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Strategy & Planning

Hawaiian Electric: Rebecca Dayhuff Matsushima

Byline: 

Rebecca Dayhuff Matsushima

“We will be doing procurements on a regular basis moving forward between now and 2045.”
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“The RFP was technology agnostic. As long as it meets Hawaii’s definition for renewable energy and our statutes, then it could fit into the projects, or into the RFP.”
“Under the Integrated Grid Planning docket we’re anticipating we would do a procurement about every two years for generation. Then with non-wire alternative procurement also happening every year.”
Author Bio: 

Rebecca Dayhuff Matsushima is the director for renewable acquisition at Hawaiian Electric.

Category (Actual): 
The States
Strategy & Planning

Director for Renewable Acquisition

Hawaiian Electric: Scott Seu

Byline: 

Scott Seu

“If you’re going to operate a business here in Hawaii for 20 years or so, you will be expected by the community to become a part of it, to be able to engage on an ongoing basis.”
Author Bio: 

Scott Seu is SVP for public affairs at Hawaiian Electric. Hawaiian Electric announced that Seu will become CEO this year.

Category (Actual): 
The States
Strategy & Planning

SVP for public affairs

Hawaiian Electric: Colton Ching

Byline: 

Colton Ching

“Our electric supply plans are aggressive. They’re forward leading within the industry and there does not exist technology today at this moment in time that will meet all of our needs over the next 20 or 30 years.”
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Hawaiian Electric’s operations and maintenance center in downtown Honolulu.
Author Bio: 

Colton Ching is SVP for planning and technology at Hawaiian Electric.

Category (Actual): 
The States
Strategy & Planning

SVP for planning and technology

Hawaiian Electric: Alan Oshima

Byline: 

Alan Oshima

“Ninety-five percent of Hawaii’s electricity comes from our company.”
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“There’s a Hawaiian word called kakou, that means together. We’re trying to make sure the underserved are not left, and only those who can move with individual investments reap the benefits of renewable.”
“We were rock stars in Southeast Asia. I got a standing ovation when we talked about why we have to do this for global climate change.”
At the Hawaiian blessing and dedication ceremony for the West Loch Solar Project. This is part of the ceremony.
At the Hawaiian blessing and dedication ceremony for the West Loch Solar Project. The PUF team marvels at the large size of the solar project.
At the Hawaiian blessing and dedication ceremony for the West Loch Solar Project. The PUF team marvels at the large size of the solar project.
Author Bio: 

Alan Oshima is the CEO of Hawaiian Electric.

Category (Actual): 
The States
Strategy & Planning

CEO

Visiting Hawaiian Electric

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

Perhaps the highest of the high points of visiting Hawaiian Electric and Hawaii's Public Utilities Commission was when Commission chair Jay Griffin announced during the pre-hearing conference we attended that "the Mitnicks" of Public Utilities Fortnightly were sitting in, as welcome guests of the Commission. (One Mitnick had flown in from Washington, D.C., the other from Tokyo.) Or perhaps when we watched the moving Hawaiian blessing of the West Loch Solar Project of Hawaiian Electric and the U.S. Navy.

Author Bio: 

Steve Mitnick is President of Lines Up, Inc., Editor-in-Chief of Public Utilities Fortnightly, and author of “Lines Down: How We Pay, Use, Value Grid Electricity Amid the Storm.”

Category (Actual): 
The States
Strategy & Planning

Unique Renewable Goals

Are Utilities and Government Skimping on R&D?

Byline: 

Ken Costello

Public utility regulation has a role to play in stimulating R&D by energy utilities. Studies have confirmed that social returns on R&D are much greater than private returns, evidence supporting government involvement (e.g., via funding or performance) in R&D.
Author Bio: 

Ken Costello serves as principal researcher for energy and environment for the National Regulatory Research Institute. Contact him at kcostello@nrri.org.

Category (Actual): 
Strategy & Planning

The future of the energy sector and environment is at stake.

Framing Virtual Reality

Byline: 

Shawn DuBravac

Virtual reality – a fully immersive, all-encompassing experience – has, for decades, captured the imagination of science fiction writers and tech innovators alike. How will this technology change the way we communicate or transact business?
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"The potential of virtual reality will be realized when it changes the way we interact with one another." – Shawn DuBravac
Author Bio: 

Dr. Shawn DuBravac is chief economist of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)™ and the author of “Digital Destiny: How the New Age of Data Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Communicate.” Follow him on Twitter @shawndubravac.

Category (Actual): 
Strategy & Planning

What’s old is truly new again.

An Industry Transformed

Byline: 

Roy Palk

By diving into today’s more diverse energy sector and embracing change, utilities stand to benefit over the long term. This is precisely why I am so excited about the future, even if I do occasionally look back wistfully on the past.
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"Today’s changes require open- mindedness … a willingness to let go of out-of-date-thinking." - Roy Palk
Author Bio: 

Roy Palk is senior energy advisor for the national law firm LeClairRyan, and works out of the firm’s office in Glen Allen, Virginia. Contact him at roy.palk@leclairryan.com.

Category (Actual): 
Pricing
Coal
Natural Gas
Strategy & Planning

Looking back on my 45 years in the energy sector.

Rethinking How To Value Energy Savings In Smaller Businesses

Byline: 

Colin Fraser

Evaluators could be performing nearly the identical regression analysis, but with the logarithm of energy usage as a dependent variable.
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"Evaluators could be performing nearly the identical regression analysis, but with the logarithm of energy usage as a dependent variable." – Colin Fraser
Author Bio: 

Colin Fraser is a Data Scientist with EnerNOC focusing on experimental design and evaluation for behavioral energy efficiency and customer engagement programs. He has been involved with the design and rollout of several large scale randomized controlled trials for energy efficiency programs with some of the largest utility companies in the world.

Category (Actual): 
Strategy & Planning

In behavioral programs, where small businesses make all kinds of changes, attributing energy savings is not straightforward.

Reinvigorating a Century Old Business Model

Byline: 

Larry Kellerman

Customers don’t have to wait decades while the grid incrementally evolves to incorporate transformational technologies. Led by customer-driven choices and decisions, we in the utility industry can and should accelerate the transition.
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"This reinvigorated model introduces individual-level customization – a million customers can have a million different rate bases." – Larry Kellerman
Author Bio: 

Larry Kellerman is Managing Partner of TFC Utilities. He has spent over three decades in the electric utility, power generation and independent energy industries, previously as CEO of Quantum Utility Generation, Partner at Goldman Sachs and President of the firm’s electric power business, Sr. Managing Director at El Paso Corporation, President of Citizens Power, and General Manager of Power Supply and Wholesale Marketing at Portland General Electric after starting his career at Southern California Edison.

Category (Actual): 
Strategy & Planning

The Power of Efficient Capital

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