The electric utility industry is enduring an existential crisis. Day in, day out it is under threat from aberrant weather  and from wildfires, even as it meets unprecedented demand growth in many regions. Also, there is the ever-present concern about cyberattack or gunfire attacks on substations. When it comes to recovery, the supply chain is stretched, whether the need is for transformers or new bucket trucks.

In the news: Houston has just recovered from Hurricane Beryl and wildfires are raging in California and Canada. This is against the background of utilities switching from fossil fuels to renewables and against protracted heat emergencies and extreme and unpredictable cold in areas which have no tradition of it. The words “heat dome” and “polar vortex” have entered the utility lexicon and look like they will remain there. 

To explain the situation and to offer remedies — both in hardening the system against these perils and in rapid storm remediation -- the United States Energy Association will hold a virtual press briefing on Wednesday, Aug. 7, at 11 a.m. 

The Experts:

• Elliot Mainzer, President and CEO, CalISO
• Todd Hillman, Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer, MISO
• David Naylor, President and CEO, Rayburn Electric Cooperative
• Ravi Seethapathy, Executive Chairman, Biosirus Inc.
• Timothy Unruh, Director, National Association of Energy Service Companies
• David Owens, President, Da'VAS 
• Scott Aaronson, Senior Vice President Security and Preparedness, Edison Electric Institute 
• Andrea Staid, Principal Technical Lead, EPRI
• Pablo Vegas, President and CEO, ERCOT

The Reporters:

• Jennifer Hiller, The Wall Street Journal
• Ken Silverstein, Forbes
• Matt Chester, Energy Central
• K Kaufmann, RTO Insider 
• Adam Clayton Powell III, PBS