Xcel Energy
Ryan Long is President of Xcel Energy Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Gary Hanson is Chair of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. Ken Thomas is State President of AARP Florida.
PUF brings a look at a General Session at this summer's NARUC Summer Policy Summit that was divided into four panels: "The Tightrope: Utility CEOs' Balancing Act." In those four panels, utility CEOs faced Commissioners and a Consumer Advocate to discuss how they balance new resource investments and grid modernization, while ensuring reliability and reasonable rates. The CEOs grappled with tough questions, including how decisions are made concerning how and when to operationalize new initiatives, and whether communication and engagement levels are adequate.
Xcel Energy Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota President Ryan Long joined South Dakota Vice Chair Gary Hanson and AARP Florida State President Ken Thomas for Tightrope Three.
South Dakota Vice Chair Gary Hanson: We've had a bit of a challenges with the Dakotas, with North Dakota, South Dakota, they don't always agree with Minnesota, and we've had, I guess you can call it the Dakota Wars right now.
We're going to explore that a bit. I have two questions you can answer simultaneously. We know that technology is dynamic and like science, technology is never settled, and you are in a crunch period, fifteen years, because of legislative measures taken in Minnesota.