Patti Poppe: Reinventing Utilities During a Climate Emergency

Climate One

News Commentary, Earth Sciences, Social Sciences, Science, News

4.7 • 585 Ratings

🗓️ 29 July 2022

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS

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Summary

As the CEO of the California utility giant PG&E, Patti Poppe is charged with navigating the company through massive wildfires, disrupted energy markets, and lingering public distrust of the utility. The company is undergrounding 10,000 miles of electric lines, working with GM and Ford on incorporating power from electric vehicles into homes and the grid, deploying batteries at large power plants, and pushing to change net metering rates that pay homeowners for electricity generated on their roofs. How can utilities like PG&E reinvent themselves and modernize the electric grid to deliver renewable power when their own systems are threatened by catastrophic climate change? Guests: Patricia Poppe, CEO, PG&E Katherine Blunt, Reporter, Wall Street Journal For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hear that? It's your big McDonald's hunger calling, because the big arch is back, and this time
0:05.3	is here to stay with juicy beef, cheddar cheese and that big arch sauce. Hungry? You are now.
0:11.6	Order delivery on the McDonald's app. Serve from 11am, upcharges and fees apply to delivery orders.
0:17.9	Subjects availability, price and participation may vary. Hi, it's Greg Dalton.
0:21.6	I'd like to hear your comments on the show,
0:23.6	topics we should cover, and guest suggestions.
0:26.1	You can reach me at Greg at climate one.org.
0:29.2	This is Climate One. I'm Greg Dalton.
0:31.3	In 2020, the California utility Pacific gas and electric
0:35.4	pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter
0:38.9	for deaths resulting from a failed power line. But not one person from PG&E served time.
0:45.6	This wasn't a financial crime or, you know, a white collar crime that was victimless. I mean,
0:49.9	these are, these are homicide charges. Also in 2020, PG&E hired a new CEO who promised to take one of the
0:56.7	country's largest utilities in a new direction. What we have to do is stay focused on the future
1:03.1	and what we can do to make the system safer. Throughout the country, utilities face the
1:08.1	challenge of revamping the electric grid that has not changed
1:11.4	much since the time of Thomas Edison.
1:13.9	What I get excited about is imagining what that grid of the future is going to look like,
1:19.7	and we need to make sure that we are investing in that.
1:23.6	Reinventing utilities during a climate emergency.
1:26.7	Up next on Climate One.
1:29.8	In 2006, Pacific Gas and Electric was perceived to be one of the most progressive utilities in the country.
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