USEA Press Briefing To Probe Existential Crisis Facing Utilities

The United States Energy Association will hold its next virtual press briefing on Aug. 7 at 11 a.m. EDT.

WASHINGTON, DC, USA, July 30, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The electric utility industry is enduring an existential crisis.

Day in, day out it is under threat from aberrant weather and from wildfires, even as it meets unprecedented demand growth in many regions. Also, there is the ever-present concern about cyberattack or gunfire attacks on substations.

When it comes to recovery, the supply chain is stretched, whether the need is for transformers or new bucket trucks.

In the news: Houston has just recovered from Hurricane Beryl and wildfires are raging in California and Canada.

This is against the background of utilities switching from fossil fuels to renewables and against protracted heat emergencies and extreme and unpredictable cold in areas which have no tradition of it. The words “heat dome” and “polar vortex” have entered the utility lexicon and look like they will remain there. 

To explain the situation and to offer remedies — both in hardening the system against these perils and in rapid storm remediation -- the United States Energy Association will hold a virtual press briefing on Wednesday, Aug. 7, at 11 a.m. EDT. USEA President and CEO Mark Menezes will be on hand to offer his expertise and will preside. The briefing has been organized and will be moderated by journalist Llewellyn King.

As usual in these USEA virtual press briefings, a panel of top-tier experts will be interviewed by senior journalists who cover energy.
The aim of these briefings is to give the journalists on the panel and those in the virtual audience a story they can write that day or information they can bank for future stories.

The briefings, which are broadcast live on Zoom, run an hour and are free. The public is welcome and can submit questions on the Zoom chat function.

King said, “The nation’s electricity supply is more precarious than it has ever been at a time when reliability is needed most, due to rising severe weather."

For the Aug. 7 briefing, the experts are:

Elliot Mainzer, President and CEO, CalISO
Pablo Vegas, President and CEO, ERCOT
Todd Hillman, Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer, MISO
David Naylor, President and CEO, Rayburn Electric Cooperative
Ravi Seethapathy, Executive Chairman, Biosirus Inc.
Timothy Unruh, Director, National Association of Energy Service Companies
David Owens, President, Da’VAS
Scott Aaronson, Senior Vice President Security and Preparedness, Edison Electric Institute

The reporters:

Jennifer Hiller, The Wall Street Journal
Ken Silverstein, Forbes
Matt Chester, Energy Central
Peter Behr, E&E News
Adam Clayton Powell III, PBS

REGISTER here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_YCs8aZ9iR4Oj32ypUPypLw#/registration

The USEA is a non-lobbying, fuel-neutral organization based in Washington, D.C. It was founded 100 years ago as the U.S. chapter of the World Energy Council. USEA President and CEO Mark Menezes is a former deputy secretary of energy.

Llewellyn King
White House Media LLC
+1 202-441-2702
llewellynking1@gmail.com
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