We’ve Seen This Movie Before: Smart Growth for America’s Electric Future

The U.S. power sector is at a critical turning point. AI, electrification, and manufacturing and economic growth are leading to surging electricity demand, and power supply is struggling to keep up as prices increase. How should policymakers and energy leaders respond to encourage wise investment without overbuilding, overspending, or undermining reliability? 

In this episode of Energy Solutions, EPSA President and CEO Todd Snitchler sits down with David Hill, Executive Vice President of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Energy Program, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the New York Independent System Operator, and former DOE General Counsel to unpack the key issues that are shaping today’s energy sector. They discuss the risks of over- and under-building, the role of competitive markets, and how smarter permitting and planning can help manage uncertainty without putting consumers at risk. 

They also discuss bipartisan solutions to energy affordability, lessons that can be learned from past energy policies, and why natural gas and nuclear energy are critical to meeting demand as part of an all-of-the-above strategy. 

Together, they tackle: 

• Why uncertainty is the defining challenge in today’s energy sector. 
• How past experiences with over- and under-building can inform better decision making. 
• The growing bipartisan consensus on energy affordability and reliability. 
• The critical role of natural gas and infrastructure to support new demand. 
• How permitting reform could help unlock faster, smarter investment. 
• Why transparent markers and sound planning protect consumers. 

Host: Todd Snitchler, President and CEO, EPSA 

Guest: David Hill, Executive Vice President of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Energy Program, and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the New York Independent System Operator   

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome + Today’s Guest: David Hill
• 3:30 “No Facts About the Future”
• 6:40 Avoiding Expensive Mistakes: Risks of Overbuilding and Underbuilding
• 10:50 Who Bears the Risk? Cost Exposure and the Consumer
• 13:30 The Role of Natural Gas in a High-Demand Future
• 16:40 Fixing the Permitting Bottleneck: Permitting Reform & the SPEED Act
• 20:00 Can Nuclear Scale in Time? Past Lessons, Future Promise
• 21:25 Insights from the New York Grid: NYISO and Reliability Planning
• 26:05 The Value of Competitive Markets
• 30:00 Fast Five- “We Can’t Have Everything All at Once”: Smart Policy, Real Risks, and the Headlines We Hope Never to See
• 31:55 Wrapping Up: Smart Planning, Consumer Protection