In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Dave Ketchen, Assistant General Manager at Littleton Electric Light & Water Departments in Massachusetts, details his experience serving as a Technical Advisor for the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation, supporting power restoration efforts across the Northern Mariana Islands after Super Typhoon Sinlaku. He also discusses the utility’s work to upgrade six reclosers within its distribution system to implement new control technology and the ways in which the utility has bolstered its cybersecurity.

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Todd Dusenberry, General Manager for California public power utility Vernon Public Utilities, discusses the utility’s experience with the development of a data center, the strategies that Vernon Public Utilities has implemented to achieve a strong safety record and the steps that the utility has taken to bolster its cybersecurity. Vernon Public Utilities is one of the public power utilities that has received an APPA Cybersecurity Accelerator Program designation.

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Ursula Schryver, Senior Vice President, Education, Training and Events at APPA, provides details on a Large Load Planning & Strategy Virtual Summit that APPA will host in November. Panels include lessons from large load projects, how state policies are influencing large loads and considerations for taxes, financing, and contracts. The summit is part of APPA’s ongoing efforts to help its members navigate the large loads landscape in the U.S.

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Randy Trimble, Executive Director of Energy Delivery at Texas public power utility Bryan Texas Utilities, details a new training center for lineworkers that includes a hands-on training area where employees can work with the same types of equipment used in the field. He notes that the training center offers a number of benefits including having a place where the utility can be more deliberate about developing its workforce.

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Eric Poff, Director of Substation Telecommunications and Metering Assets at California public power utility SMUD, details how the utility is benefiting from the use of a robot dog for inspections of utility assets. SMUD’s use of the robot dog is part of a three-year pilot program.

In the latest episode of the Public Power Now podcast, Ryan Kelso, CEO of Texas public power utility New Braunfels Utilities, provides an update on NBU substation projects, details his focus on holding face-to-face meetings with New Braunfels community members, discusses the steps the utility has taken to achieve high levels of safety and details how a new utility headquarters will benefit utility customers and NBU employees.

In the latest episode of Public Power Now, Branndon Kelley, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Innovation and Chief Strategy Officer at AMP, details how AMP members will benefit from a new program that provides streamlined access to Noteworthy AI's Inspection platform through standardized terms and group-buy pricing. Noteworthy AI delivers artificial intelligence-powered inspection solutions to help utilities manage distribution grid assets.