Public Power Underground

Headliners: Crystal Ball, Mark Nelson, and Emeka Anyanwu @ Gridliance Transmission Symposium

In a LIVE! recording at GridLiance’s 2024 Transmission Symposium, Crystal Ball hosts a competition between Mark Nelson and Emeka Anyanwu to determine the most creative pr

Afterparty: Frontlining Energy Justice

[recorded August 28, 2024] Tony Reames and Salma Elmallah discuss their work and research on energy justice in a special episode recorded after the season and series fina

Eleventy-first episode & Energy System Analogy World Cup Championship

A party of special significance to celebrate the eleventy-first and final episode with an energy system analogy world cup championship tournament, celebrity guests, and s

Energy Justice with Prof. Erin Baker

A discussion of the building blocks of a just energy transition with Professor Erin Baker, the Faculty Director of the Energy Transition Institute at UMass Amherst. Prof

Commissioner Ann Rendahl & the Eras of the Electric Sector

The electric sector is evolving like the eras of Taylor Swift; at least that's the hypothesis that Commissioner Ann Rendahl and Gen-Z-Swiftie Scholar, Sherry Zuo, conside

BONUS: Unprecedented Partnerships for Expanding Electricity Transmission in the West

a special, bonus episode recorded at the Western Power Pool with celebrity guests Sarah Edmonds, Bob Rowe and Debra Smith Crystal Ball and Matthew Schroettnig host a co

Big Synchronous Generators, Popular Fallacies, and Unpopular Opinions

A trip to the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project to talk about power system inertia with Seattle City Light operators, plus a discussion of popular fallacies and unpopula

Ben Serrurier & the Lighting Design Lab

Ben Serrurier returns to Public Power Underground to share some maybe-good-maybe-bad-but-definitely-not-thought-out ideas with Ahlmahz Negash, Paul Dockery, and Farhad Bi

Lynne Kiesling, Congestible Public Goods, and Common Pool Resources

A discussion about public goods and what classifying services as common pool resources, congestible public goods, or club goods means for grid planning and market design.

Ari Peskoe Ranks Governance, Footprint, and Market Design

Ari Peskoe describes himself as an electric utility critic and has advice for electric utility enthusiasts. Ari Peskoe is the Director of the Electricity Law Initiative

Rich Glick on FERC Order 1920

Rich Glick initiated the proceedings that led to Order 1920 as Chair of FERC, he returns to Public Power Underground with experts Prof. Jacob Mays and Pamela Quinlan to r

Resource Adequacy, Tail Risk, and Institutional Capability

Conleigh, Farhad, Ahlmahz, and Paul debrief on coverage of FERC Order 1920 then discuss resource adequacy, hedging tail risk, and preview business capability models. Ahl

Apoorv Bhargava on the Grid

Apoorv Bhargava discusses his work at WeaveGrid optimizing electric vehicle charging within distribution systems. The interview is wrapped by context and insights from th

What it means for America's power grid w/ Katherine Blunt

Katherine Blunt joins Crystal Ball and Paul Dockery to discuss her reporting at the Wall Street Journal on the energy industry and her book, California Burning: The Fall

Dr. Kyri Baker on AI & OPF

Dr. Kyri Baker, an assistant professor of engineering at the University of Colorado, makes a return visit to discuss the use of artificial intelligence for power grid opt

BONUS: Eras of the Electric Sector (Taylor's Version)

Katherine Blunt, author of California Burning, joins Crystal Ball and Paul Dockery to discuss the eras of the electric sector (Taylor's Version). To celebrate Taylor Swi

Distribution Hardware

exploration of approaches to distribution systems from microcontrollers and software to MOAR HARDWARE Distribution infrastructure, microcontrollers in everything, hardwa

The Transmission Expansion Era w/ John Hairston

John Hairston returns to discuss what BPA is doing to navigate an era of transmission expansion for the grid. John Hairston, the CEO and Administrator of the Bonneville

Grand Analogies of the Energy System

Conleigh, Farhad, Ahlmahz, and Paul start season six with a discussion of ways to understand the energy system and analogies that can be used to explore its complications

Season 6 Preview & Sisterhood Merch!

The next season of Public Power Underground is coming soon with a new format and new regular hosts. Subscribe to make sure you don't miss the season premiere! After a sh