VX News is the editorial voice of the annual VerdeXchange Conference, featuring in-depth interviews with industry leaders and policymakers driving innovation in clean energy, water, transportation, and climate policy.
VX2026 Panel: What's Taking So Damn Long?
Moderator Jim Kelly of S&C Electric begins the "What's Taking So Damn Long? Fixing Energy Project Permitting" VX2026 panel by naming the stakes plainly: California is trying to build electrical infrastructure fast enough to meet record demand growth while the state already carries the highest electricity rates in the continental U.S. The panel brought together CEC Commissioner Noemí Gallardo, CPUC Commissioner Christine Harada, Stantec Senior Principal Brianna Pilkinton, and LADWP Interim COO Jason Rondou. To check out the full panel click here.
Little Hoover Commission’s Virtual Hearing: Senator Josh Becker on Data Centers, Energy Grid Costs, and Who Pays?
Testifying before California’s Little Hoover Commission at its recent hearing on data centers and electricity policy, Sen. Josh Becker framed the rapid growth of data centers as a pivotal moment for California’s energy system—one that could either accelerate the clean-energy transition or impose new costs on households and small businesses.
Chair Pedro Nava on Utility Economics, Hidden Costs, and Protecting Californians from Rising Energy Burdens
Chair Nava of the Little Hoover Commission joins VX News to unpack the findings of the Little Hoover Commission’s review of California’s electricity rates—and now the emerging impacts of data centers and AI. Addressing how ratepayers are not simply paying for electricity itself, Chair Nava details how profit structures and related costs of maintaining, hardening, and expanding the grid continue to compound California’s affordability challenges.
EDF’s Michael Colvin on Clean Energy Strategy and the Future of the Western Grid
VX News interviewed Michael Colvin, Director of California Energy Program at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), to elaborate on the impetus behind the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative and current status of SB 540, California’s latest legislative effort to implement a western regional day-ahead electricity market.
