How can utilities harness their innovation mojo?

Katherine Hamilton explains how evolving policy creates opportunities for new utility business models. Will they take advantage?

For Katherine Hamilton, working at Dominion Virginia Power ran in the family. Her grandfather Leon built a career there. As a young engineer, she learned the ins and outs of the electric utility business, and was inspired by the problem solving and creativity her job required.

“It was a very innovative place to be. It wasn’t that they were necessarily innovative because they wanted to be creative. It was out of necessity. They had to be because they had to serve their customers.”

But over time, creativity faded into the background for many power providers. Katherine is pushing utilities to bring innovation back to the forefront – and she believes policy can help do that.

Katherine is the co-founder and chair of 38 North Solutions, a public policy firm focused on promoting clean energy policy at the state and federal level. She has a storied career in energy, ranging from utilities to finance to trade groups. And she has played an instrumental role in passing ambitious pro-clean energy policies.

This week, Brad talks with Katherine about her policy work – like the recent infrastructure bill and the historic Inflation Reduction Act – and how it will push utilities to be more innovative.