Heather O’Neill’s career in energy started in a pretty unusual place: working for a Republican billionaire. But in 2004 she joined the Robertson Foundation as a program officer just as it was exploring clean energy investments.

In 2012, Heather joined Advanced Energy United — an industry association that promotes grid-scale and distributed energy innovations — to focus on state-level and regional energy policy. Today, she leads the organization as president and CEO.

This week on With Great Power, Heather O’Neill reflects on some state-level clean energy policy wins from an otherwise dark 2025. She describes Advanced Energy United’s strategies for supporting policy in 2026, and explains why she’s focused on the 36 gubernatorial races and midterm elections in the coming year.

Credits: Hosted by Brad Langley. Produced by Mary Catherine O’Connor. Edited by Anne Bailey. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. The GridX production team includes Jenni Barber, Samantha McCabe, and Brad Langley.

At age 10, Neil Chatterjee found common ground with his immigrant father through politics. Watching then-Vice President George H. W. Bush spar with Michael Dukakis during a presidential debate on TV,  Neil and his dad connected in a way they hadn’t before.

Years later, after serving as Senator Mitch McConnell’s energy advisor and appointed to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, he found that he needed to shed his partisan views — and his reputation as McConnell’s coal guy — to become a convener. Doing so helped him enact policies to make a more resilient electric grid with more renewable and distributed energy resources.

This week on With Great Power, Neil Chatterjee explains why he thinks energy policy has gotten so politicized in the U.S. and what could change that trajectory. He and Brad delve into some of the weedy issues FERC will be addressing in 2026 and some “wonky solutions" to load growth and other grid challenges. Neil also talks about his current role as chief government affairs officer at Palmetto, a provider of residential renewable energy products.

Credits: Hosted by Brad Langley. Produced by Mary Catherine O’Connor. Edited by Anne Bailey. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. The GridX production team includes Jenni Barber, Samantha McCabe, and Brad Langley.

The power sector is at an inflection point. Skyrocketing load growth and rising energy prices are converging with an aging electric grid, inadequate power supply, and regulatory hurdles. It’s a perfect storm that’s forcing utilities to take a serious look at their business models.

But new innovations focused on meeting energy demand and confronting the affordability crisis are tackling these challenges head on.

If you’ve been a With Great Power listener over the past five seasons, you’ve heard stories from many of the people behind those innovations. This season, we’re digging even deeper.

You’ll hear from some of the leading voices in the power sector, from utilities and energy management companies to developers, community advocates, and grid planners.

Stay tuned for all new episodes about the superheroes building the future electric grid, today.

Season 6 launches soon. Subscribe to With Great Power on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

With Great Power is a co-production of GridX and Latitude Studios.

Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you get podcasts. For more reporting on the companies featured in this podcast, subscribe to Latitude Media's newsletter.

Credits: Hosted by Brad Langley. Produced by Mary Catherine O’Connor. Edited by Anne Bailey. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor. The Grid X production team includes Jenni Barber, Samantha McCabe, and Brad Langley.