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Episode #91: 'Creating Tangible Transmission Improvements' with Charles Marshall and Brian Drumm of ITC [an Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast]

With the recent passage of recent legislation and the continued stream of public funds going towards enabling cleaner forms of generation, an area that must not be overlooked is the infrastructure needed to transmit energy across the country. The grid and its physical transmission and distribution equipment is an area that utilities are paying more attention to in order to stay ahead of the rapid transformation taking place across the sector.

Because of the gravitas this transmission improvement topic requires and the regional proximity of ITC Holdings to podcast host Jason Price, the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast was able to pay the guests of this episode an on-site visit to discuss everything going on from a regulatory, funding, and modernization perspective on the grid. Specifically, Jason visited with Vice President of Transmission Planning, Charles Marshall, and Director of Regional Policy and RTO Engagement, Brian Drumm, to dive into this critical moment in the grid's history.

Note: For reference when Jason and the guests discuss recent news and events relevant to this episode, please note that this recording took place on July 28, 2022.

Prefer to Read vs. Listening? Scroll Down to Read Transcript.

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

An Energy Central First: Host Jason Price visits Charles Marshall and Brian Drumm to record this episode live at their facility. 

 

Key Links

  • Did you know? The Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast has been identified as one of the industry's 'Top 25 Energy Podcasts': blog.feedspot.com/energy_podcasts

 

 

TRANSCRIPT

Jason Price: 

Hello, and welcome to the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast. The show that brings in thought leaders across the utility space to learn more about the latest challenges and trends, defining the energy systems across the country and shaping our future. Now, let's talk energy.

Jason Price: 
I'm Jason Price, Energy Central Podcast, host and director with West Monroe. You can usually find me in New York City, and now is a first, we are recording in person at the headquarters of our next guest, which I shall introduce in a moment. But first I want to welcome my colleague in Orlando, Florida, Energy Central producer, and community manager, Matt Chester. Matt, it has been over a year since we've discussed the transmission system on Power Perspectives. Our listeners may recall a fascinating conversation on episode 34, with the head of the Western area power administration. I recommend listening to this podcast to understand the transmission system out west and some of the solutions discussed on how they maintain resiliency and overall performance, particularly with what could have been avoided with that Texas weather disaster and February, of 2021.

Jason Price: 
Today, we are revisiting the important topic of our transmission system in the United States. Without the transmission system, clean and abundant power may never safely get to our distribution utilities, which allows us to turn the lights on. It is these systems that crisscross our landscape and connect us to the power. Like every other facet of the industry transmission, the T in T&D is going through its own transformation, and facing difficult decisions on where to invest in order to continue to safely and reliably provide power delivery, resilience, and vigilance from bad actors, local and abroad.

Jason Price: 
So Matt, energy essential is an engaging professional community. What are you seeing in the publications and discussion boards about our transmission system?

Matt Chester: 
Yeah, Jason, transmission may be as a conversation topic hotter than it's ever been on Energy Central these days. Of course, investment in and work focused on transmission, it's nothing new as our T&D systems have been evolving for over a hundred years. But the modern challenges facing utilities, the ones you noted, things like increasing generation capacity to meet a growing demand, modernizing the grid with digital tools, the permitting and regulatory processes that all come into play, they are all coming into focus in a pretty unprecedented scale during recent years. And so given that, I think the conversations are reaching a fever pitch on Energy Central, and will surely be eager to hear straight from the types of experts that we have joining us on the podcast today.

Jason Price: 
Great. Thanks for that, Matt. It's no doubt been a topic of great concern. And if power generation is the heart of the utility sector, then the transmission network is the critical set of arteries used to provide our nation with an uninterrupted supply of life sustaining energy. And we wanted to get some expert insight on the state of this cardiovascular system. So to do so, we are fortunate enough to have two guests with us today on location from ITC Holdings, where it's transmission subsidiaries own, manage and maintain approximately 9,000 circuit miles with transmission serving approximately 10 million customers. And to beat our analogy to the ground in America's Heartland.

Jason Price: 

So let's see if these guys know how many gigawatts of power they transmit a day. First, we have the Vice President of Transmission Planning at ITC Holdings, Chuck Marshall. Chuck is responsible for identifying transmission system needs and developing the necessary solutions that keep the grid humming across ITCs operating subsidiaries. Chuck, thanks so much for being here and welcome to the Energy Central Power Perspectives podcast.

Charles Marshall: 
Thank you, Jason. I'm excited to be here. I appreciate you taking time out of your day, out of your week, making the trek down here to our headquarters. I don't know that there is ever been a time in our industry where transmission has been more center stage. When you look at extreme weather, the drive to clean and green energy resources and just the need to replace aging infrastructure. So it's an exciting time and it just happens to be that we are fresh off the heels of MISO's monumental approval of LRTP Tranche 1 projects.

Jason Price: 
Fantastic. And because two is better than one, Chuck is joined by his colleague, Brian Drumm. Brian is ITC's Director of Regional Policy and RTO Engagement. And so, between the two of our guests today, we have a critical mass of the brain trust guiding the present day and future of the grid from ITCs perspective. Brian, thanks as well for being here today.

Brian Drumm: 
Thank you, sir. And welcome to ITC. I share Chuck's excitement and again, very excited to speak a little bit more detail about LRTP Tranche 1, the single largest portfolio transmission projects approved in the history of the United States. And that approval is fresh as of Monday. So very excited to get into that topic with you.

Jason Price: 
We are excited as well. And again, for starters, thank you again for hosting Energy Central in your office. So this facility is quite impressive and seated a few floors below us, is the operational command center that tracks at the micro level, every aspect of your transmission lines and assets. So to put you on the spot, let's see how well you know your system. How much power is running through those power lines each day, Brian, Charles, either of you know?

Charles Marshall: 
Yeah, our system serves a combined load of about 26,000 megawatts, 26 gigawatts. We've got about 16,000 miles of transmission and just under 700 substations. And we span a fairly broad region, we are across about seven states. The majority of our assets reside in Michigan, Iowa, and Southern Minnesota. But we also have projects in Kansas, and Oklahoma. But to the question that you ask is how much power is running through our lines? What's interesting is we don't necessarily care how much power is running through our lines in aggregate on a daily basis, morning to evening. But what our focus really is on that peak demand. So on a daily basis, on a weekly basis, on a monthly basis, that's how we approach the transmission system is preparing and building the system for those peak risk hours. And one way to think about this is I think it's analogous to your braking system actually in your car.

Charles Marshall: 
And when you think about your car and you think about how you use that braking system. And I would say 99% of the time, you use less than a 100% of the capacity of your braking system. You are not locking your brakes up every time you are using them, right? If there is somebody that you are approaching an intersection, you use your brakes sort of 30%, 40% capacity. If you are on the interstate, somebody cut you off, maybe that 60% to 70% capacity. But there are occasions when you are going through intersection, and somebody makes a left hand turn in front of you that you need those brakes to operate to a 100% of the capacity. And if they don't there is consequences and sometimes catastrophic consequences. So when I think about the transmission system, and I think about planning the transmission system, you plan the transmission system for that 1% for that catastrophic event, so bad things don't happen like you referenced with the cold weather event in Texas.

Jason Price: 
Well, it's an impressive operation and big enough certainly. So let's zoom back out and start with the basics. Can you explain for us the role ITC Holdings has in grid operations and what your priorities are these days? Chuck, why don't you take the first one.

Charles Marshall: 
Absolutely. Thank you. So ITC by definition is transmission. Actually the T in ITC stands for Transmission. ITC was founded back in 2003, as the International Transmission Company. And so, that's what we do. It's core to what we do and effectively it's all we know. Our priorities today are reliability, resilience, and affordability. If I could going back to the analogy of the car and the braking system, the vehicle is changing and the roadway is changing. So the generation resources are changing. The characteristics of the generation resources are changing. The capacity factors, the load itself the path forward is changing, different load profiles, electrification, electric vehicles in those demands that are placed upon the transmission system.

Charles Marshall: 
We also have generation that effectively is standing in line, waiting for existing new transmission capacity to be created so we can bring those generation units online. So we really do applaud MISO, and what they've done for LRTP Tranche 1, because that capacity truly is desperately needed. It's that type of proactive investment that we need in the system to preserve those priorities that I talked about, to preserve reliability and resiliency and really anything short of backbone infrastructure truly is just a band-aid fix. It's sort of patching potholes, and it doesn't deliver the reliability and resiliency that we need.

Jason Price: 
That's great. Thank you for that. So if we know and are pretty universally agree that action is needed, the type of agreement across sectors, parties and more that's rare these days, what's the hold up? Why are there still this slow jam in the industry?

Brian Drumm: 
I can take that one. We've made some progress this week, right? But it's been a long time getting here to your point. And I think the reason for that is that MISO, as the independent regional transmission operator in the Midwest, spinning a 15 state footprint, has been very thoughtful and very deliberative and very data driven, engaging with stakeholders in trying to identify the problems that we are facing. So in 2016, performed a renewable integration impact assessment, trying to gauge the impact of increased renewables on the system. In 2017, had the resource adequacy and need initiative, trying to get some short term solutions to fix some of the problems related to this renewable integration. 2019, engage with stakeholders to refresh futures as far as, what are the projected future needs of the system looking out 20 years?

Brian Drumm: 
So they've been building this record, engaging with stakeholders, including ITC, been very much at the forefront of this. And there is been some findings coming out of those studies. So those findings that MISO, has shown is that we are in the midst of an ongoing generation fleet transformation. There is a tremendous amount of face old fossil fuel fire generation that is retiring from the system. That is gradually being replaced by intermittent renewable resources, such as wind and solar. And these resources have different characteristics than the old resources of the past that are falling off the system. So the system needs to change to accommodate this transformation. So MISO has documented that right then, and studies engaging with stakeholders. And MISO has also found that the system is increasingly stressed by frequent and severe weather events, such as the 2021, winter storm year that you referenced in the introduction.

Brian Drumm: 
So those are some of the findings. So we go from there to, what do we do about it? MISO, calls this the reliability imperative. So the long range transmission plan is one of four reliability imperative, which is designed to get the transmission system in the future that we need. So how do we get there? So we spent a lot of time engaging in studies, making sure that we have the data to back this up. And now, we are in a position where we can start moving forward. But we'll talk about this in a little more detail as we go forward in this conversation. But we are in a good spot, we are making progress, but there is urgent need for a transmission investment, and there is a lot more work to be done.

Jason Price: 
It sure is. So the world is going through some tough economic times these days. So the possibility that grid upgrades will be necessary and expensive will hit all of us. How are we preparing the public? What's the messaging that we need to get across to prepare for these big investments? Brian, why don't you start? And Chuck, feel free to jump in.

Brian Drumm: 
Great. So again, this Monday, the MISO board of directors approved a $10.3 billion portfolio of 18 long range transmission projects. These are projects that span the MISO footprint. And they are going to deliver tremendous value and I'll get into the detail of that. But I want to focus on those projects and how they came to be. But these projects are the result of MISO, as an independent regional transmission organization, engaging in region-wide planning of its footprint. So what are the future needs of the entire footprint, but what is the best, most efficient way for us to meet those needs? So they are capturing vast economies of scope and scale, and planning ahead to the future to get the solutions that we need.

Brian Drumm: 
So this is the first Tranche of projects are foundational. These are designed to meet the needs that we have right now. And what MISO has shown... So MISO, and ITC take it very seriously. We realize we are asking rate payers to make it substantial investment. So we fill an obligation to make sure that they are getting the value, but MISO has demonstrated that for every dollar spent on this transmission expansion, that rate payers should expect to receive a benefit cost ratio of 2.6. For every dollar cost should result in $2 a 60 cents of benefit. MISO has a substantial written business case demonstrating this to the stakeholders.

Charles Marshall: 
One thing that I would just add to is transmission planning is relatively easy to say and conceptualize, but it's actually incredibly difficult. And it's incredibly difficult because it's just not technical abilities that plan the system. It's not just the technical acumen. It's very much a stakeholder driven process. And you are planning a system, not for the near term by definition, but in theory, you should be forward looking planning the system 10, 15, 20 years down the road. And when you are looking 20 years down the road, there is a lot of assumptions that you have to make.

Charles Marshall: 
And so, its extremely challenging to accomplish something even like the long range transmission plan, because there is the states, there is the utilities, there is the stakeholders, the distribution companies, everyone collectively largely needs to be on the same page to advance portfolios of that magnitude. But the important part, when you talk about the economic times and the affordability piece of this, that is truly the right solution, even though it's hard to get there. And it's hard to get people to understand this is what the future's going to look like, it's the most cost effective means of getting there. And the consequences of not doing something like that, again, is short-sighted solutions that you still have to pay for, but not really deliver the long-term benefits.

Brian Drumm: 
Yeah. And to put a fine point on that too. So I agree with Chuck, that doing nothing is not an option. But we've demonstrated the value of these projects. But unfortunately with transmission, there is a long lead time, right? So it is going to take seven to 10 years to get these projects in service. So during that period of delay, while we are building these projects, getting regulatory approvals, our stakeholders are not going to realize those benefits.

Jason Price: 
Fantastic. And both of you are leading to my next question, which is really about the landscape of the power sector today versus in the past. Generation is happening at the grid edge, it's happening behind the meter. How does that impact the progress you are all trying to make towards crude expansion and grid hardening? Chuck, do you want to take this one?

Charles Marshall: 
Absolutely, thank you. Yeah, you are correct. When you think about the discrete elements of our system, everything is changing. As I said before, generation is changing. The location of the generation is changing. So you are going from what historically was centralized fossil fuel based, base load units to now decentralized renewable resources. Very different capacity factors, meaning you can't dispatch wind, you can't dispatch solar in the way that you can dispatch a gas or a coal unit. And so, it places different demands on the system.

Charles Marshall: 
The other thing is it's not just those challenges in isolation. It's really that rate of change. And I've said this before, but I don't believe the rate of change in our industry has ever been so great. Except for maybe when you go back a 100 years when this infrastructure was originally built out and we had electrification. But the thing that motivates us and drives us still this day, I think it's true and it's going to be true in the coming decades, the most cost effective means of energy consumption is that real-time delivery. There is a lot of discussion around storage and storage is absolutely going to be needed on a going forward basis, but you need the transmission infrastructure to link those remote regions. So the wind is blowing in the west or the sun is shining in the west. You have the ability to pull that power to the east and vice versa. So we can really benefit from our neighbors.

Charles Marshall: 
And one thing I just wanted to build on a little bit, to provide maybe a further underscoring the point of how different the systems are when you go from centralized to decentralized generation and different geographies. The way that I've thought about this before is analogous again to the automobile, but you've got a Stingray Corvette, 2022, and you've got the engine. And if you drop that engine into a 1985, Chevette, it's not going to work. The chassis can't support it. You don't have the drive train, you don't have the transmission, it's going to rip the car apart. And as you change our generation fleet, you've got to have that similar mindset of you need a different infrastructure. You need a different chassis. You need a different transmission to get to where you need to be.

Jason Price: 
Brian, given your role in policy, I want to ask you the next question. And that is, we've discussed on Energy Central, the concept of spare margin. And as we know that with DER being added, this means more capacity is needed for transmission. So you guys are the frontline on this. So can you provide some color for us? Is this situation urgent about round spare margin as we are being told, Brian, thoughts?

Brian Drumm: 
Yes, so I think to really understand this concept, I think that folks need to appreciate that we need to have sufficient generation capacity on the system at any given time. Then you also need to have sufficient transmission capacity to move that generation where it needs to be. So as Chuck said, we are in the process. We've started this process of upgrading our transmission system to be able to have an increased ability to move large amounts of power over large areas. So we are seven to 10 years away from the very first, substantial increase in MISO's transmission capacity our ability to do that on the transmission side. But on the capacity side and the generation capacity side, as far as the amount of power that's on the system, as a result of the ongoing fleet transformation, the generation capacity on the system is decreasing currently. As the large base load fossil fuel fire generation is retiring, it's being replaced by intermittent renewables. They have different characteristics raise, Chuck noted.

Brian Drumm: 
Now, they are a little more weather dependent in that subject to commands from external operators. But they also have great characteristics. There is no fuel cost. There is no carbon emissions. They have a lot of desirable characteristics as well. But long story short on the generation side, year over year capacity is decreasing as the retirement's outstrip additions out the system. And that just means that there is more importance on the ability to move large, massive power over large distances using the transmission system.

Brian Drumm: 
So we are going to be in a capacity crunch in the near term, which means that the margin on the generation side is decreasing. So that just puts more pressure on the transmission side and the ability to move power to where it needs to get to. So there is two sides to that coin. They both need to be there. The generation piece is going to come along. Eventually we'll get on top of that, but we need to make sure that the transmission system keeps pace. In the meantime, we are going to be leaning on the transmission system to resolve some of these generation capacity issues as well.

Charles Marshall: 
Yeah, just building upon that a little bit. We've all heard this before, but it's a little bit of all of the above solution set. Transmission is the integrator of all of these different resources, but we are certainly going to be reliant upon all of them. You are going to need your DERs, you are going to need your wind. You are going to need your solar. You are probably going to need some gas. You are going to need pump storage. You are going to need battery storage. But again, it's a different system that supports those unique elements and places different and dynamic demands on the transmission system. If you've got a portion of the distribution system where there is considerable distributed energy resources, what happens is for the last 100 years, powers flow in a single direction from A to B, but now you are pushing power during certain hours of the day back up on the transmission system, well, that's going to change the flows on the transmission system. So that's just an example or two of some of the challenges ahead of us, but yet how transmission links everything together.

Jason Price: 
So let's take a bird's eye and look at all these topics we are talking about. Customers are pushing for clean, renewable energy and demanding reliability, and of course, affordability. Policy and regulations are making their way into the conversation possibly more than ever before. Utilities are looking to set up their own goals and prepare for the future. There seems to be a confluence of factors at play that are creating this energy revolution. So the question is, are these motivating factors creating change at the rate at which we need to see it? And if not, what else needs to happen? Chuck, feel free to tee this off, but I'd love to hear from both of you.

Charles Marshall: 
Yeah, there is a confluence. There is alignment on policy and principle. If you look at some of the states, if you look at the utilities. I don't know, from a federal perspective that we've got there quite yet, but there is certainly a lot of movement and traction. I think everybody has an understanding and appreciation for where we want to be 2035, 2045 and so forth. And unfortunately, there is alignment. And I think folks are generally rowing in the same direction entirely, but the vast majority. The challenge is the rate of change in policy is exponential. The rate of change of the industry and the infrastructure is relatively flat. So the infrastructure is not staying, not tracking with the policy and even with amazing things like the step forward with MISO. And MISO, really is in my view, a thought leader in this arena of we need infrastructure, we need it now. We need to move it.

Charles Marshall: 
And so, even where we are today, again, right off the heels of LRTP Tranche 1 approval, that's great. But as Brian, alluded to that capacity may not be online for five, six, seven, eight years or whatever that's going to be. And so it's going to take some time. So what bridges us between where we are today and when that capacity comes online, and the honest truth is that isn't even enough. And so yeah, the policy is there, but the infrastructure and the support for the infrastructure hasn't matched the ramp rate of the policy. And so, I know we still have a long ways to go in terms of the infrastructure itself.

Brian Drumm: 
Agree. So with respect to the question, is change happening in the rate that we need to see it? I agree with Chuck, I think that we are making some promising first steps. And I agree that MISO has been a leader here. That LRTP Tranche 1, it's historic, it's a milestone. That is a step in the right direction, but there is much more work to be done. There is an urgent need to build more transmission faster in this country. So we've already talked about the generation fleet transformation, the increase in severity and frequency of weather events. Tranche 1, is designed to meet basically our current needs. So we need Tranche 1 now, we are not going to get it for another eight to 10 years. But another piece on top of this entire equation. So we are playing catch-up and we are falling behind and we need to get on top of this situation.

Brian Drumm: 
We are just talking about the current state. So MISO, actually performed three future studies. Future one, is a baseline that's really close to where we are right now. Futures two and three, are projecting increased low growth through electrification, more demand for electricity. So as hard as it is for us to keep up with us or falling behind, we are not getting on top of the situation yet, but that's the status quo. So if you add on future three, MISO is projecting that 20 years from now it's load could double. So not only do we have to keep pace with what we have now, we have to start getting even further ahead to meet the increased demand that is going to come from increased electrification. And that just further complicates things.

Brian Drumm: 
So again, MISO has been a leader, this a step in the right direction. Again, this urgent need to build much more transmission and faster. And I think to your point, that people recognize this, there is a need for support. I don't know that people appreciate how difficult it is. I think some of the barriers are coming down, but to use this podcast as a platform, learn from the lessons that we have here today. Shift your mindset from, how do we address the problems that we currently have? Start thinking ahead, how do we get on top of this entire situation? The future that we are going to have in 20 years from now. Recognizing that some of these solutions are unfortunately, long lead time items that have a tremendous amount of value. So how do we get to that future that we want to get to?

Jason Price: 
Well, I'm going to give you gentlemen the last word, but before we do, we have what's called our lightning round. So we are going to pivot to getting to know you both a little bit more as a person, as opposed to a professional. We ask you to keep the responses to either one word or phrase, but you can certainly elaborate beyond that. And it's usually a lot of fun. So are you both ready?

Charles Marshall: 
Ready?

Jason Price: 
All right. So we'll start with you Chuck, and then Brian, why don't you follow that pattern? So Chuck, what's your go-to comfort food?

Charles Marshall: 
Pizza.

Brian Drumm: 
BLTs with home grown tomatoes and sweet corn, this time of year.

Jason Price: 
Movie, TV show or book, you could revisit countless times without ever getting tired of it?

Charles Marshall: 
Movie would have to be the Edge, with Anthony Hopkins.

Brian Drumm: 
Packers Football game.

Jason Price: 
Since you are both based in Michigan, do you go green, go white, go blue?

Charles Marshall: 
Go blue.

Brian Drumm: 
Sparty all the way. That's the only thing that Chuck and I disagree on.

Jason Price: 
What historical figure would you invite you to dream dinner party?

Charles Marshall: 
George Washington.

Brian Drumm: 
I'm going to say Julia Child, baker, cook. We have too many martinis and truss off a chicken.

Jason Price: 
Who are your role models today?

Charles Marshall: 
I would go with my parents.

Brian Drumm: 
Agree. And I'd also say too, just industry focus, everyone that's been engaged and trying to move this clean energy conversation forward. Certainly, making a lot of progress in having people understand the needs. But certainly, a lot of colleagues across the industry people that I work with in this company day to day, certainly, view them as role models and very proud of the work that we are doing.

Jason Price: 
And last, what are you most motivated by?

Charles Marshall: 
Simply put, I would say making a difference, being impactful.

Brian Drumm: 
I would agree. And I would say too, that the challenge that this is very difficult to do, and it's a lot of fun. It's very difficult to do, but I love the challenge. And to see some progress is really encouraging, but again, there is a lot more work to be done.

Jason Price: 
Great responses. So as a tradition, that means you get to leave our audience with the final word. What's the one message you hope comes through and sticks for our listeners of today's episode? Let's hear from both of you, starting with Chuck.

Charles Marshall: 
Yeah, thanks Jason. And again, thank you for taking the time to show up here at our facilities. I think my leave behind message would be just an appreciation for the rate of change, how rapidly our industry is changing. But for me personally, it's challenging but it also creates opportunity. It creates opportunity to do things the right way. The first time let's get it right. Let's collaborate. And let's act as a unified body to move into this future because the mountain is high. It's not, as I said, it's an all of the above solution. Transmission truly is that integrator, but transmission needs generation. It needs all sorts of generation. It needs the load, it needs visibility. So we are certainly in this thing together and I'm excited about it.

Brian Drumm: 
Agree. Transmission is the key to unlocking our clean energy future. There is an urgent need to build transmission, start realizing benefits. We need to shift the way that as rate payers, stakeholders, as citizens, how we are approaching the energy future, right. So we need to start thinking ahead and start leveraging economy as a scale. And again, just planning ahead and trying to meet future needs and plot out how we want to get to where we go. Because I think the future is very exciting, it's a thrill every day to play in this space and try to get to where we want to go. 

Jason Price: 
Well, for both of you, I admire your passion and your interest in this. And thank you also for taking time to talk to our audience today about these important topics. And I can't wait to see the questions and comments that will come from our community. Until then though, we just want to thank you for sharing your insight with us on today's episode of the podcast.

Charles Marshall: 
Thank you.

Brian Drumm: 
Thank you, sir.

Jason Price: 
You can always reach Chuck and Brian, through the Energy Central platform where they welcome 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 for the nation's largest electric gas 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, APMs deployments, data and analytics, and cyber security.

Jason Price: 
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. We'll see you next time at the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast.

 

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