blackouts

Episode 22 (Morgan You Bargained For)

Jul 7, 2021 |

In which we sit down with Curt Morgan, the president and CEO of Vistra Corp., to discuss his investment philosophy in the power-generation business, the current investment status of generation technologies, how financial markets are disciplining the industry and leading the ESG revolution, the “terminal value” issue with gas-fired generation and why you never want to be the first owner of such a facility, gas pipelines’ dirty little secret, the reality of climate change, putting the power-industry transition into historical perspective, how PJM’s markets have performed, why power markets need to ditch some terminology as they add emissions to their list of must-haves, why carbon pricing and PJM’s MOPR are DOA and ERCOT turning gun-shy.

Episode 19 (What Really Happened in Texas?)

Mar 22, 2021 |

In which we dig into the causes of the Texas power outages in February 2021 and their potential consequences by sitting down with perhaps the one person in the world best equipped to discuss the situation: Pat Wood, who’s served as the top utility regulator both at FERC and the one state FERC doesn’t oversee, Texas. If you’re wondering what the likelihood is that Texas gets a capacity market, FERC oversight, a change in the pace of its power-generation transition or additional direct-current (DC) ties to neighboring grids, Pat’s got an answer.
But it’s also the one-year anniversary of the global pandemic, St. Patrick’s Day, Oscar’s nominees were announced – and don’t forget the return of March Madness! All receive their due attention, not to mention discussion of final requests, Cuban cigars, the famous Gruene Hall, BBQ, Mother Nature and the heartiness of azaleas.
There’s so much here, that (for the first time ever) we couldn’t keep it all to a single hour… Apparently everything is bigger in Texas – even podcasts!
PROGRAM NOTE:
The Business Insider podcast discussed during the episode can be found here: https://www.businessinsider.com/brought-to-you-by-podcast-btyb-enron-mail.

Episode 18 (Capacity-Market Deep Dive)

Feb 19, 2021 |

In which Glen and Rory dig deep to break down PJM’s capacity construct: where it’s been, where it’s going, how it compares to other regional grids and the major forces at play in shaping its future.
But that’s not all! (It never is.) TB12 and the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip make appearances in the conversation as Glen coins the phrase “that warm barn of regulation” and presages the devastating blackouts in Texas that would occur just hours after recording the episode. What should become of the MOPR? Are PJM and its member states still invested in competitive markets? What’s the deal with monopsony market-power? Can state statutes play nice with market forces? How does the new-look FERC impact all of this? Does New Jersey’s new market-design idea have legs? No questions barred and all things considered, it’s a discussion about electricity supply and system reliability that you don’t want to miss!

Episode 13 (One Hill of an Interview!)

Sep 14, 2020 |

In which we sit down with Calpine President/CEO Thad Hill for our first “executive interview” and end up picking his brain about everything from insights from leading the company back to private ownership in 2018 to how Vice President Biden can earn cred for his campaign’s environmental platform to whether the Ivy League or the SEC has the most insufferable fans. Oh yeah, there’s also carbon pricing, capacity markets, what’s gone wrong (and right) in California, which Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is currently on his nightstand and our requisite (but brief) ruminations on sports. It’s worth a listen during your one-hour workout.

Episode 19 (What Really Happened in Texas?)

Episode 18 (Capacity-Market Deep Dive)

Episode 13 (One Hill of an Interview!)

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