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Episode #146: 'Pioneering a Rational Decarbonization & the Gas Sector’s Role in New Jersey' with Michael Renna, President & CEO of South Jersey Industries [an Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast]

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In an age pressing for cleaner energy, the pivotal role of gas utilities and the innovative strategies being adopted to adapt and thrive remain a central area of focus. While the gas sector can be a lightning rod for its use of fossil fuels, leaders recognize the role gas can play in stabilizing the energy future amid decarbonization of power and also unlocking unique decarbonization opportunities. To highlight this evolving role of gas, this episode of the Energy Central Power Perspectives welcomes to the conversation Michael Renna, the President and CEO of South Jersey Industries (SJI).

In this conversation, Michael helps to uncover the importance of public-private partnerships, the promise of Renewable Natural Gas (RNG), and SJI's bold and ambitious goals. As advocates urge for the phasing out of the gas sector, Michael presents a compelling case for the continued and transformative role of gas in the energy transition. From investments in the gas infrastructure of today to preparing for the demands of tomorrow, listen in as Michael shares with podcast host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester an exclusive insight into the roadmap charted by South Jersey Industries. Dive into a captivating conversation that spans the challenges, solutions, and future aspirations of the gas industry in the Garden State.

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Thanks to the sponsor of this episode of the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast: West Monroe.  

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TRANSCRIPT

Jason Price:

Hello and welcome to the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast. This is the show that brings together leading minds in the energy industry to discuss the challenges and trends that are transforming and modernizing the utility industry of the future. And a quick thank you to West Monroe, our sponsor of today's show. Now let's talk energy.

My name is Jason Price, Energy Central podcast host and director with West Monroe. And as always, I'm joined by Matt Chester, Energy Central podcast producer and community manager dialed in from Orlando, Florida.

Matt, we're going to be tapping into the energy sector of New Jersey today, specifically learning from one of the leading voices in the gas industry for the state. The gas industry is increasingly under the spotlight and regardless where you stand on the opinion scale, the gas industry is anything but standing still. Gas utilities provide the necessary distribution and operation that allows us to heat our homes, cook much of our food, and power our electricity. Sometimes the best solution to solve a problem is from within, and the leadership of people like our next guest is pioneering the way towards a rational decarbonization approach through the use of gas and gas alternatives. Matt, can you give us a quick overview of the New Jersey gas sector by the numbers?

 

Matt Chester:

Yeah, sure, Jason, and I'll pull in some broad numbers that I've found published by the Energy Information Administration within DOE. And of note, they say that New Jersey, it really is the standout when it comes to gas, as 73% of homes in the state rely on natural gas as their primary source of heating, while natural gas makes up about half of the total state power generation. Compared with the national average, that's closer to about 40%. And that luckily comes from coal being pretty much phased out. So gas combined with nuclear combined to provide that baseload power for the New Jersey grid. And all of this, despite the fact that the state doesn't produce natural gas on its own, nor does it have any notable natural gas reserves, which means all of that supply's coming in from neighboring states like Pennsylvania and New York.

 

Jason Price:

That's really helpful setting the tone, so thank you for that, Matt. And given the prominence of natural gas for helping the Garden State run, it's hard to imagine a more influential guest than the one we have today. And I'm here on the campus of SJI in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Next to me is Mike Renna, the president and CEO of South Jersey Industries, which is the state's largest gas only utility, serving over 725,000 customers. Mike is at the forefront of the current evolution of the gas industry, and we're eager to pick his brain about the state of things today and the outlook of where it will be moving in the years to come. I'm excited to welcome him on the show. So Mike Renna, welcome to the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast.

 

Mike Renna:

Jason, thanks for having me here. I really appreciate it. I'm looking forward to this.

 

Jason Price:

As are we, so thank you for joining the call. Mike, I'd love to start with a bit of background on South Jersey Industries. For our listeners who aren't in New Jersey, can you give us the overview of what areas you serve and the services you cover in the garden state? And if you can share some highlights that prepared you for the C-suite.

 

Mike Renna:

I'm not sure anything prepares you for the C-suite, but I'll start with SJI and who we are, and I'll kind of focus on two areas. One, what we do in New Jersey, and then secondly what we do outside of New Jersey that we think directly benefits New Jersey and its energy future. So first, South Jersey Industries is an energy holding company. It's really we identify ourselves as an infrastructure company. Our infrastructure delivers energy, and we are making significant investments in modernizing that infrastructure so that it'll deliver the clean energy of the future.

We operate two utilities in the state of New Jersey, Elizabethtown Gas and then South Jersey Gas. So Elizabethtown Gas operates two different distinct geographic areas of the state. The first is kind of the suburbs of New York City, sort of the Middlesex County, Union County areas of the state, so towns like Elizabeth and Linden and Westfield and those neighboring communities. And then we have a long section that runs along the Delaware River, really from the Delaware water gap all the way down into Mercer County. So that was a western part of our territory. And then South Jersey Gas serves customers in all or part of the seven southernmost counties in the state. So all told, our utilities serve over 720,000 customers, commercial, residential, industrial. And then on the non-utility side, we've got two businesses, one which deals in kind of traditional wholesale marketing. We have a number of assets that are able to move gas from the production areas into the market areas, and it's kind of a niche business.

And then the other one is an energy production business that's largely focused on renewable energy. We do have some traditional renewable investments like solar and fuel cells, but we're really focused on decarbonization and investments in hydrogen and RNG that will help to decarbonize the gas stream, which we really believe is the fastest and most immediate way for this country, and particularly this state, to advance its energy goals.

 

Jason Price:

That's great, thank you. So as we noted in the introduction, you are a gas utility, which is an area of the energy sector under pressure to decarbonize. It's kind of like asking a restaurant to operate, but to do so without serving any food. So I want to give you a chance to share some of the work your company's doing with those efforts toward a shift to gas alternatives. Share with us what this looks like for South Jersey industries.

 

Mike Renna:

Yeah, that's a great question. I think it's really, look, there's absolutely a recognition that the climate is changing, and I think all of us have to contribute to helping to stem any of those adverse effects going forward. And so when the governor came out with the Energy Master plan back in 2020, it was an inflection point for us, and it was a moment where we could, I think, really rethink SJI and what our role was going to be in the decarbonized future. And there's a portion out there, there's a segment out there that really believes that the only path forward is electrification. We tend to think that there's real value in our infrastructure, there's value in decarbonization. So if there are ways that we can decarbonize, reduce the carbon intensity, reduce the carbon content of the energy that flows through our pipes, that's where we decided to focus all of our energy, no pun intended, and really look to find ways to accomplish that.

And I think you could look at it a number of different ways, right? Electrification is a long way off. There is a tremendous amount of infrastructure that needs to be built in order for this country to move to electrification, and not just on the generating side, right? Because electrification, it's not accomplish its intended purpose if the electricity is being generated by fossil fuels. So you've got to really build out the renewable generating base, and then you also have to build a tremendous amount of infrastructure to be able to move that renewable intermittent energy. We look at it as, hey, we're uniquely positioned where we can actually accelerate decarbonization and the future of clean energy because our infrastructure is already there. As I mentioned early on, we've spent billions of dollars over the last decade modernizing our infrastructure so that it can now deliver the cleaner lower carbon fuels of the future.

So through blending renewable natural gas and hydrogen, these technologies have really taken off in the last couple of years. We believe we can make a significant impact on the region and then also really, as I mentioned, be an accelerant for the state and the region to accomplish its energy goals.

 

Jason Price:

Great. Well, I want to pull on that thread a little bit more. You talked about RNG and you talked about innovation. So all of it has a public-private partnership component to it. So could you talk a little bit more about what types of innovation, leadership, and direct participation in the marketplace are you seeing and are there any interesting pilots to share with our audience?

 

Mike Renna:

Yeah, so I mean, I think it's certainly becoming a part of the conversation, and I'd like to believe that the efforts of companies like South Jersey Industries and raising the conversation to include both decarbonization and electrification has really helped.

But you look at the IRA, for example, right? There are significant incentives now targeting decarbonization, targeting RNG, biomass, biofuels. Those types of things necessarily weren't part of the conversation in the past, certainly not at the level they are today. So I think you're starting to see much more of a public private partnership. And that really goes back to the recognition that electrification is a long way off and it's ultimately going to be a massive investment in infrastructure, not just in New Jersey, but really across the country. And you've already got this infrastructure in place. We always talk about our infrastructure. It's safe, it's reliable, it's underground. So there is a lot of value. And as I mentioned, it's modern. So you look at our infrastructure and say, "Okay, well then how do you then decarbonize the fuels?" Part of it is that the market will help to drive that because that's where users will go.

There'll be a vibrant, robust market for alternative fuels. But I think the other piece of it is that that is supported by the government right now, and that lends itself to the public-private partnership that gets these kind of nascent markets to really take off. So pilot projects, frame it this way. I think the pilot projects are more right now in the green hydrogen space where you use an electrolyzer to split the hydrogen and the oxygen, and then you inject and blend green hydrogen with the gas stream and you do it at low quantities. And those are sort of where the pilot projects are at this stage. We've actually got one that we expect to bring online early in 2024 down in our South Jersey gas company territory. And I think a number of utilities in the region are starting to explore green hydrogen.

But where I think there's been real momentum is on the RNG front. We've assembled arguably the leading portfolio of dairy RNG projects in the country. I don't know how much we've announced publicly, so we've got a lot of dairy farms that are in our portfolio, many of which will come online in the next couple of months, and a number of which will come online in 2024, and I think we'll have all of them online in early 2025. But the dairy farms, everything is measured on a carbon intensity scale. So if you think about it, gas is about an 80 on a carbon intensity scale. Dairy farms, depending on their operations, are typically in the minus two hundreds. So a low volume can have a significant decarbonizing effect. And we're really excited about what we're doing on the dairy RNG front.

 

Jason Price:

In our lead up, the pre-call we had a few weeks back, you shared with us some of the ambitious goals that SGI is going through. So in 2021, you set some pretty interesting and aggressive goals to reach by 2040. On top of that, it's going to require some considerable fuel investments and energy efficiencies, leak reduction and so on. But on top of all that, it's required a bit of allocation of your CapEx investments on all this. What were some of the specific benchmarks SGI set out to meet, and how are they doing so far in meeting them?

 

Mike Renna:

I think because of our company's embracing of change and our company's willingness to help be a leader in terms of achieving the clean energy goals of the state, we really challenged ourselves to set aggressive goals. And I think at the time, now I haven't really closely monitored to see what others have done, but I believe at the time they were among the most aggressive goals in the sector, really among the utility sector.

Our target was first to decarbonize our own operations. Scope one and scope two emissions. So we really were focused on bringing down the emissions of our facilities and our operations. And then between the investments that we've made in modernizing our infrastructure, which as you mentioned, significantly brings down leak count, because you've now got modern infrastructure that has replaced our aging infrastructure that was more leak prone and more vulnerable. That brings down the fugitive methane emissions. So there's a direct environmental impact from all those investments. And then you start to think about things that we're doing internally, whether it's putting solar on our buildings or the utilization of fuel cells or CNG vehicles, all that was really to drive down the emissions from our operations. And we're tracking very well towards those goals. I have full confidence that we'll achieve those goals. I think what was unique for us was we really wanted to put our money where our mouth is, so to speak.

And so we came out with a commitment that at least 25% of our annual CapEx... And as an infrastructure company, as a utility, our CapEx budgets are sizable. So at least 25% of our annual capital budget is going towards sustainability and decarbonization type of investments, whether that's in our non utilities or again, whether that's in our utilities. Now, what's not included in that are all the things that we're doing in our utilities to encourage conservation or energy efficiency. We were one of the first utilities in the country to decouple. So we separated our profitability from throughput, which allowed us to then help to promote and advocate for energy efficiency and conservation. So our customers are using less, they're saving more, and our returns are protected under the mechanism of being decoupled. But again, we fully expect to continue to invest considerably in energy efficiency. And then on top of that, at least 25% of our annual CapEx budget on decarbonization type of investments.

 

Jason Price:

Great. Well, thank you for that. I want to turn now to your relationship with the BPU and the governor, and it's really along the lines of much of the investments you've made, especially CapEx investments over time, as you pointed out, a lot of it is in the upgrading of the networks of the pipelines and systems to operate it. So can you share with our audience, so just what's the relationship been like? Can you characterize your experience working with the BPU and the governor? Are they supportive of what you're doing and the mission and so on? Can you just talk about that?

 

Mike Renna:

Yeah, absolutely. I'm not sure if you heard, but recently we lost the BPU President Joe Fior Deliso. He passed away unexpectedly. It's a terrible loss for the industry, for the state. For me personally, Joe was a friend. I am really going to miss just being able to meet with Joe, and one of the things I really appreciated about him was he would have quarterly meetings with our senior team just to get kind of a lay of the land in terms of what we were doing, what we were focused on, and he cared as much about what we were doing in the non-utility as we did the utility, and he was always very supportive.

So look, I think he represented the kind of relationship that we have with the BPU. I would argue that that has been one of our competitive strengths. It has been a relationship that has been two decades in the making, but I think it's been really forged on a level of trust and a commitment to create win-win situations. We haven't litigated a rate proceeding in my career here. That's over 25 years. And again, I think that's a testament to the relationship that we have with our regulators and rate council and the commitment on both sides to come to a solution where the company wins and the customer wins. So the VPU has been under Joe's leadership in particular, it was very much about not picking winners and losers. It was about ensuring that both sides won. And I think it was, again, it was sort of his understanding of how the business works and the pressure the business is under. That was very helpful to moving things forward in the state.

But again, we've had great commissioners over the years. They've worked very hard to get up to speed and understand the energy industry, understand the challenges that we face. So there was never a moment where I didn't feel like one of us could pick up the phone and talk to somebody. Obviously we couldn't do it if we were in the middle of a case or a rate proceeding, but we could talk about issues with our commissioners and they were extremely receptive and always willing to really hear, okay, what is challenging the company? And again, I would just leave it at this. If people talk about it, how's the relationship, I really do characterize it, and I know Joe did as well, as a partnership. And I think that was kind of unique for us.

As far as the administration, I think that we continue to have a good relationship with the administration. Look, I think it'd be easy to draw this conclusion that we're combative and that we're an opposite ends and we're not. I think we've proven to them that we're willing to lead, we're willing to adjust, we're willing to change, we're willing to take risk and get out there and do things that I think perhaps maybe caught them by surprise a little bit thinking that we were going to dig our heels in and kind of push back. I mean, we'll push back where appropriate. This notion that, okay, well you guys can't make investments because it's going to be stranded costs someday. I mean, we'll push back hard on those kind of ideas because look, at the end of the day, and I think the administration understands this, we have an obligation to safely and reliably provide energy, and that energy still heats over 75% of the homes in New Jersey.

And I think the governor recognizes that. And I think you see that in the most recent executive order where there's a lot more conversation around the gas infrastructure and all the things that we talked about around decarbonization. So we may not always agree on policy, but again, we have a really good relationship. One thing I will say about the governor is he is genuine. He sees you someplace, he knows your name, he shakes your hand, he has a conversation with you. And that I think is a testament to not only his character, but I think just who he is as a leader.

 

Jason Price:

Mike, I want to get a little controversial here. So in New York City right now this week we've got climate week going on. President is speaking, I think, at the conference. There's also recently announcements about banning any additional pipelines, I think, in the West Coast. The question is around advocates who are really pushing for cold turkey, just simply banning gas outright or phasing it out in a rather accelerated manner. There's an existential argument that they're making. So I'd like you to take a moment and recognize that audience and talk to them about what your thoughts are in terms of the gas sector in the coming years as we shift into this energy transition that they feel needs to be done yesterday. And I think that you feel that there needs to be more of a modeled approach to how we approach this. So talk to that audience for a moment, if you don't mind.

 

Mike Renna:

Look, I welcome the conversation, and I don't think it's controversial to advocate for an all of the above strategy and for prudence and patience, at the same time recognizing that change is inevitable and that it's important at this point in time. It's an imperative. What I think is that we have to inject a sense of rational, pragmatic sort of thinking into this. And as I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of challenges with electrification. First of all, the renewable power is not there. So there's a tremendous buildup that still has to occur, and you just look at some of the challenges that are facing that market. In New Jersey, we're struggling to get the wind industry off the ground, to be completely honest. And again, in a state like New Jersey, you're not going to power this state through sun. So there's going to have to be some mix. Nuclear has to be a part of that conversation. I think gas has to be a part of that conversation.

You have to understand that, and this is the part that I would, in talking to my friends who may be very zealous, I think what is not necessarily part of the conversation, it's the inconvenient truth, and old deference to Mr. Gore. The inconvenient truth is that you are going to need to build out three times the infrastructure you have today. The grid is built for what? The grid is built for a summer peak. The winter is three times as energy intensive as the summer. So in a place like New Jersey where we still have winter and we still have those one or two weeks of winter where the temperatures drop considerably, and you need to rely on heat, you do not have the infrastructure to deliver the energy requirements from an electric standpoint. So whether that means that it's some kind of a hybrid solution or whether that means that there has to be recognition that it's going to take time to build out and it's going to be costly to build out that infrastructure.

You can imagine what three times what we have today in terms of electric infrastructure, what that's going to cost. And then who's going to foot that bill and how is it going to be paid? Those are serious issues that need to be discussed. So in the near term, again, this state is 75% or so saturated with respect to natural gas. It's a very densely populated state. It's a high energy use state. So I think what should be part of the conversation is how do we continue to encourage utilities to make the investments to modernize their infrastructure, to reduce those fugitive methane emissions, and to embrace and invest in new technologies, whether that's RNG, whether that's hydrogen, whether that's CCUS, whatever it is to again, bring down the carbon intensity and really put our infrastructure on equal footing with the electric infrastructure? The one last thing I'll add, in addition to all of the new transmission and other infrastructure that's going to need to be built, it is going to be costly for rate payers.

I mean, if you're going to retrofit your home to go from conventional gas heat to an electric heat pump, there's a significant cost. And I don't know right now that there's a lot of confidence that that technology is going to work at a really cold day like we get up here. So I have some friends who own homes that don't have gas service, who rely on a heat pump, and they have to have backup. So again, I mean this is a far more complex, far bigger sort of issue than just, hey, we need to electrify everything. All that power has to come from solar or wind, and we need to do it yesterday.

 

Jason Price:

So Mike, as you look to the future for your organization and your role as CEO, how do you define success? What are the goals you're working towards and how are you staying accountable to them?

 

Mike Renna:

It's an interesting question, and it's one I always ask of folks around the organization. What does success look like? And again, how do you hold yourselves to your company or your area accountable? I think for us, and I don't mean this to sound as it's probably going to come off, but I feel like success for us is staying the course right now and really being a leader of the energy transition. And part of that is that, look, it's the reality of this is happening. And again, I guess we could have chosen to bury our head in the sand and hope it all went away, but it's not. So I think, look, the reason I say that is because this was a really big change for the organization. When the Energy Master Plan came out in 2020, I'm not sure that most of us really had an idea of where we were going to go and what we were going to do and how we were going to sort of transform the company.

And as I said, there were those going to come as a big surprise who were sort of like, hey, we're a gas utility and that's what we do, and this will blow over. There were those who really wanted to just fight. And then there was probably a smaller pocket that said, "Okay, well, it's our path forward." And I think we sort of re-envisioned where SJI was going to go. It wasn't easy. I think it was probably the biggest challenge that I've had as a CEO, was really because I'm not a natural-born salesperson. I know this is going to come as a huge surprise, but that's just not in my DNA. I'm not this kind of person that is evangelical. One who likes to get out there and sort of say, "Oh, okay, this is a great..." No, but it was so fundamental that this was the right path, and it was so energizing, I think, throughout the company.

And I got to be honest. I mean, I think the biggest benefit to us was we were sort of in this state where there was an influx of early career professionals in the company that were far more receptive and engaged and sort of energized by this idea of where we were going to take the company and where we were going that really helped to create that momentum in the organization and help really push us forward. So proudly, I think we were at the forefront. We were far ahead of our peers in the LDC space. We were the first to get out there and start talking about us being an infrastructure company. Invitation is the finest form of flattery right now. I hear everybody else going, "Oh yeah, yeah, we're an infrastructure company." I'm like, "I said that first."

So we're an infrastructure company. We talk about being agnostic to the fuels that go through our system. As long as we can deliver energy safely, reliably, and we can continue to provide that essential service to homes, there's no need for that to be 100% geological natural gas. We're completely amenable to blending. And in fact, I mean, again, we're aggressively moving towards that. So I think success for me is really five years down the road, did we deliver on that vision? Did we deliver on that promise?

 

Jason Price:

Let's talk about the role of the federal government and the funding that's been coming out. I mean, as you know, there's $1.3 trillion to help transition us to a cleaner economy, and certainly there's components that impact the gas and there's funding available to go to the gas utility. So could you share with us what the IRA means to you?

 

Mike Renna:

Yeah, look, I mean, again, I think a number of different levels. So first, it sends a signal and it sends a strong signal that gas and the gas infrastructure is part of the solution, because it's going to be gas infrastructure. It's going to be our infrastructure that delivers those cleaner energy fuels of the future. Now, where they ultimately go, whether they're consumed in a home or whether they're consumed in the transportation sector, that's all going to depend on where those molecules go. But the bottom line is that it's making a very clear statement that this is an all of the above strategy and gas and gas infrastructure is an important part. So that to me is probably the fundamental, most important piece of it. The second piece is that it does provide economic support to the investments, right? It's going to encourage investment, it's going to incentivize investment.

There have been challenges in the RNG space largely due to macroeconomic geopolitical reasons. Supply chains were disrupted, it's driven up costs. So I think that the market would be far more challenged right now were it not for the IRA. But again, the IRA in the same way that the IRA is supporting solar and wind. The supply chain issues are not unique to RNG or hydrogen. So again, it provides meaningful tax incentives. And the best part about the IRA is the ability now to monetize those tax assets. We were heavily involved. We were one of the largest solar developers in the region for I think all the way up until about 2015, 2016. Between the ITCs and the NOLs, we had huge unrealized tax benefits sitting on our balance sheet that it was probably going to take the better part of a decade before we would basically eat through all of those tax benefits.

And that's the problem that you get into as a developer, is if you're accumulating tax credits faster than you can use them, they just get stuck up on the balance sheet, and then you're not getting the cash effect for however many years out, which then has a direct impact on your IRRs. So the ability to monetize those ITCs, to basically sell them to a third party, is huge. It's probably the single biggest benefit, single biggest incentive that I think is within the IRA. Now we can find a third party, we can construct a project, we can bring into operations. Instead of those tax credits sitting on our balance sheet for 6, 7, 8 years, we can sell them at whatever the current market rate is, and we get that cash in immediately, which then we just redeploy into new investments and new opportunities, utility or not utility.

 

Jason Price:

Understood. So Mike, you've been very generous of your time and you demonstrated your leadership with SJI. At Power Perspectives, we also want to make a point to know about our guests, not just the professional, but the personal. So we have what's called our lightning round where we have five questions. We'll ask you to keep your response down to one word or phrase. So are you ready?

 

Mike Renna:

I am.

 

Jason Price:

Okay. Question number one. Putting your New Jersey cred to the test, pork roll or Taylor Ham?

 

Mike Renna:

Pork roll.

 

Jason Price:

What's your preferred way to spend a day off?

 

Mike Renna:

My preferred way to spend a day off is just being with family.

 

Jason Price:

What historical figure would you invite to a dinner party?

 

Mike Renna:

I'm going to say Winston Churchill, because I just... And I know it's going to say one word or one phrase, but I think-

 

Jason Price:

It's okay.

 

Mike Renna:

To be sort of the last man, the last country standing at that point, I can't imagine how that man slept. I mean, I cannot imagine the pressure that he was under in those early stages of World War II, particularly before the United States entered. You watch some of these movies and you're just like, "Wow, that's just..." To be able to sit down and have a beer with him and just understand better how he managed that, that would be incredible.

 

Jason Price:

Who are your role models?

 

Mike Renna:

My role models is my father, without question. Whatever I've accomplished, it all stems back to the kitchen table.

 

Jason Price:

And what brings you the most pride or satisfaction, either in your career or personally?

 

Mike Renna:

The easy answer would probably be family. And obviously my family is a source of tremendous pride, but I think for me personally, I hear a lot that I'm approachable and that I'm a kind of what you see is what you get type of person. And I take a lot of pride in that, because I think that... Look, if I'm going to have a legacy, I'd certainly like to be that, you know what? He was running when he started and he was running when he retired.

 

Jason Price:

Well done. Appreciate your insight and your thought today. I appreciate your time as well, and getting a chance to learn more about the great work you're doing here. We want to give you the final word. So knowing that leaders and decision makers in the utility industry are tuning in into this conversation, what's the takeaway message you hope resonates with them?

 

Mike Renna:

Well, listen, I think it's premature to write our obituary, and I think our best days are still ahead, and it's exciting times and it's an exciting time to be a leader.

 

Jason Price:

That was fantastic. This has been a great conversation. Hopefully it's just the beginning. As I know our energy central community members will have comments or questions for you. For now, we want to thank you for your time and joining us with your insights.

 

Mike Renna:

Listen, it was great. I really enjoyed it. Thanks. Thank you.

 

Jason Price:

Absolutely. And you can always reach Mike through the Energy Central Platform where he welcomes your questions and comments. We also want to give a shout out of thanks to the podcast sponsors that made today's episode possible. Thanks to West Monroe. West Monroe works with the nation's largest electric gas and water utilities in their telecommunication, grid modernization, and digital and workforce transformations. West Monroe brings a multidisciplinary team that blends utility, operations, and technology expertise to address modernizing aging infrastructure, advisory on transportation electrification, ADMS deployments, data and analytics, and cybersecurity. Once again, I'm your host Jason Price. Plug in and stay fully charged in the discussion by hopping into the community at energycentral.com. And we'll see you next time at the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast.

 

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The ‘Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast’ features conversations with thought leaders in the utility sector. At least twice monthly, we connect with an Energy Central Power Industry Network community member to discuss compelling topics that impact professionals who work in the power industry. Some podcasts may be a continuation of thought-provoking posts or discussions started in the community or with an industry leader that is interested in sharing their expertise and doing a deeper dive into hot topics or issues relevant to the industry.

The ‘Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast’ is the premiere podcast series from Energy Central, a Power Industry Network of Communities built specifically for professionals in the electric power industry and a place where professionals can share, learn, and connect in a collaborative environment. Supported by leading industry organizations, our mission is to help global power industry professionals work better. Since 1995, we’ve been a trusted news and information source for professionals working in the power industry, and today our managed communities are a place for lively discussions, debates, and analysis to take place. If you’re not yet a member, visit www.EnergyCentral.com to register for free and join over 200,000 of your peers working in the power industry.

The Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast is hosted by Jason Price, Community Ambassador of Energy Central. Jason is a Business Development Executive at West Monroe, working in the East Coast Energy and Utilities Group. Jason is joined in the podcast booth by the producer of the podcast, Matt Chester, who is also the Community Manager of Energy Central and energy analyst/independent consultant in energy policy, markets, and technology.  

If you want to be a guest on a future episode of the Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast, let us know! We’ll be pulling guests from our community members who submit engaging content that gets our community talking, and perhaps that next guest will be you! Likewise, if you see an article submitted by a fellow Energy Central community member that you’d like to see broken down in more detail in a conversation, feel free to send us a note to nominate them.  For more information, contact us at [email protected]. Podcast interviews are free for Expert Members and professionals who work for a utility.  We have package offers available for solution providers and vendors. 

Happy listening, and stay tuned for our next episode! Like what you hear, have a suggestion for future episodes, or a question for our guest? Leave a note in the comments below.

All new episodes of the Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast will be posted to the relevant Energy Central community group, but you can also subscribe to the podcast at all the major podcast outlets, including: