Episode 06: Career Reflections & Reasons for Hope from an Incoming Utility Regulator

When this podcast launched last year, it was led by my former colleague Radina Valova, IREC’s Regulatory Vice President. A couple of months ago, Radina got some very exciting career news which is part of why this podcast has been on a bit of a hiatus.
In June, Radina was appointed as a Commissioner on the New York Public Service Commission, the utility regulatory body for New York. In this role, she will work to deliver on the Commission's mandate of ensuring electricity safety, reliability, affordability, and achieving New York's energy and climate goals. Her last day at IREC was June 18.This was of course a bittersweet moment for our team. We were sad to lose Radina as a colleague, but also very heartened to know that the people of New York will get to benefit from her commitment to advancing the public interest through sound energy regulatory policy. And we’re proud to see Radina’s electricity and clean energy regulatory expertise recognized in this way.Although Radina is no longer with IREC, we are excited to continue to host the Energy Optimist podcast and strive to build her vision for this show to demystify energy policy issues, with a focus on reasons for optimism.Before Radina’s last day, she and I took some time to sit down for a transition episode. This episode that you’ll be listening to today is a bit different from our normal policy-based interviews, focusing more on how Radina got to this point in her career, and what makes her optimistic about our energy policy trajectory. I hope you enjoy the discussion!

Key Takeaways: 

• Long-time Energy Optimist podcast host and former IREC Regulatory Vice President was appointed as a Commissioner on the New York Public Service Commission, the utility regulatory body for the state, earlier this year. Her last day with IREC was June 18, 2024. As a New York Public Service Commissioner, Valova will have significant authority in shaping New York’s utility and clean energy markets and its ability to meet its ambitious climate change and clean energy targets as one of seven members of the Commission. 

• This interview, recorded prior to her first day as a utility Commissioner, explores Radina’s career to date and her advice for others interested in following a similar path. We also discuss her strategies for maintaining a hopeful and constructive perspective in the face of sometimes challenging energy and climate news, and her personal reasons for optimism. 

• Highlights:

• “…my first piece of advice… from a career perspective for lawyers in particular is if you have the opportunity to work with a smaller firm, go for it. I know larger firms can come with a bigger paycheck and can come with other advantages, but you're much less likely to get the breadth and depth of experience immediately after being admitted to the bar the way that you would with smaller firms.”

• “the biggest takeaway for me from [my career so far] has been that very few of us know, the moment we enter college or when we graduate, where we're going to land in our careers and there is very little sense in worrying about it because life has a way of offering opportunities and sending you in different directions that you could never have expected. And as long as you put in the work, and you're open to learning new skills, and then transferring those skills to wherever you go in the future, you can build a really solid career that way.” 

• “my favorite quote to keep me optimistic is ‘Just because you can't do everything, doesn't mean you shouldn't do anything.’ No one can solve every single ill in the world, but we can all do something to make the world a better place, whatever issue you're working on.”

• “I think what gives me hope the most is knowing how far we've already come…. within the energy space. You have laws like New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, like in Illinois, the Clean Energy Jobs Act. You have these very forward-thinking legislative actions that are shaping the way that we operate the energy system for the benefit of ratepayers, for the benefit of the environment, and energy equity—in a way that I don't think any of us could have imagined, you know, 10, 15, 20 years ago.
  I think if you had asked advocates back then, do you think you're likely to see many states across the country adopting ambitious laws like the CLCPA or like CEJA, they probably would have said, ‘No, it doesn't, it doesn't seem possible.’ But now here we are, and more and more states are doing that. So I think for me, I have hope because I see what we've already managed to accomplish.”

 

Resources and Further Readings: 

1. This 2016 white paper from the New York State government provides an overview of the state’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) process, an effort to transform energy regulation in the state, with stated goals that included achieving the following by 2030: a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels; 50% of New York State’s electricity generation coming from renewable energy sources, and a 23% decrease in energy consumption of buildings from 2012 levels. 

2. This ABC news article provides additional context on environmental activist Erin Brockovich. 

3. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. The IPCC prepares comprehensive Assessment Reports about the state of scientific, technical and socio-economic knowledge on climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for reducing the rate at which climate change is taking place. Its reports can be viewed on its website. 

4. Learn more about the book Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer in this NPR interview with the author, which also includes a link to purchase the book. 

5. On July 18, 2019, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) was signed into law. It is among the most ambitious climate laws in the nation and requires New York to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030 and no less than 85 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels. This page on the State of New York’s website provides additional information on the law. 

Illinois’ Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), Public Act 102-0662, was passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Pritzker on September 15, 2021. CEJA includes provisions to phase out carbon emissions from the energy and transportation sectors. It directs the Illinois EPA to establish rebate and grant programs for electric vehicles and charging stations and oversee the phase-out of fossil fuel-fired electrical generation units. Learn more about the law on the Illinois EPA’s website.