Keith Glassbrook, MEM/MBA
I, along with 18 other graduate students from Duke, was part of the Nicholas School Energy Club’s Denver Energy Career Trek from October 21 to 23, 2018. In the two busy days we visited organizations, we stopped at four in Boulder (Rocky Mountain Institute, E-Source, Simple Energy, and Gravity Renewables), three in Denver (Xcel Energy, Colorado Resource Council, and Colorado Energy Office), and one in Golden (McKinstry). It was a great trip overall, with many interesting and engaging presentations and conversations. What stands out to me as I reflect on the trip is the importance of large, regulated utilitiesvin the current and near-future energy industry.
In Boulder, I recall the striking juxtaposition of a town leaving an investor-owned utility’s territory (Xcel) to create a municipal utility with conversations dominated with talk of large utilities. For instance, at E-Source, a firm focused on providing research and consulting services to utilities, we discussed fundamental shifts in utility business models and misunderstandings about how utilities think. At Simple Energy, a software company that helps utilities engage customers to make “energy-wise” decisions, we discussed how important it is for new entrants to work with the incumbent utilities to succeed. One of my big takeaways from the day in Boulder is how important large utilities are to the energy industry.
Denver was different. Our first stop was Xcel Energy’s offices — Xcel is a utility holding company based in Minnesota with business across eight western and midwestern states. Their presentation started slowly, but when it got going, it really did. What transpired was an exciting and wide-ranging discussion with folks from Xcel’s product development, regulatory, and strategic planning groups. I suppose I’ve always known utilities are important. We talk about them a lot in school. I’ve worked with them throughout my career. I think many people view utilities as stodgy, old organizations, and I sometimes do too. However, I came away from the Denver Energy Career Trek excited about (and very seriously considering) opportunities to work at a utility after I graduate in May 2019.