“White House Chronicle,” the weekly news and public affairs program on PBS, SiriusXM Radio and other broadcast outlets, breaks new ground this week in having three experts on energy, sustainability and infrastructure from one company tackle the issue of the future of the electric utility industry and its reaction to climate change.
The program’s three guests are from Guidehouse, which merged recently with Navigant Consulting.
“Guidehouse has been a pioneer in steering its electric utility company clients to a low-carbon, sustainable future,” said Llewellyn King, executive producer and host of “White House Chronicle.”
“The multiple sources of generation and the changed nature of the electric utility is summed up in the phrase ‘energy cloud,’ which has become a part of Guidehouse’s strategy for its clients,” King said.
Ted Walker, who heads the company’s Energy Cloud Transformation team, said on the program that utilities used to generate electricity and send it down a wire to the customer. Now flows go both ways, reflecting the use of dispersed generation, like solar and wind, and the growing importance of microgrids.
“In short, it isn’t your father’s utility anymore,” King said. “It’s the energy cloud now.”
The Guidehouse panel, who included Karen Wilson and Mackinnon Lawrence, pointed out that the energy transition in Europe is further along than in the United States. Another example of some progress being made to decrease air pollution is the thousands of electric busses deployed in China.
However, the conversation continues to be binary: Fossil fuels versus renewables, Lawrence said.
The panel noted that extreme heat and cold will contribute to the massive disruption, especially for utilities. Resiliency will be key for organizations of all sizes from local cities and towns, to counties, states and federal agencies, as well as small businesses and large publicly held corporations.
The episode will air beginning Friday, Dec. 20, and throughout the following week.
For more information,
Website: whchronicle.com
