-mail me: mitnick@fortnightly.com
