PublicPowerX

Hosted by American Public Power Association

Technology

Website RSS feed

Episodes

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

PublicPowerX is the new podcast from the American Public Power Association where key vendors and service providers explain their role in keeping public power safe, reliable, and secure. Subscribe to this feed to get these stories from public power’s service providers as they become available. If you are a company that does business with public power utilities and would like to host an episode of Public Power X, go to publicpower.org/podcasts to learn more.

Listen to episodes

30 recent

October 2, 202652 min

Fewer Calls, Clearer Communication: Rock Hill’s Texting Strategy

You need to keep your customers informed during outages and service disruptions without overwhelming your customer service team or pulling dispatchers away from critical work. Rock Hill Utilities introduced automated text messaging to their customers to provide faster, clearer updates and to help reduce inbound call volume and related expenses while giving employees more time to focus on restoration, service delivery, and other priorities. In this webinar, you will discover how the utility built its texting strategy, what they learned as adoption grew, and how the program expanded beyond its original use case. You will learn how timely, targeted communications can improve your customers' experience, increase their confidence in your responsiveness, reduce operational friction, and create value across your municipality.

September 18, 202654 min

From Storm Response to System Resilience with Hendrix Cable & Littleton Electric

Reliability improvements rarely come from a single project. They come from sustained planning, leadership alignment, and infrastructure choices designed to perform when the system is under stress. This APPA-hosted webinar will feature Littleton Electric Light and Water Departments’ reliability journey following the 2008 Northeast ice storm, including how LELWD evaluated system vulnerabilities and invested in Hendrix Spacer Cable by Marmon Utility as part of a broader storm-hardening and overhead distribution reliability strategy. David Ketchen of LELWD and Ted Gardner of Marmon Utility will discuss lessons public power utilities can apply when prioritizing capital investments, evaluating aerial spacer cable systems and covered conductor solutions, reducing outage impacts, and strengthening customer service during severe weather events.

September 4, 202654 min

CEERUM Sandbox: How JAAs Can Help Members Build Community Energy Planning Muscle

Discover how Joint Action Agencies can use the CEERUM Sandbox—a hands-on, participatory energy scenario-planning workshop—to deliver consistent, data-driven planning services to their member utilities and the communities they serve.

July 31, 202659 min

Utilizing Power Prepays to Reduce Costs on RTO Purchases

In this session, we'll learn how public power can realize significant savings for constituents by utilizing a power prepay structure on anticipated future RTO grid purchases. With power forward curves in contango and healthy spreads between tax-exempt and taxable borrowing rates, power prepays can deliver significant savings for qualified municipal buyers. By leveraging your tax-exempt status and allocating power that you reasonably expect to procure, municipalities receive a material discount on each electron purchased through this structure. Join us to learn more about how these deals come together, some tips and tricks to help maximize your discount, and general FAQs to enhance your understanding of a powerful (and unique) tool available to your utility.

July 2, 202650 min

Building Better Facilities Together

Join us for Building Better Facilities Together to learn how strategic facility planning can transform operations and position your organization for long-term success. Note: This podcast was adapted from a live webinar.

May 8, 202658 min

Leveraging AMI Data to Improve Billing Accuracy

Public power utilities are generating more AMI data than ever, but turning that data into meaningful customer experience improvements can be a challenge. Tune in to explore how utilities are using AMI data to improve billing accuracy, reduce customer inquiries, and provide greater visibility into energy and water usage. Learn practical approaches to connecting AMI data with CIS and MDM systems, reducing manual effort, and delivering faster, more confident responses to customers, without disrupting existing operations.

March 6, 202657 min

From Reactive to Resilient: Modern Customer Communications for Public Power Utilities

Public power utilities are under growing pressure to do more with less. With fewer staff, tighter budgets, rising customer expectations, and regulatory scrutiny, utilities are also expected to address increasing concerns around customer affordability. Yet many regional and community-based utilities are still relying on reactive, one-way communication strategies that drive call center volume, frustrate customers, and make it difficult to demonstrate service improvements to regulators and governing boards. In this session, we’ll explore how public power utilities are modernizing customer communications by shifting to proactive, repeatable, and compliant messaging across digital channels, helping customers better understand outages, bills, and usage at a time when affordability and trust matter more than ever. Attendees will learn how reference-based messaging, TCPA controls, and automated outreach for outages, billing, and usage can reduce inbound calls, improve customer satisfaction, and drive measurable customer action without adding operational complexity.

December 19, 202542 min

Community-Centered Strategic Planning: Using CEERUM to Navigate a Changing Energy Landscape

Don’t miss this opportunity to explore CEERUM, a participatory energy-planning platform built for public power utilities and the communities they serve. CEERUM helps utilities bring data, stakeholders, and strategy into one place—making it easier to build awareness, educate decision-makers, uncover opportunities, leverage external resources, and build consensus around a shared path forward. As public power leaders navigate rapid industry change, strategic planning has never been more essential. CEERUM uses local data to inform the planning process, strengthen alignment, and accelerate execution. It serves as a strategic communication tool that helps utilities communicate tradeoffs, compare scenarios, and engage boards, town officials, and community members in meaningful ways.

October 3, 20251 hr 0 min

Community Tree Distribution Programs: Advancing Energy Efficiency, Customer Engagement, and Resilient Communities

Public power utilities face growing expectations to deliver on energy efficiency, customer satisfaction, and community resilience — often with limited internal resources. Trees can play a powerful role in meeting these objectives when strategically integrated into utility initiatives. In this podcast, we’ll explore how community tree distribution programs are being implemented by utilities across the country to: Support right-tree-right-place energy savings Strengthen customer relationships through visible, positive engagement Advance water conservation and urban forestry goals Provide clear metrics and reporting to demonstrate impact You’ll hear how a turnkey approach can reduce the burden on staff while still delivering meaningful outcomes for utilities, customers, and communities alike.

September 5, 20251 hr 4 min

Facing Cybersecurity Realities: Executive Lessons on IT/OT Integration in Public Power

Public power organizations face distinct cybersecurity challenges, including limited budgets, regulatory pressures, legacy assets, and increasing threats. Join this candid, executive-level discussion featuring two public power cybersecurity leaders and a security consulting director with deep experience in energy and national security who will share firsthand strategies for success. Learn practical insights on overcoming integration roadblocks, building collaboration across teams, and strategically working with external cybersecurity partners.