The State of Public Power Advocacy: John Di Stasio & Tom Falcone Share Their Insights

As LPPC prepares to mark the end of John Di Stasio’s tenure as president, he and his successor, Tom Falcone, share their perspectives on LPPC’s leadership in Washington, D.C., changes facing the industry, and vision for the future of public power.  

John, when you reflect on your tenure as LPPC President over the last decade, what are you most proud of?

John Di Stasio: When I took the helm of LPPC in 2014, I had three decades of experience in the public power industry, including serving as the CEO of a utility. In Washington, I carried with me the ethos that public power utilities are 100% aligned with their customers and communities – we have no motive other than our customers’ best interest. 

As the head of LPPC, I’ve sought to preserve and strengthen LPPC’s reputation as a policy shop and an honest broker in the nation’s capital. We want LPPC to be known as an entity with serious “policy chops,” which is why we work with policymakers to help ensure policies and regulations work in the field and deliver intended results without unintended consequences. 

What would you consider your biggest policy wins?

JD: The inclusion of comparable tax incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act was a major victory for LPPC and our members. The incentives apply to all kinds of clean energy projects and, most importantly, they allow our not-for-profit members to pass the savings to the communities they serve, accelerating clean energy investment and reducing cost to customers.

We’ve also been at the table with FERC, including recently on Order 1920, ensuring alignment between what’s promised in transmission projects and what’s delivered. And we’ve become an important voice at NERC, and appropriately so because we’re focused on delivering reliable service to customers and are responsible for implementing state and federal reliability standards.

Have you noticed any changes in Washington, D.C., during your tenure?

JD: Yes, and in a good way. When you read the paper, it sounds like everything was better in the old days. But during my time in D.C., I’ve been encouraged to see a movement among policymakers from focusing primarily on means to focusing on the outcomes of energy policy. I hope this trend continues because specifying one-size-fits-all solutions is always suboptimal. Different regions of the country have different resources and opportunities. Some approaches benefit only the particular groups advocating for those approaches, but they can come at the expense of the American consumer or the overall policy goal. How we do things matters, and our goal at LPPC is always to make sure policymakers understand how specific policies support or divert from their overall objectives. 

Tom, looking back over the past ten years, what’s been the most consequential development in the industry?

Tom Falcone: The big change has been going from forecasts of flat or declining loads to forecasts of rapidly increasing loads, mainly from data centers, artificial intelligence, and electrification. Some LPPC members have forecasted that they’ll need to double their load by 2030 and double it again by 2040. That’s not unprecedented in the industry, but it’s been a long time since we’ve seen that type of load growth and a lot has changed in terms of the organization of the industry and the speed with which we build infrastructure since the last time the electric industry faced such a large build out.

It used to be that utilities were vertically integrated, and there was a one-stop shop for planning, construction, and reliability. Now, in many parts of the country, there’s a distribution utility, a transmission company, a generator, a reliability organization with the primary responsibility for planning and interconnection at the bulk level, and perhaps a state or regulator deciding on contracts for renewable energy. That’s not a model built for speed or integration, and neither are the permitting rules at the state and federal level the same as they used to be. Permitting and acquisition of rights of way typically take longer than project construction these days. 

At the same time as we’re seeing this load growth, we’re also transitioning to cleaner energy sources and modernizing aging infrastructure. We’re starting to see signs that this rapid pace of infrastructure build out might be a challenge. NERC’s most recent Long-Term Reliability Assessment from December 2023 projected reserve shortages and emerging energy risks within the next five years. To meet the pace of change, we’ll need to expand the workforce, supply chain, and shorten the time for permitting and project deployment, while maintaining affordability. 

Is there anything you wish federal policymakers better appreciated about public power and the role it plays in supporting our nation’s energy needs?

TF: We’re working to demonstrate to policymakers that financing, affordability, and reliability are essential to addressing rapid load growth and the transition to cleaner energy. These objectives go hand in hand — consumers will judge us as successful only if we meet all three, and each supports the other two. A consumer with reliable and affordable power is more willing to consider an electric vehicle, for example.  

John and Tom, ten years from now, what do you hope will be the defining words used to describe public power advocacy in Washington, D.C.? 

JD: I’m proud to say that we have earned a seat at the table when policy and regulation are being debated. LPPC has focused on ensuring that the needs and interests of public power consumers inform new policies and regulations. And we have done this by adapting and responding to a utility sector that is being transformed by new technology and expanded uses for electricity. As I pass the baton to Tom, I hope to see that continue. 

TF: I’d like to see LPPC described as an organization that helped shape the future by being engaged, impactful, and consistent on behalf of our consumers and communities. We want public power to be a driver of progress that strengthens reliability and resilience, enhances environmental performance, and maintains affordability.