The following is a transcript of the August 12, 2024, episode of Public Power Now. Learn more about subscribing to Public Power Now at Publicpower.org/Podcasts. Some quotes may have been edited for clarity.
Paul Ciampoli
Welcome to the latest episode of Public Power Now. I'm Paul Ciampoli, APPA's news director.
This episode focuses on the first-ever Tennessee Valley Women’s Policy Summit, which was held in late July in Washington, D.C.
The event was organized by the Tennessee Valley Authority and Engage, a bipartisan women’s organization.
Our guests on this episode are Jessica Hogle, Vice President of Federal Affairs, TVA, Erin Gill, VP Sustainability & Government Relations, Knoxville Utilities Board in Tennessee; and Gina Cooper, International Vice President, International Brotherhood of Electric Workers Fourth District.
Jessica, Erin and Gina, thanks for joining us on the podcast.
Jessica, I wanted to start our conversation with you, given that you came up with the idea for holding the summit and you were the lead organizer.
Could you offer an overall description of the event and also what were the overall objectives of the summit
Jessica Hogle
It kind of dawned on us in TVA’s as Federal Affairs office that we were at a really cool moment in history where we have three female board members on the TVA board.
We have more women leading local power companies in the Valley than we've ever had before.
We've got incredible women leaders at TVA.
And not to mention, we have a team of mostly women in our DC office with one very strong man working with us.
And so we thought, wouldn't it be great if we could bring together stakeholders from the Valley, these women leaders, here to Washington to speak with women leaders in the policy making space and with other partners like nonprofit organizations and trade associations and think tanks to have a conversation really about the key challenges that we're facing as an electricity delivery utility here today.
So those challenges really being growing load and demand for our product at the same time, where we have...limitations from a regulatory standpoint, changing customer expectations.
How do we kind of navigate that -- make sure we can meet the demand for our product at the same time, while trying to maintain affordability and reliability for those that we serve.
And then finally, how you do something is just as important as what you do.
And so making sure that the how included opportunities for women in the communities that we serve.
So really the objectives for the event were to bring together grassroots and grass top women leaders in the Valley and in Washington to have a conversation about these policy matters.
And why that's important is because as women and experts in our field, we have something to contribute to this conversation.
And I think it's important that we have a voice at that table.
And so really that was the objective...to ensure that we were able to exchange ideas and share our perspectives as we see it, which are unique being women leaders in the Valley and then hearing from policymakers on what they're working on and how we can work together.
Paul Ciampoli
Erin and Gina, I wanted to turn to you and specifically talk about the panels that were held at the summit, which you both participated in.
What were the panels you participated in and what were the key takeaways for you from the panels?
Erin, could you start off?
Erin Gill
I want to give a shout out to the TVA team for organizing such an inspiring and really meaningful discussion over the day that we were in Washington.
I participated in a panel that was titled Ensuring Energy Affordability and Investing in Innovation.
And it really focused on the fact that while we are experiencing this momentous energy transformation that we also have to make sure that we are not leaving behind opportunities and stability for the families that we are serving across the valley.
So we talked a lot about the programs that our utilities have and federal funding that's available to support customers in programs like energy efficiency and energy affordability in ways that they can modernize their own energy use, while at the same time we're modernizing the grid.
And the discussion really focused around this theme. And I love how Michelle Moore, our moderator, framed it, which is that partnership is leadership and it builds on this theme that partnership is innovation and that by working together in new dynamic ways, we can fill gaps and do more with less, ultimately serving our customers in a way that goes farther given the resources that we have.>
Gina Cooper
Thank you to TVA for doing such a great event with such amazing women across the country.
I participated in the panel discussion on providing opportunities for women in the energy economy and I really took away three main things.
First, being that we have a lot of work to do. The second being that we need to start much earlier when talking to women and girls about the energy economy and their role in it. And then the last one being that the recruitment of women provides a great opportunity for partnership between the IBEW or the trades and utilities in general.
What I find is that as I go across the country that the IBEW is the best kept secret in the electrical utility industry.
And what I mean by that [is] there are a lot of people that are unaware [of] what the IBEW can bring to the table with regard to our training programs and our efforts to train and recruit women into the industry.
For instance, we've got 300 electrical apprenticeships across the United States where our apprentices learn while they earn.
And in the IBEW, what we're doing is utilizing our women's committees, our minority caucuses and our veterans committees to run summer camps for girls, do career days and help in our recruitment efforts.
And it's paying off in dividends.
We have seen from 2015 to 2019 a 90% increase in the number of new women apprentices into the IBEW.
So I really do think that between the efforts of TVA and where the economy is going with energy, it provides such a great opportunity to partner with labor.
Paul Ciampoli
Jessica, one of the purposes I think of this podcast is to tip people off in terms of possible events or different strategies that utilities can pursue based on what they hear in the podcast.
In that context, I wanted to give you the opportunity to talk about if a public power utility is interested in convening a similar event, what would you tell that utility in terms of the key benefits that would flow from the event?
Jessica Hogle
I think in terms of benefits, the conversations on the panels and the expertise that was shared was incredibly rich. We also made sure to include some of our women policymaker leaders. And so obviously Senator Blackburn from Tennessee was featured at our event. We had a reception with Senator Hyde-Smith and she spoke.
We had the Appalachian Regional [Commission] Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin address our group as well. And so being able to hear leaders’ perspectives is certainly a benefit as well as the rich discussions on the panel.
But really one of the main benefits is just the networking and the sidebar conversations, as always with these types of events...we really wanted to kind of cross pollinate again between the grassroots and the grass tops and allow those connections to form.
We had DC leaders, but we also had state government leaders there, as well as leaders from our industry.
You can't put a price tag on that kind of networking and...communication lines that get opened when you bring people together like this.
Paul Ciampoli
And Jessica, were there any logistical challenges you'd highlight in terms of organizing the event?
Jessica Hogle
I would say if you're thinking about doing something like this, you should really start in thinking through.... one, what is the conversation that you want to have?
And then two, who was really integral to making sure that you can have the robust conversation that you want.
So again, in our view, having Senator Blackburn's participation and engagement from early on was very important.
And then [we] wanted to make sure we were able to highlight our local power company leaders and that we were bringing a diverse but rich set of women from the Valley to DC.
So I also partnered with organizations like TVPPA, TECA and TMEPA in the Valley to get their perspective and help...[to] kind of collate ideas on who would be good because I don't know everything, obviously.
And so again, I would say, what's the conversation? Who do you want to be in the room? And who else should you be asking about who should be in the room? Kind of crowdsource here, because that's what we're trying to do, right, is facilitate some connections, but then spur additional conversation and dialogue.
Paul Ciampoli
Jessica, one follow up question that occurred to me.
I'm assuming that there are plans for holding a similar summit next year?
Jessica Hogle
I don't know how we don't hold a similar summit next year. There's so much buzz around it.
And if we're back here on your podcast next year, I suspect that we will be talking about how we had to really maximize and build out the space that we had from this year because I think there's been so much buzz. I welcome Erin or Gina to comment on that. I think people are really excited and we are looking forward to the next opportunity to be together.
Gina Cooper
I couldn't agree more. The event itself was spectacular. The quality of the folks that were there on the panels was beyond anything I've seen. And what we're noticing in the trades and with the IBEW is that the women's conferences that we host are...becoming the largest conferences that we have.
I think we've got two overflow hotels for our one coming up in September. So pretty amazing.
Erin Gill
Just to second that -- I think what I got out of the event the most -- you mentioned networking, but the richness and the pragmatism that was present in all the women at this summit and the ability to wrestle with these really big challenges, but bring them down to a level of action. And how do we in our work worlds move this ball forward to solve problems for women in our industry and the customers that we're serving.
I think women in particular are very good at being able to make action happen when we have a goal that we want to achieve, so it was really inspiring to be part of that group and be part of those conversations.
Paul Ciampoli
Jessica, you alluded to the idea of returning to the podcast. So you actually read my mind and I would love to have you guys back perhaps in the lead up to this summit where we could kind of preview the sessions that will be held and also kind of go over the success of this year's summit. So just throwing that out there as an open invitation.
Thanks so much all three of you for taking the time to speak with us today -- we really appreciate it.
Thanks for listening to this episode of Public Power Now, which is produced by Julio Guerrero, Graphic and Digital Designer at APPA.
I'm Paul Ciampoli and we'll be back next week with more from the world of public power.
