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Energy Explained
Get the latest as our experts share their insights on global energy policy.
How DOE’s Announcement on Data Centers Could Impact the Grid
The US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has directed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to make a rule that would help rapidly move electricity onto the US grid in large amounts.
Podcasts
Hear in-depth conversations with the world’s top energy and climate leaders from government, business, academia, and civil society.
Amy Harder on Climate and Energy Reporting
The national conversation around climate change is shifting. There’s more focus on energy affordability and demand, as well as on the dual role artificial intelligence plays as both...
Events
Find out more about our upcoming and past events.
December 10, 2025
• 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
est
Responsible Mining in Latin America: The Extractive Transition and Social License, a Crossroad for the Andean Region
The event is for CUID holders only. Please note: space is limited. The Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA invites Columbia University students to a...
Event
• Large Conference Room
Center on Global Energy Policy
Center on Global Energy Policy
Podcast
Challenges and Opportunities Facing the Electric Grid
July 25, 2016
Guest
Cheryl LaFleur
FERC Commissioner
The National Academy of Engineering has called the American power grid the “supreme engineering achievement of the 20th century.” A network of generation, transmission and distribution, the grid brings reliable and affordable electricity virtually all the time to virtually all Americans, providing a service essential to the nation’s economy, security and wellbeing. But the structure and management of the grid are both changing rapidly. Information technology and increasingly networked systems, distributed generation and more intermittent energy sources, smart grids and new technologies that link our appliances, cars, and smartphones to the grid, provide great benefits but also pose potential risks. Threats of cybersecurity, physical security, natural disasters must be addressed, as well as local opposition to new infrastructure and simply aging infrastructure and limited resources. All of these make maintaining the reliability and affordability of electricity services a daunting challenge.
On this episode of Columbia energy Exchange, host Jason Bordoff sits down with Cheryl LaFleur, Commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the grid today. Among the topics of they address:
- What is the state of the US electric grid today?
- What is the role of FERC and the federal system in terms of electricity regulation?
- How do changes in information technology and networked systems impact cybersecurity risks? What role is FERC playing to improve the security of a digital grid?
- How is the penetration of renewable energy in the resource mix changing the economics of electricity?
- Are there new or different reliability issues as a result of the increased use of natural gas in the power sector?
- What role can or should the Federal government play to mitigate physical risks to the grid, whether from natural disasters, extreme weather or simply aging infrastructure?
- And many more.
More Episodes
Amy Harder on Climate and Energy Reporting
The national conversation around climate change is shifting. There’s more focus on energy affordability and demand, as well as on the dual role artificial intelligence plays as both...
In a Charged Environment, FERC Faces Demands for Energy
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulates the United States’ energy transmission, pipeline networks, and wholesale rates for electricity. For much of its history, FERC was a little-known...
World Energy Outlook 2025: Navigating Divergent Futures
Around the globe, and here in the United States, energy markets face huge uncertainties. They include everything from rising geopolitical tensions to a wave of new liquefied natural...
Building Energy Policy on Evidence
Elected officials face huge challenges when it comes to energy policymaking. They have very little time to learn complicated, nuanced issues. They're bombarded by information — some of...
Relevant
Publications
Regulatory Progress for Project-Based Carbon Credit Markets: Pre-COP30 Roundtable Summary
On November 6, 2025, in the lead-up to the annual UN Conference of the Parties (COP30), the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia University SIPA convened a roundtable on project-based carbon credit markets (PCCMs) in São Paulo, Brazil—a country that both hosted this year’s COP and is well-positioned to shape the next phase of global carbon markets by leveraging its experience in nature-based solutions.
Summaries
by Gautam Jain, Preetha Jenarthan, Victoria Barreto Vieira do Prado + 3 more • December 04, 2025
America’s Toothless Sanctions on Russian Oil
Last month, the Trump administration imposed fresh sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, signaling a renewed desire to drive Moscow to the negotiating table in its war against Ukraine. But although these measures have the potential to harm the Russian economy, just how much damage they inflict will depend largely on one actor: Beijing. China bought almost half the oil Russia exported in 2024, evading Washington’s existing restrictions in the process. And new sanctions alone will do little to push China into significantly reducing its purchases.
What the Global Electric Vehicle Market Signals for US Automakers and Policymakers
Commentary
by Pierpaolo Cazzola • November 24, 2025
Opinion: Time for CT to rethink its climate strategy
Connecticut needs an honest debate, and fresh thinking, to shape a climate strategy fit for today, not 2022.
