“We’re concerned, too, from a water utility standpoint on fire mitigation because one of the main missions of a water utility in a community is to provide water for fire protection.”

“When you file an annual rate case, you can’t have a direct conversation with regulators because you have an ongoing case. But when you lay out a two, three, or four-year plan, and have stakeholders engage, everyone knows what’s coming and there’s a level of transparency. Now, you are engaging in strategic discussions with regulators.”

“As we’re moving through this clean energy transition, we have to invest in our distribution system and transmission, so we should explore new ways to communicate and collaborate with our Commissions and have conversations about where we’re going because the world is changing faster than it has in the past.”

“With all the growth in the State of Florida, we have to work hard to build our system and our infrastructure in a proven way, so that we are making sure the investments are sensible, economic, and translate into rates that can be affordable over time.”

"We’ve been vocal at the federal level to develop a permanent funding mechanism for a low-income water assistance program, just like in the electric and gas industry. LIHEAP has been around forever and it’s a meaningful program. We don’t have anything similar on the water side."

PUF brings a look at a General Session that was divided into four panels, with the title, “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.

Out of 88 nominations, 23 teams earned Fortnightly Top Innovators awards.

“AEIC’s Ops Center will provide the electric utility industry with authoritative information as a basis for decision making on local, state, and federal infrastructure investments. The Ops Center will facilitate projects that address important issues, including technology challenges, grid storage, electrification, and more. As projects are completed, the Ops Center will publish results.”