SEPA’s 15th Executive Fact-Finding Mission
Sheri Givens is CEO of the Smart Electric Power Alliance, a one-thousand-member national non-profit organization focused on addressing the most pressing issues facing the transformation to a carbon-free energy system. Her professional experience includes over twenty years in legal, regulatory, legislative, and external affairs in both the public and private sectors.
Emily Fisher is the Chief Strategy Officer for SEPA. Prior to joining SEPA in 2024, she spent sixteen years at the Edison Electric Institute, the trade association for the investor-owned electric companies, where she served as the Executive Vice President, Clean Energy, and General Counsel.
In early October, standing before the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, we marveled at the luminary display before us celebrating the thirty-fifth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall as part of Germany’s twentieth annual Festival of Lights, featuring light art displays spanning fifty locations across the city.
Just days before, we had arrived with our team and fifteen utility and technology company executives from across the Smart Electric Power Alliance’s (SEPA’s) diverse membership to begin our 15th Executive Fact-Finding Mission. Together, we saw a once divided city, and country, unified in its efforts toward clean energy goals.
Throughout the week, our group met with representatives from diverse energy sectors across Germany’s energy landscape — including an energy trade association, a governmental entity, a utility, a transmission system operator, a steel producer, and others. In these bilateral meetings, we shared insights into the U.S. clean energy journey while learning about Germany’s ambitious, government-mandated climate goals, the progress and plans for their clean energy transition, and their commitment to customer engagement.