Byzantine governance structures and vested interests are slowing the greening of the U.S. electrical grid. Two grid policy experts discuss paths forward.

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The U.S. electrical grid faces declining reliability, often attributed to a rapidly evolving energy mix, surging demand, and more frequent severe weather. Yet a deeper issue lies in the fragmented governance of the grid, where conflicting visions from federal, state, and industry-level regulators hinder progress toward a clean and reliable energy future.

Shelley Welton of the Kleinman Center and Joshua Macey of Yale Law School examine the tangled web of grid governance in the U.S., and highlight inherent conflicts of interest and clashes between state and federal regulatory priorities. They also explore potential pathways for governance reform.

Shelley Welton is Presidential Distinguished Professor of Law and Energy Policy with the Kleinman Center and Penn Carey Law School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Joshua Macey is an associate professor of Law at Yale Law School.

Related Content:

The Key to Electric Grid Reliability: Modernizing Governance https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-key-to-electric-grid-reliability-modernizing-governance/

How Can We Improve the Efficiency of Electricity Pricing Systems? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/how-can-we-improve-the-efficiency-of-electricity-pricing-systems/

Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu

Byzantine governance structures and vested interests are slowing the greening of the U.S. electrical grid. Two grid policy experts discuss paths forward.
---
The U.S. electrical grid faces declining reliability, often attributed to a rapidly evolving energy mix, surging demand, and more frequent severe weather. Yet a deeper issue lies in the fragmented governance of the grid, where conflicting visions from federal, state, and industry-level regulators hinder progress toward a clean and reliable energy future.
Shelley Welton of the Kleinman Center and Joshua Macey of Yale Law School examine the tangled web of grid governance in the U.S., and highlight inherent conflicts of interest and clashes between state and federal regulatory priorities. They also explore potential pathways for governance reform.
Shelley Welton is Presidential Distinguished Professor of Law and Energy Policy with the Kleinman Center and Penn Carey Law School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Joshua Macey is an associate professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Related Content:
The Key to Electric Grid Reliability: Modernizing Governance <a href="https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-key-to-electric-grid-reliability-modernizing-governance/">https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-key-to-electric-grid-reliability-modernizing-governance/</a>
How Can We Improve the Efficiency of Electricity Pricing Systems? <a href="https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/how-can-we-improve-the-efficiency-of-electricity-pricing-systems/">https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/how-can-we-improve-the-efficiency-of-electricity-pricing-systems/</a>
Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu

Energy Policy Now offers clear talk on the policy issues that define our relationship to energy and its impact on society and the environment. The series is produced by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania and hosted by energy journalist Andy Stone. Join Andy in conversation with leaders from industry, government, and academia as they shed light on today's pressing energy policy debates.

Energy Policy Now

Energy Policy Now offers clear talk on the policy issues that define our relationship to energy and its impact on society and the environment. The series is produced by <a href="https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/">the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy</a> at the University of Pennsylvania and hosted by energy journalist Andy Stone. Join Andy in conversation with leaders from industry, government, and academia as they shed light on today's pressing energy policy debates.

Byzantine governance structures and vested interests are slowing the greening of the U.S. electrical grid. Two grid policy experts discuss paths forward.

Why Electrical Grid Governance Needs Reforming

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to cut support for clean power. Two guests from Bloomberg NEF weigh the likely impacts on clean energy development.

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President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to reduce federal support for clean power as soon as he takes office in January. Yet political realities may limit the extent to which incentives, such as those in the Inflation Reduction Act, may be rolled back, leaving open the possibility that the incoming president may seek surgical rather than sweeping cuts.

A more fundamental question nevertheless remains: How much would reducing federal support for clean energy actually slow its growth in the U.S.? On the podcast, two experts on clean power markets and policy explore the likely scope, and practical impacts of Trump’s stated energy positions.

Meredith Annex is an energy economist and Head of Clean Power at Bloomberg NEF. Derrick Flakoll is Bloomberg’s Policy Expert for the US and Canada. The two analyze the incoming administration’s plans for clean power manufacturing, project development, and trade policy. They also share their insights on how these policies might unfold and what they could mean for the future pace of clean power growth in the United States.

Meredith Annex is Head of Clean Power at Bloomberg NEF.

Derrick Flakoll is Bloomberg NEFs Policy Expert for the US and Canada.

Related Content 

Closing the Climate Finance Gap: A Proposal for a New Green Investment Protocol https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/closing-the-climate-finance-gap-a-proposal-for-a-new-green-investment-protocol/

California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/californias-low-carbon-fuel-standard/

Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to cut support for clean power. Two guests from Bloomberg NEF weigh the likely impacts on clean energy development.
---
President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to reduce federal support for clean power as soon as he takes office in January. Yet political realities may limit the extent to which incentives, such as those in the Inflation Reduction Act, may be rolled back, leaving open the possibility that the incoming president may seek surgical rather than sweeping cuts.
A more fundamental question nevertheless remains: How much would reducing federal support for clean energy actually slow its growth in the U.S.? On the podcast, two experts on clean power markets and policy explore the likely scope, and practical impacts of Trump&rsquo;s stated energy positions.
Meredith Annex is an energy economist and Head of Clean Power at Bloomberg NEF. Derrick Flakoll is Bloomberg&rsquo;s Policy Expert for the US and Canada. The two analyze the incoming administration&rsquo;s plans for clean power manufacturing, project development, and trade policy. They also share their insights on how these policies might unfold and what they could mean for the future pace of clean power growth in the United States.
Meredith Annex is Head of Clean Power at Bloomberg NEF.
Derrick Flakoll is Bloomberg NEFs Policy Expert for the US and Canada.
Related Content 
Closing the Climate Finance Gap: A Proposal for a New Green Investment Protocol <a href="https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/closing-the-climate-finance-gap-a-proposal-for-a-new-green-investment-protocol/">https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/closing-the-climate-finance-gap-a-proposal-for-a-new-green-investment-protocol/</a>
California&rsquo;s Low Carbon Fuel Standard <a href="https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/californias-low-carbon-fuel-standard/">https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/californias-low-carbon-fuel-standard/</a>
Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to cut support for clean power. Two guests from Bloomberg NEF weigh the likely impacts on clean energy development.

Could Clean Energy Thrive Despite Trump Policy Changes?

Carnot Prize recipient Jacqueline Patterson explores how the clean energy transition can drive meaningful progress toward energy and climate justice.

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In 2009 Jacqueline Patterson became the founding director of the NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program. It was a role that Patterson, who’s this year’s recipient of the Kleinman Center’s Carnot Prize, had expected to be short lived: she’d stay on just long enough to get the program underway.

By the time she did move on 12 years later, she had made significant progress in raising understanding of the connection between environmental damage and the lived experience in some of this country’s most impoverished and vulnerable communities. As an advocate for climate justice, she has worked to address the fact that environmental damage increases the economic and health burdens on disadvantaged communities, and makes it more challenging to break the cycle of poverty and marginalization.

Today Patterson serves as the executive director of The Chisholm Legacy Project, where her work empowers communities of color on the front lines of climate change, ensuring they have the resources, tools, and leadership to amplify their voices in policymaking. Her efforts focus on making the clean energy transition a genuine opportunity for justice and equity.

Jacqueline Patterson is executive director of The Chisholm Legacy Project and the 2024 recipient of the Kleinman Center’s Carnot Prize for distinguished contributions in the area of energy policy.

Related Content

Beyond Labor: The Expanding Scope of the Just Energy Transitionhttps://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/commentary/podcast/beyond-labor-the-expanding-scope-of-the-just-energy-transition/

Should ‘Energy Hogs’ Shoulder More of the Utility Cost Burden? Should ‘Energy Hogs’ Shoulder More of the Utility Cost Burden? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/should-energy-hogs-shoulder-more-of-the-utility-cost-burden/



Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu

Carnot Prize recipient Jacqueline Patterson explores how the clean energy transition can drive meaningful progress toward energy and climate justice.
---
In 2009 Jacqueline Patterson became the founding director of the NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program. It was a role that Patterson, who’s this year’s recipient of the Kleinman Center’s Carnot Prize, had expected to be short lived: she’d stay on just long enough to get the program underway.
By the time she did move on 12 years later, she had made significant progress in raising understanding of the connection between environmental damage and the lived experience in some of this country’s most impoverished and vulnerable communities. As an advocate for climate justice, she has worked to address the fact that environmental damage increases the economic and health burdens on disadvantaged communities, and makes it more challenging to break the cycle of poverty and marginalization.
Today Patterson serves as the executive director of The Chisholm Legacy Project, where her work empowers communities of color on the front lines of climate change, ensuring they have the resources, tools, and leadership to amplify their voices in policymaking. Her efforts focus on making the clean energy transition a genuine opportunity for justice and equity.
Jacqueline Patterson is executive director of The Chisholm Legacy Project and the 2024 recipient of the Kleinman Center’s Carnot Prize for distinguished contributions in the area of energy policy.
Related Content
<a href="https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/commentary/podcast/beyond-labor-the-expanding-scope-of-the-just-energy-transition/">Beyond Labor: The Expanding Scope of the Just Energy Transition</a> <a href="https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/commentary/podcast/beyond-labor-the-expanding-scope-of-the-just-energy-transition/">https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/commentary/podcast/beyond-labor-the-expanding-scope-of-the-just-energy-transition/</a>
<a href="https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/should-energy-hogs-shoulder-more-of-the-utility-cost-burden/">Should ‘Energy Hogs’ Shoulder More of the Utility Cost Burden? Should ‘Energy Hogs’ Shoulder More of the Utility Cost Burden? </a> <a href="https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/should-energy-hogs-shoulder-more-of-the-utility-cost-burden/">https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/should-energy-hogs-shoulder-more-of-the-utility-cost-burden/</a>
 
Energy Policy Now is produced by <a href="http://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/">The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy</a> at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit <a href="http://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/">kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu</a>

2024 Carnot Prize winner Jacqui Patterson explores how the clean energy transition can drive meaningful progress toward energy and climate justice.

Empowering Communities for Climate and Energy Justice

Kleinman Center visiting scholar Kirsten Jenkins explores the concept of a just energy transition, and why it must be expanded beyond its labor roots to address broad energy system injustices.

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The term “just transition” has its roots in organized labor movements, and has traditionally referred to the idea that workers in the fossil fuel economy must find security in the green energy economy of the future as well. Yet, increasingly, this understanding of what a just transition entails is viewed as overly narrow, and failing to address broad structural realities in our energy system that, if not addressed, will perpetuate a range of social, environmental, and economic inequalities.

This lack of a common definition extends to the highest levels of the global climate effort, with the United Nations acknowledging that the perception of what a just transition entails varies from country to country, potentially impacting the outcome of just transition efforts at the local level.

Kleinman Center visiting scholar Kirsten Jenkins explores the definition of the term just transition and how varying interpretations of it might limit, or enhance efforts to address broader inequalities that are inherent in our energy system. Jenkins, who is a senior lecturer in energy, environment and society at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, also discusses the need to expand just transition beyond its labor roots to a broader view on justice, and explores policies to put this broader view into practice.

Kirsten Jenkins is a visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center and a senior lecturer in energy, environment, and society within the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Related Content

Closing the Climate Finance Gap: A Proposal for a New Green Investment Protocolhttps://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/closing-the-climate-finance-gap-a-proposal-for-a-new-green-investment-protocol/

Climate Action in the Age of Great Power Rivalry: What Geopolitics Means for the Climatehttps://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/climate-action-in-the-age-of-great-power-rivalry-what-geopolitics-means-for-the-climate/



Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu

Kleinman Center visiting scholar Kirsten Jenkins explores the concept of a just energy transition, and why it must be expanded beyond its labor roots to address broad energy system injustices.
---
The term “just transition” has its roots in organized labor movements, and has traditionally referred to the idea that workers in the fossil fuel economy must find security in the green energy economy of the future as well. Yet, increasingly, this understanding of what a just transition entails is viewed as overly narrow, and failing to address broad structural realities in our energy system that, if not addressed, will perpetuate a range of social, environmental, and economic inequalities.
This lack of a common definition extends to the highest levels of the global climate effort, with the United Nations acknowledging that the perception of what a just transition entails varies from country to country, potentially impacting the outcome of just transition efforts at the local level.
Kleinman Center visiting scholar Kirsten Jenkins explores the definition of the term just transition and how varying interpretations of it might limit, or enhance efforts to address broader inequalities that are inherent in our energy system. Jenkins, who is a senior lecturer in energy, environment and society at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, also discusses the need to expand just transition beyond its labor roots to a broader view on justice, and explores policies to put this broader view into practice.
Kirsten Jenkins is a visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center and a senior lecturer in energy, environment, and society within the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Related Content
<a href="https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/closing-the-climate-finance-gap-a-proposal-for-a-new-green-investment-protocol/">Closing the Climate Finance Gap: A Proposal for a New Green Investment Protocol</a> <a href="https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/closing-the-climate-finance-gap-a-proposal-for-a-new-green-investment-protocol/">https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/closing-the-climate-finance-gap-a-proposal-for-a-new-green-investment-protocol/</a>
<a href="https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/climate-action-in-the-age-of-great-power-rivalry-what-geopolitics-means-for-the-climate/">Climate Action in the Age of Great Power Rivalry: What Geopolitics Means for the Climate</a> <a href="https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/climate-action-in-the-age-of-great-power-rivalry-what-geopolitics-means-for-the-climate/">https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/climate-action-in-the-age-of-great-power-rivalry-what-geopolitics-means-for-the-climate/</a>
 
 Energy Policy Now is produced by <a href="http://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/">The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy</a> at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit <a href="http://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/">kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu</a>

Kleinman Center visiting scholar Kirsten Jenkins explores the concept of a just energy transition, and why it must be expanded beyond its labor roots to address broad energy system injustices.

Why Electrical Grid Governance Needs Reforming

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