T&D World Live

Endeavor Business Media

The T&D World Podcast features utility professionals across the industry discussing the most pressing issues, trends and projects from all facets of electric power-delivery. As a leading electric power resource, our key pillars include educating and informing power industry professionals about market trends, new products, legislation, infrastructure project funding and finance, construction, operation and system maintenance, security, reliability and resiliency.

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20 episodes
fortnightly
Avg 32 min
English

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#44
Monday · 32 min
Reliability in Action: Littleton’s Hendrix ACS Success Story
In this episode, Ted Gardner, Application Engineer for Overhead Solutions at Marmon Utility, joins David Ketchen, Assistant General Manager of Littleton Electric Light & Water Departments, for a practical conversation about how covered conductor and aerial cable systems can help utilities address real-world reliability challenges. This episode is sponsored by Marmon Utility LLC.
#47
September 11 · 24 min
How Salt River Project Is Evolving Its OT Strategy
In this episode of the T&D World Live podcast, Chris Campbell, senior director of OT services for Salt River Project, talks about how the Arizona utility is adapting its operations and technology to a rapidly changing grid.
#45
August 28 · 36 min
More Power, Same Grid? The Technologies Reshaping Grid Capacity
U.S. electricity demand is accelerating — driven by AI, hyperscale data centers, industrial growth, transportation electrification and changing consumer needs. But can the grid expand fast enough to keep pace? In this T&D World Live episode, Editorial Director Nikki Chandler talks with Bridget Bartol, Executive Director for Grid, Industry & Regulatory for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), about the organization's Grid Reliability Study, which projects a 55% increase in electricity demand by 2050. They discuss why the challenge isn't simply about generating more power, but also about moving existing generation to where it is needed. The conversation covers grid-enhancing technologies, advanced transmission, reconductoring, dynamic line ratings, demand response, storage, vehicle-to-grid technologies, data center interconnection, supply chains, permitting reform and the growing workforce gap. Bartol also shares NEMA's priorities for policymakers and offers an optimistic view of what the U.S. grid could look like if the industry accelerates investment, innovation and workforce development.
#43
August 14 · 56 min
Inside the New Playbook for Utility Workforce Readiness
As utilities confront an unprecedented wave of retirements, accelerating grid modernization and rapidly growing electricity demand, workforce readiness has become one of the industry's most pressing priorities. In this episode, T&D World Editorial Director Nikki Chandler speaks with Dr. James Merlo of the North American Generator Forum and Scott Summers of Index AR Solutions about why traditional training approaches are no longer enough — and how multimodal, immersive learning is helping utilities prepare the next generation of skilled workers. The conversation explores the intersection of human performance, engineering psychology, digital learning technologies and operational excellence. Together, the guests discuss how utilities can shorten training timelines, preserve critical institutional knowledge, improve safety, and strengthen grid reliability while adapting to a rapidly changing workforce.
#42
July 24 · 49 min
Beyond PSPS: PG&E’s Wildfire Journey
As wildfire risk continues to reshape electric utility operations, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) is rethinking how technology, data and engineering can dramatically reduce risk while minimizing customer disruption. In this episode, T&D World's Jeff Postelwait sits down with Andy Abranches, Vice President of Wildfire Mitigation at PG&E, to explore how one of North America's largest utilities has transformed its wildfire strategy over the past several years. The conversation covers PG&E's efforts to reduce the need for Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS), deploy AI-enabled continuous grid monitoring, expand weather intelligence, prioritize undergrounding, refine enhanced power line safety settings (EPSS) and collaborate with utilities across the industry. Andy explains how advances in predictive analytics, machine learning, remote sensing and new field technologies are helping utilities detect problems earlier, respond more precisely and build a safer, more resilient electric grid while carefully balancing affordability and reliability.
#41
July 10 · 28 min
Changing Safety Culture One Conversation at a Time
In this powerful episode of the T&D World Live Podcast, Editorial Director Nikki Chandler sits down with Chad Schimpf, Operations Safety Supervisor at Ameren Illinois, to discuss a life-changing incident that transformed both his career and his mission. After spending more than two decades as a lineman, Chad survived a 7,200-V electrical contact that easily could have been fatal. Rather than hiding from the experience, he chose to openly share the decisions that led to the incident and the lessons that followed. Today, he has become one of the utility industry's strongest advocates for safety culture, leadership accountability and honest conversations that prevent serious injuries and fatalities. Chad explains how small shortcuts, overconfidence and the mindset of "that's how we've always done it" can create dangerous conditions — even in organizations with strong safety programs. He reflects on the physical and emotional recovery after the incident, the difficult conversations with his family and coworkers and how his faith helped shape a new purpose focused on helping others avoid similar mistakes. The discussion also explores why leadership plays such a critical role in creating psychological safety, encouraging employees to speak up, investing in ongoing training and building workplace cultures where stopping work or asking for help is viewed as a strength rather than a weakness. Whether you're a lineman, supervisor, safety professional, executive or anyone responsible for building a stronger safety culture, this conversation offers practical insights and a powerful reminder that every decision matters — and that one conversation could save a life.
#40
June 26 · 39 min
What to Expect at T&D World Live 2026
In this episode of the T&D World Live Podcast, host Nikki Chandler sits down with Gina Weber, program director for T&D World Live, to preview the 2026 event. This year’s newly structured conference tracks are designed to help utility professionals navigate overlapping challenges through focused conversations around grid operations and reliability, modernization and infrastructure, and digital innovation and analytics.
#39
June 12 · 28 min
The Grid at a Turning Point: Recapping IEEE PES T&D 2026
In this episode, T&D World Editorial Director Nikki Chandler and Head of Content Amy Fischbach recap their experience at the 2026 IEEE PES T&D Conference and Exposition in Chicago, one of the largest events in the global power and utility industry. The discussion centers on several major themes that dominated the conference, including affordability, resiliency, reliability, and grid modernization. The conversation also focuses heavily on the growing electricity demand driven by AI and hyperscale data centers, and how utilities are preparing for what many executives described as the largest grid expansion cycle in decades.
#38
May 22 · 38 min
What Winter Storm Fern Revealed About Grid Reliability
In this episode of the T&D World Live podcast, we speak with Michael Goggin, executive vice president of Grid Strategies, about the reliability lessons emerging from Winter Storm Fern and what the event revealed about the evolving U.S. power system.
#37
May 8 · 26 min
The Need for Speed
As artificial intelligence accelerates demand for data processing and cloud computing, electric utilities and grid operators are facing unprecedented pressure to deliver reliable, affordable power at massive scale. In this episode of the T&D World Live Podcast, Managing Editor Jeff Postelwait speaks with Deloitte’s Kate Hardin, Executive Director of the Research Center for Energy and Industrials, and Deloitte's Tom Keefe, Vice Chair and U.S. Power, Utilities and Renewables Leader about how the rapid expansion of data centers is reshaping the energy industry.
#35
April 27 · 19 min
Tackling Grid Challenges with AECC: The TS Next-Generation Advanced Conductor
In this sponsored podcast episode, Nikki Chandler sits down with Jason Huang from TS Conductor to chat about how next-generation advanced conductors address the most pressing challenges for today’s grids. Jason discusses how the next-generation advanced conductor technology is solving these challenges by enabling all five key attributes: reliability, resiliency, affordability, speed to deploy, and safety. Jason points to Aluminum Encapsulated Carbon Core (AECC) conductors, which allow utilities to complete reconductoring projects without structure modifications—something often unavoidable with steel-core alternatives—while also reducing structure requirements in new builds. This episode is sponsored by TS Conductor.
#36
April 24 · 43 min
Inside T&D World's Special Report: Tackling Wildfire Risk Across the Grid
In this episode of the T&D World Live Podcast, Christina Marsh and Jeff Postelwait break down insights from the annual Wildfire Special Report, part of the May 2026 T&D World issue. They explore how utilities are adapting to a rapidly changing risk landscape through a mix of advanced technologies, data-driven decision-making and time-tested strategies like vegetation management and controlled burns.
#34
March 27 · 40 min
NRECA CEO Jim Matheson on the Co-op Energy Playbook
In this episode of the T&D World Live podcast, we speak with Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), for an in-depth conversation on the evolving challenges and opportunities facing electric cooperatives across the United States.
#33
March 23 · 18 min
Dual Peaks, Dual Risks: Why Utilities Can No Longer Plan For A Single System Peak
This episode is sponsored by Integral Analytics.
#32
March 2 · 13 min
How Safer, More Sustainable MV Power Cables Can Impact American Manufacturing
This episode is sponsored by Prysmian Cables & Systems.
#31
February 27 · 28 min
What Lebanon’s Solar Boom Teaches Us About Grid Resilience
In this episode of the T&D World Live Podcast, we speak with Vladimir Abdelnour, an energy researcher at Arizona State University’s Laboratory of Energy and Power Solutions (LEAPS), about how crisis-driven resilience in Lebanon shaped his perspective on grid modernization, decentralization, and AI-enabled energy systems.
#30
February 13 · 27 min
Why Workforce Investment Is the Grid’s Critical Infrastructure
In this episode of the T&D World Live podcast, we speak with Chris Root, former Chief Operating Officer of Vermont Electric Power Company (VELCO) and current industry advisor at Danovo (formerly Quanta Technology). The conversation previews the upcoming TechCon conference in Puerto Rico, hosted by H2B, and explores the broader workforce and infrastructure challenges reshaping the electric power industry.
#29
January 30 · 23 min
Serving New Load Without Raising Rates: A Utility Perspective
In this episode of the T&D World Live podcast, we sit down with Rachel Williams, Vice President of Transmission Field Operations at Georgia Power, to discuss how utilities are navigating unprecedented load growth and the operational challenges of building the next generation of the transmission system. Williams reflects on her nearly 29-year career with Southern Company, sharing how a family legacy in the utility industry and an engineering background led her to leadership roles across multiple electric utilities, all within transmission and distribution.
#28
January 9 · 30 min
Inside America’s Surging Electricity Demand with Grid Strategies' Sophie Meyer
According to new analysis from Grid Strategies the grid is now facing its fastest demand growth since the mid-20th century. In this episode we speak with Sophie Meyer, Director of Power Systems at Grid Strategies, about what’s driving the sudden surge in demand, how utilities and grid operators are struggling to keep up, and what the implications are for reliability, affordability, and long-term planning.
#27
Dec 22, 2025 · 38 min
Grid Modernization Starts with Broadband: Inside the Utility Connectivity Journey
In this episode of T&D World Live, we dig into one of the biggest challenges — and opportunities — facing utilities today: how to modernize the grid while building the broadband connectivity needed to support everything from DERs and automation to resiliency and future-ready operations. We sit down with Russ Ehrlich from Exelon and Jeff Pittman from Nokia to talk through the entire modernization journey — from early evaluation and business-case development to funding, deployment, and long-term operations. They also share lessons learned from the recent Utility Broadband Alliance Plugfest and offer a forward-looking view on the advanced applications gaining traction as we head into 2026. We cover where utility broadband fits into grid modernization, how to ask the right questions early on, or what capabilities will define the next decade of utility evolution. Tune in to hear practical insights, real-world experience, and a thoughtful look at what’s coming next for the industry.

Showing 1–20 of 20 episodes