The breakfast, Before the Fire: What Utilities and Regulators Need to Know About Wildfire Technology, included opening remarks from NARUC President Ann Rendahl and a panel moderated by SEPA CCO Monica Trauzzi with California Commissioner Matt Baker and Xcel Energy – Colorado President Robert Kenney.

Speakers and performers volunteered two minutes of their time on a variety of subjects, celebrating the energy and utilities industry with camaraderie, fun, and education.

“The drought is so dire that any and every measure must be considered to resuscitate the health of the Colorado River and its water supply. What is clear is that these companies can’t afford the luxury of waiting for the federal government to solve this.”

“One of the overriding themes was the critical need for education in addressing distressed water systems. Utilities, regulators, and local leaders must act as educators to bridge the gap between technical infrastructure needs and customer perception.”

“The planning challenge is to determine how much of that flexibility can be made dependable, locationally useful, and economically comparable with conventional infrastructure.”

“Slaughter means that the age of independent federal regulatory agencies is essentially dead, and Donald Trump now wields more power than any President in history.”

“When we prevent a disruption, it means a patient on life support remains safe at home, a family can finish a meal together without interruption, and a household avoids spoiled food and damaged appliances.”

“Together, these improvements have increased our ability to manage a growing volume of concurrent developer submissions while maintaining the technical rigor required for reliable system planning.”

“APS views this as an ongoing evolution. Every event helps improve forecasting, response measurement, and operational readiness. The objective is to make our VPP as dependable and repeatable as any other grid management tool.”