Re-examining Smart Power: How Electric Utilities Can Respond to Climate Change Challenges

As the United States continues its push for mitigating climate change through energy efficiency, the electric utility industry faces new challenges in adapting for the future. In his updated volume Smart Power Anniversary Edition: Climate Change, the Smart Grid and the Future of Electric Utilities, electricity sector expert Peter Fox-Penner considers the role traditional utilities play in a changing market. Now, more than ever, Smart Power illustrates the need for forward thinking about how electricity generation, transmission and distribution can compete in a climate-minded economy.

On October 1, the Energy Security Initiative (ESI) at Brookings hosted Peter Fox-Penner for a discussion of the future of the electric utility industry. This event served as a follow-up to Fox-Penner’s initial book launch at Brookings in April 2010. After his opening remarks, Fox-Penner was joined in a panel discussion by Adele Morris, fellow and policy director for the Climate and Energy Economics Project at Brookings, and Rudy Stegemoeller, staff lead on the New York State Public Service Commission “Reforming the Energy Vision” initiative. ESI Director Charles Ebinger moderated the discussion.

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