Local Energy Rules
220 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 days ago - ★★★★★ - 36 ratingsThis bi-weekly podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance shares powerful stories of local renewable energy, from mayors discussing their city’s commitment to 100% renewable energy to tales of innovative community owned solar to questions about the the best rooftop solar policy. Join host John Farrell, the director of the Institute’s Energy Democracy Initiative, as he asks if the 100-year-old monopoly market structure for electricity delivery makes sense in an on-demand, distributed 21st century energy system. Tell us what you think.
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Episodes
Standing Rock’s Wind Project Puts People First
April 24, 2024 18:08 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MBChristina Hollenback and Joseph McNeil discuss how SAGE Development Authority has created a model for community-led wind development and why community ownership is so important to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.… Read More
Ann Arbor’s Public Pathway to Reliable Power
April 12, 2024 18:15 - 38 minutes - 52.8 MBGregory Woodring discusses the ways that investor-owned utility DTE Energy has failed Ann Arbor customers and how the city could take over and provide better service.… Read More
A San Diego Solar Takeover
March 27, 2024 20:43 - 52 minutes - 47.8 MBDorrie Bruggemann and Bill Powers discuss how a publicly-owned San Diego electric utility would be more supportive of distributed solar, offer lower rates thanks to that solar, and what it will take to bring the municipalization decision to voters.… Read More
Arizona’s High Stakes Utility Election — Episode 205 of Local Energy Rules
March 13, 2024 21:42 - 23 minutes - 21.3 MBCharlie Fisher discusses the upcoming Salt River Project election and how clean energy advocates could flip the public utility's board and reverse anti-solar and anti-democratic policies.… Read More
Smarter Rules for Smart Meters
February 28, 2024 21:11 - 45 minutes - 41.5 MBMichael Murray explains the many capabilities of smart meters, his critique of a Rhode Island utility proposal to expand advanced metering, and how state and federal regulators can establish best practices for fairness and data access.… Read More
The Concrete Benefits of Virtual Power Plants
February 14, 2024 18:09 - 5 MBChris Rauscher explains the benefits of coordinating distributed energy resources, how residential solar and storage customers have saved their neighbors from blackouts, and why every utility could be offering a virtual power plant program.… Read More
10 Years of Minnesota’s Community Solar Program
January 31, 2024 21:45 - 45 minutes - 41.5 MBPouya Najmaie discusses the strengths and weaknesses of Minnesota’s community solar program, its many regulatory and legislative changes over the years, and how utility Xcel Energy has found a new way to try to suppress distributed generation.… Read More
Petitioners Ask Feds to Investigate Utility Abuses of Monopoly Power
January 17, 2024 18:21 - 38 minutes - 32.6 MBIn this episode from the archive, Howard Crystal and Liz Veazey discuss a petition to the Federal Trade Commission and why electric utility practices require federal investigation. ILSR first published this interview in June of 2022.… Read More
200 Episodes, 10 Lessons, and Your Questions
January 03, 2024 21:47 - 5 MBFor this milestone 200th episode, John Farrell reflects on 10 years of making the Local Energy Rules podcast, shares what he has learned from over 200 guests, and answers some listener questions.… Read More
Scaling Up Home Energy Investment
December 20, 2023 16:12 - 52 minutes - 48.5 MBMatt Flaherty discusses the barriers to home energy upgrades, how inclusive utility investment is a scalable solution that addresses many of these barriers, and what it will take to get utilities on board with on-bill financing.… Read More
Loopholes and Scams in New York Gas Plans
December 06, 2023 15:28 - 42 minutes - 39.3 MBBen Kuebrich discusses New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, what to expect when gas utilities do their own decarbonization planning, and how states and clean energy advocates can actually address methane gas use in the buildings sector.… Read More
Utility Millions Take Down Popular Measure
November 22, 2023 15:48 - 43 minutes - 39.5 MBLucy Hochschartner explains how public power would have been an improvement over Maine’s investor-owned utilities, yet didn’t receive the support of Maine voters on November 7th.… Read More
New Paths for Rural Electric Co-op Revival
November 09, 2023 17:08 - 34 minutes - 29 MBFrances Sawyer and Maria McCoy discuss ILSR’s new report on rural electric co-ops and how federal dollars can meet the growing momentum of co-op member-owners organizing around affordability, clean energy, and local control.… Read More
Stopping the Spread of Monopolies
October 25, 2023 15:27 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBLynne Kiesling explains why allowing incumbent monopolies into new markets is too big of a risk for innovation and the public interest, particularly in the context of Xcel Energy’s major electric vehicle charging proposal.… Read More
Colorado Bill Increases Utility Accountability
October 18, 2023 15:30 - 37 minutes - 34.8 MBSteve Fenberg discusses Colorado’s Senate Bill 291, which changed incentives in the investor-owned utility business model to protect Colorado consumers from high fossil fuel costs and protects captive customers from paying for the utility to lobby against their own interests.… Read More
Against All Reason, Indiana Dismantles Rooftop Solar
September 27, 2023 18:45 - 43 minutes - 39.6 MBBen Inskeep discusses Indiana’s backward solar policy, why local solar is a threat to utilities, and how to go up against the powerful entrenched interests of monopolies.… Read More
Don’t Follow California’s Lead on Rooftop Solar
September 13, 2023 21:09 - 56 minutes - 51.4 MBSachu Constantine explains the obstacles and opportunities arising for the electric grid as customers become generators and what California got wrong in its 2022 net metering decision.… Read More
The Anti-Competitive Tricks up Utility Sleeves
August 30, 2023 14:29 - 38 minutes - 35.2 MBSeth Handy explains how utilities have, through loopholes in federal guidance and friends on public regulatory bodies, protected their own interests at the expense of clean energy projects.… Read More
Portland Funds Community-Led Clean Energy Projects
August 16, 2023 19:30 - 44 minutes - 61.3 MBMaria Sipin discusses what the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund has accomplished, how volunteers from the community have shaped the fund’s priorities, and how to evaluate project success.… Read More
How Utilities Neglect Certain Customers
August 02, 2023 20:44 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBAlex Hill discusses a report on utility redlining in electric distribution, the impacts of inadequate grid infrastructure, and how the report helped make a case against the utility’s proposed rate increase.… Read More
13 States Flunk This Standard Test
July 19, 2023 21:11 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MBMari Hernandez explains why we need transparent and efficient interconnection standards, how the regulatory landscape can adapt to new technologies, and where IREC’s Freeing the Grid initiative can help.… Read More
Utilities Gamble With Household Money
July 05, 2023 21:26 - 26 minutes - 23.5 MBTony Bartelme discusses how utilities have wagered and lost billions of customer dollars, why customers are on the hook when utilities take financial risks, and how unhappy customers can counter utility power grabs.… Read More
How Cities Can Steer State Action
June 21, 2023 20:58 - 39 minutes - 31.4 MBStacy Miller explains how she represents the city of Minneapolis in state forums, including the Public Utilities Commission, and what’s at stake in decisions made by the state.… Read More
Scoring Justice in Clean Energy Standards
June 07, 2023 15:15 - 49 minutes - 39.9 MBHaley Havens explains the ways that states can advance equity through their clean energy standards and how Minnesota’s 2023 standard performs on the Initiative for Energy Justice’s scorecard. … Read More
Proof in the Public Takeover Pudding
May 24, 2023 17:46 - 26 minutes - 21.1 MBRandy Knight explains how the Winter Park, Fla., overcame utility opposition to create a publicly-owned electric utility and shares his advice to other cities. Portions of this interview were released as part of last year’s series on public power.… Read More
Tennessee Valley’s Unchecked Authority
May 10, 2023 20:39 - 31 minutes - 25.6 MBMaggie Shober discusses how the Tennessee Valley Authority operates like a for-profit utility, despite its public ownership. Portions of this interview were released as part of last year’s series on public power.… Read More
The Value Idling in Electric Vehicles
April 26, 2023 18:50 - 44 minutes - 35.9 MBBrian Callnan discusses New Hampshire Electric Cooperative’s Transactive Energy Rate pilot program and how the energy sitting in electric vehicle batteries can provide additional value to the owner and the grid.… Read More
Central California District Pushes for Public Power
April 12, 2023 15:15 - 41 minutes - 33.5 MBPeter Rietkerk discusses how a public agency could do a better job than Pacific Gas & Electric and the South San Joaquin Irrigation District’s 18 year endeavor to provide retail electric service in California’s Central Valley.… Read More
Extremely Comfortable Home Makeovers
March 30, 2023 18:54 - 51 minutes - 5 MBNate Adams explains how to electrify homes in cold climates, which policies and incentives actually support home electrification, and the problems we must solve to reach net zero emissions by 2050.… Read More
Interconnection and Grid Planning
March 15, 2023 21:14 - 54 minutes - 43.7 MBSky Stanfield discusses how good interconnection policy and proactive grid planning can capitalize on existing distribution infrastructure for the most cost-effective clean energy transition.… Read More
Mainstreaming Electric Homes
March 01, 2023 17:45 - 53 minutes - 42.6 MBNate Adams and Steve Pantano discuss how education is the foundation for informed decision making, what builds trust between contractors and homeowners, and the additional support needed to make home electrification mainstream.… Read More
Survey Says: Interconnection Data is Unavailable
February 15, 2023 20:51 - 39 minutes - 31.6 MBJustin Baca and David Gahl discuss how an information gap trips up small solar developers. They also explain their letter to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which asks for more federal data collection from electric utilities and transmission operators.… Read More
Commission Failed Georgians in Nuclear Fiasco
February 01, 2023 18:08 - 52 minutes - 42.1 MBPatty Durand, candidate for the Georgia Public Service Commission, explains how the Commission failed to protect consumers from the Vogtle nuclear power plant, what Durand will do differently, if she is elected, and why her candidacy faced legal challenges.… Read More
Who Needs Transmission Wires Anyway?
January 19, 2023 22:38 - 41 minutes - 33.5 MBDan Juhl develops integrated clean energy projects that combine solar, wind, and/or battery storage. He shares how commercial-scale, hybrid solar and wind systems are a “real match” that can circumvent transmission system concerns.… Read More
Arizona Public Utility Acts Like For-Profit Peers
January 04, 2023 22:56 - 27 minutes - 21.7 MBAutumn Johnson talks about Salt River Project: a publicly-owned Arizona utility engaged in some shady behavior. The public’s only accountability measure? Board members who are elected by land-owning customers and punished for their dissension.… Read More
Regulators as Referees When Utilities and Customers Clash
December 21, 2022 16:16 - 49 minutes - 39.4 MBTed Thomas, former chair of the Arkansas Public Service Commission, discusses access, fairness, cost shifts, utility monopolies, and innovation in the electricity sector.… Read More
Shining Up Sacramento’s Lackluster Public Utility
December 07, 2022 20:16 - 37 minutes - 30.3 MBDerek Cressman and Fatima Malik, who both ran for seats on the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) board, describe the evolution of SMUD, how the public utility is failing its customers, and share their proposed solutions.… Read More
Tiny Laboratories of (Energy) Democracy — Episode 171 of Local Energy Rules
November 23, 2022 21:18 - 46 minutes - 37.2 MBHost John Farrell is joined by Jesse Gray and David Mendels. They discuss the six provisions in the Municipal Climate Empowerment Plan, state legislation that would enable Massachusetts communities to tackle their clean energy challenges with local solutions and greater local funding.… Read More
Tiny Laboratories of (Energy) Democracy
November 23, 2022 21:18 - 46 minutes - 37.2 MBHost John Farrell is joined by Jesse Gray and David Mendels. They discuss the six provisions in the Municipal Climate Empowerment Plan, state legislation that would enable Massachusetts communities to tackle their clean energy challenges with local solutions and greater local funding.… Read More
Public Power Pt. 6: Alternatives
November 09, 2022 21:55 - 52 minutes - 42.3 MBJohn Farrell explains five alternatives to a public power takeover that can still advance a community’s clean energy and environmental justice aims. This is part six of a special series: The Promise and Peril of Publicly-Owned Power.… Read More
Public Power Pt. 5: The Perils
October 26, 2022 18:50 - 49 minutes - 39.6 MBCustomers of four publicly-owned utilities explain some limitations of the public power model and how they are organizing to increase accountability. This is part five of a special series: The Promise and Peril of Publicly-Owned Power.… Read More
How Cities Can Make the Most of IRA Dollars — Episode 168 of Local Energy Rules
October 12, 2022 15:35 - 36 minutes - 29.5 MBLawyer Amy Turner joins John Farrell to explain how cities can use Inflation Reduction Act dollars to advance local goals — and should help their residents do the same.… Read More
Public Power Pt. 4: Game Over?
September 28, 2022 16:36 - 24 minutes - 19.6 MBJohn Farrell describes three municipalization attempts: Boulder, Minneapolis, and Decorah. Each city failed to form its own utility, but found silver linings in trying. This is part four of a special series: The Promise and Peril of Publicly-Owned Power.… Read More
Public Power Pt. 3: Ingredients For Success
September 14, 2022 15:34 - 33 minutes - 27.1 MBJohn Coyle describes how to form a publicly-owned utility and lists the four ingredients for baking up a public takeover. This is part three in a special series: The Promise and Peril of Publicly-Owned Power.… Read More
Public Power Pt. 2: Community Benefits
August 31, 2022 14:44 - 28 minutes - 23.1 MBUrsula Schryver describes the benefits of consumer-owned utility service and Randy Knight reports on the progress that municipalization brought to Winter Park, Fla. This is part two in a special series: The Promise and Peril of Publicly-Owned Power.… Read More
Inflation Reduction Act Boosts Local Solar
August 19, 2022 14:39 - 26 minutes - 21.5 MBFor this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell and guest Katie Kienbaum discuss how the Inflation Reduction Act will support distributed solar through extended tax credits, a greenhouse gas reduction fund, and other incentives.… Read More
Public Power Pt. 1: Why Take Over?
August 17, 2022 16:34 - 26 minutes - 21.6 MBFor this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell and community leaders in six different municipalization campaigns explain why a city might attempt to take over its electric utility. This is part one in a special series: The Promise and Peril of Publicly-Owned Power.… Read More
When a Win is a Win, and a Loss is a Lesson
August 03, 2022 16:59 - 42 minutes - 33.8 MBFor this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, co-hosts Luke Gannon and Reggie Rucker ask John Farrell about an upcoming podcast series, “The Promise and Peril of Publicly-Owned Power.” This episode is rebroadcast from Building Local Power.… Read More
The Member Campaigns Behind a Colorado Co-op’s Evolution
July 20, 2022 14:56 - 36 minutes - 29.4 MBFor this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell and guest Kevin Williams discuss how cooperative member-owners mobilized and campaigned for transparency, flexibility, and affordability from Delta Montrose Electric Cooperative.… Read More
Small Solar Frees Energy From Decades of Utility-Stifled Innovation
July 06, 2022 15:25 - 52 minutes - 42.2 MBFor this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell and guest Bill Nussey discuss how regulated utility monopolies are stifling energy innovation and why “small is the future” of the energy sector.… Read More