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From The Desk of Ken Wilmot (Alltricity Network Executive Director)
🌟 Thank you for making the 2025 Spring Conference a success!
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made the 2025 Alltricity Network Spring Conference in Dallas a standout event! From attendees and speakers to moderators, tabletop sponsors, the Alltricity Network Board of Directors, Education Committees, and the Alltricity Scholarship Foundation—your dedication made this event truly engaging, educational, and enjoyable. Over the course of 1.5 days, we built relationships, shared experiences, dove into educational sessions, and tackled tough questions in candid roundtable discussions. A few standout highlights included:
- Day 1 Keynote: Morris Morrison energized the room with purpose-driven leadership insights—and had everyone jumping (literally!).
- Senior Leadership Panel: Strategic perspectives from Michael Kotara (Zachry Group), David Rodriguez (El Paso Electric), Randa Stephenson (LCRA), and Manny Zeringue (Big Rivers Electric).
- Day 2 Keynote: Wylie Davidson inspired us with his message on safety legacy, trust, and leadership.
- 20+ breakout sessions spanning Generation, T&D, and Management topics.
- Pre-Conference Workshop: Tiffany Murtagh Sodeman (Salt River Project) led a powerful session on “Leading Through Change.”
- Countless networking moments—and yes, a little golf fun too! ⛳
🎉 Congratulations, 2025 Alltricity Network Emerging Leader Award recipients!
Alltricity Network proudly honored eight outstanding professionals with the 2025 Emerging Leader Award at this year’s Spring Conference. Learn more about each of these individuals and their remarkable contributions to the electric utility industry:
The Alltricity Network Emerging Leader Award recognizes individual members with 5 to 10 years of industry experience who have made significant contributions within their organizations and demonstrated strong leadership potential and outstanding service to the electric utility industry.
🏆 Alltricity Network is now accepting 2026 Emerging Leader Award nominations!
🗓️ Nomination deadline: January 30, 2026
📩 Submit a nomination!
Supervisors, mentors, or colleagues are encouraged to nominate a candidate from their organization—whether they manage others or are individual contributors—for the 2026 Emerging Leader Award.
📣 Registration is now open for the 2025 Alltricity Fall Convention!
📅 September 29 – October 1, 2025
📍 Loews Kansas City Hotel | Kansas City, MO
🏨 Book your discounted room in the Alltricity Network block
👉 Learn more & register now
Don’t miss Alltricity Network’s premier leadership event! We’re excited to welcome you and your electric utility leadership peers for high-impact conversations on today’s top utility challenges—set in a relaxed, engaging environment. What to Expect:
- Top-Tier Speakers: Hear from inspiring industry leaders tackling the biggest issues in electric utilities.
- High-Value Networking: Connect with CEOs, VPs, Directors, and top solutions providers.
- Unique Culture: Experience a collaborative, no-pressure atmosphere focused on real value.
- Plenty of Connection Time: Build relationships with colleagues and industry friends during receptions, the golf outing, quality meals, Alltricity Scholarship Foundation Auction, and more!
Additional exciting program details will be announced soon, and you can expect a solid lineup that will include keynotes, the popular CEO Panel, Alltricity Scholarship Foundation Auction and more. We look forward to seeing you there!
Alltricity Network: A resource for you
We’re here to support you and your organization with timely, relevant educational and networking opportunities. We encourage you to share our development opportunities with your peers, workgroups, and professional network! For the latest events, visit the Alltricity Network Events & Education Calendar on our website.
Our Education Committees—comprised of dedicated members—work hard to provide timely, relevant, and thoughtfully curated educational and networking opportunities. Have a topic or presentation idea for a conference or workshop?—feel free to contact us anytime!
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Lifecycle Management Conference: PowerGen Fleets & Facilities (Englewood, CO)
2025 Alltricity Scholarship Foundation Golf Tournament - June 24, 2025 (Littleton, CO)
2025 Large Projects Conference - June 25-26, 2025 (Westminster, CO)
Grounding and Arc Flash Workshop & July Safety Roundtable - July 8-9, 2025 (Westminster, CO)
DER Distribution Engineering Workshop - July 22-23, 2025 (Lakewood, CO)
August 2025 Safety Roundtable - August 21, 2025 (Aurora, CO)
2025 Alltricity Network Fall Convention - September 29-October 1, 2025 (Kansas City, MO)
PLANNING SESSION: 2026 Alltricity Network Spring Conference - October 16, 2025 (Greenwood Village, CO)
November 2025 Safety Roundtable - November 4, 2025 (Kansas City, MO)
PLANNING SESSION: 2026 Alltricity Network Fall Convention - November 13, 2025 (Lone Tree, CO)
November 2025 Alltricity Scholarship Foundation Golf Tournament - November 18, 2025 (Phoenix, AZ)
2026 Safety Conference - March 4-6, 2026 (Tempe, AZ)
2026 Alltricity Network Spring Conference - April 27-29, 2026 (Omaha, NE)
2026 Alltricity Network Fall Convention - October 5-7, 2026 (San Antonio, TX)
The association's trusted network is accessible on LinkedIn. Working side-by-side in a cooperative manner, Alltricity Network members band together for the common goal of bettering the industry and improving service for utility customers. For more than 120 years, these key principles have proven successful and, more importantly, are tried-and-true methods for building strong business relationships.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright announced the designation of coal used in the production of steel as a critical material under the Energy Act of 2020, in accordance with President Trump’s Executive Order “Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry.” This action affirms the Administration’s commitment to American energy dominance, manufacturing resurgence, and strengthening America’s energy and industrial security.
U.S. consumer demand for renewable energy continues to grow, with more solar panel capacity installed in 2024 than in 2023, which saw more than in 2022. But U.S. trade policy is in flux, and high tariffs have been imposed on imported solar panels, which may cause shortages.
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President Donald Trump signed executive orders intended to quadruple domestic production of nuclear power within the next 25 years, a goal experts say the United States is highly unlikely to reach. To speed up the development of nuclear power, the orders grant the U.S. energy secretary authority to approve some advanced reactor designs and projects, taking authority away from the independent safety agency that has regulated the U.S. nuclear industry for five decades.
On average, customers today wait three years for high-voltage transformers and one year for distribution transformers, said Adrienne Lotto, senior vice president of grid security, technical and operations services at the American Public Power Association. About 80% of the former and 40% to 50% of the latter are imported, according to Benjamin Boucher, a Wood Mackenzie senior data analyst focused on electrical supply chains.
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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) accepted NuScale's design certification application for a plant comprising up to twelve 50 MWe power modules in March 2017. The regulator certified the design in January 2023, making it the first SMR design to be cleared by the regulator for use in the USA.
The U.S. Department of Energy canceled $3.7 billion in awards from its Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, including $540 million in grants for two carbon capture projects planned by Calpine. The canceled awards were mainly for carbon capture and sequestration and other decarbonization projects, according to DOE.
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The good news is that 2025’s first quarter saw solid growth in clean energy and clean transportation, up 6.9% from a year ago to $67.3 billion, according to data compiled by the Rhodium Group and MIT's Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research. The bad news is it’s probably the year’s high-water mark.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to eliminate the Energy Star program is a “misguided decision [that] would be counterproductive to our national housing, economic, and electricity goals,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., wrote in a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
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A coalition of consumer-oriented groups is asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to lead an effort to improve electricity demand forecasts, which they say are riddled with “uncertainty and lack of transparency.” The issue is critical because of “exponential” load growth that will accelerate in response to new demands from artificial intelligence, data centers and restored advanced manufacturing facilities.
Platte River Power Authority (Platte River) recently hired Tim Blodgett to serve as chief strategy officer (CSO). The position will play a critical role in defining strategies, identifying needs and executing tactics as Platte River continues to make progress on its energy transition goals highlighted in the Resource Diversification Policy.
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The acquisition agreement keeps PNM headquartered in New Mexico and retains local management and employees, while providing financial strength for long-term investment to support New Mexico’s transition to carbon-free electricity and to serve growing electricity demand. PNM’s union commitments will continue to be honored as part of the transaction. PNM electric rates will continue to be set by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (NMPRC).
TEP continues to rank among the most reliable electric service providers in the nation, thanks to the safe, steady service our 452,000 customers have come to expect. Since 2012, TEP has consistently achieved top-quartile reliability scores when compared to other energy providers, based on the System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI). This metric represents the average length of time a customer is without service due to weather, maintenance, equipment failure and other factors.
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San Miguel Power Association (SMPA) and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association have announced a series of projects, donations and a workforce development program to support Montrose County, Colo. “San Miguel Power Association is one of the largest employers in the West End of Montrose County, and we are gratified to be part of these significant developments, which will support new jobs and the local tax base,” said San Miguel Power CEO Brad Zaporski.
Basin Electric Power Cooperative announced today Jim Horan will join the cooperative as senior vice president and general counsel effective July 7, 2025. He will succeed Mark Foss, who will retire later this year after 47 years of distinguished service. “Jim will be a great addition to the Basin Electric team,” said Todd Brickhouse, Basin Electric’s chief executive officer and general manager. “His leadership at Mid-West Electric Consumers Association, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and Minnesota Rural Electric Association have given him a deep understanding of the legal, regulatory, and policy issues facing the electric utility industry and our members.
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Xcel Energy is moving forward with plans to deliver $25 million back to North Dakota and South Dakota customers on their bills through federal tax credits on the energy generated by the company’s nuclear fleet. This is the first time customers will see savings from the federal tax credit on nuclear energy generation, which the company advocated for in recent law.
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A new article puts artificial intelligence and machine learning on the task of finding new, powerful electrolytes for designing next-generation batteries for electric vehicles, phones, laptops and grid-scale energy storage. The paper outlines a new framework for finding molecules that maximize three components that make an ideal battery electrolyte -- ionic conductivity, oxidative stability and Coulombic efficiency.
The average energy project costs 40% more than expected for construction and takes almost two years longer than planned, finds a new global study. One key insight: The investment risk is highest for nuclear power plant construction and lowest for solar. The researchers analyzed data from 662 energy projects built between 1936 and 2024 in 83 countries, totaling $1.358 trillion in investment.
New research indicates that the presence of solar panels in Colorado's grasslands may reduce water stress, improve soil moisture levels and -- particularly during dry years -- increase plant growth by about 20% or more compared to open fields. The findings are relevant when considering drought in the arid west and the potential for future climate change.
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