The Gist

Utilities have struggled to adopt new technologies quickly and are known to pilot tech startups out of business. As a result, investors often avoid investing in startups that sell to utilities.

But utilities need to innovate now more than ever. There is no way to achieve the goals of the energy transition, meet rising electricity demand from AI, and address the threats posed by climate change without significant innovation in the utility sector.

In this month’s Gist, we interviewed Larry Bekkedahl, senior vice president of advanced energy delivery at Portland General Electric (PGE), Oregon’s largest utility, which has gone from last to first in utility innovation. We discussed how PGE did it, and why it has been an imperative for the company.

Carbon removal is in temporary panic mode as the Trump administration injects uncertainty into this nascent market. It doesn’t need to be this way.

In this month’s Gist, my colleagues Annie Gilleo and Myron Lam argue why America should continue to “dominate” this market and not cede its jobs and technological advancements to Asia and Europe, and how states can step up to fill the temporary gap.

While it’s been a minute since I worked in the Pentagon, I still consider myself a national security professional. After all, energy is the national security issue to which I’ve committed the better part of my career.

In this month’s Gist, my colleague Joshua Grelle and I write about how the energy transition — particularly the growing demand for electricity at home and globally — is transforming our military.

In big AHG news, in partnership with our friends at Latitude Media, we announced the launch of the Power Resilience Forum, a new industry event focused on managing threats to our electric grid. Save the date and come join us in Houston on January 22-23, 2026.

What a difference a few months can make. We take a break from the tumult of the moment, and look back on the last four years with Andrew Mayock, President Biden’s Chief Sustainability Officer. Mayock, who left his post on January 20th, reflects on what they achieved, what might have been, and where we go from here.

In AHG news, we’re thrilled that Michael Kormos has joined us as a Senior Advisor, and Hannah McGrath and Max Davidson have joined as Associates.

While the Trump team has frozen federal climate spending and is purging federal employees working on climate policy, calling it “wasteful,” we expect that they will likely come to terms with reality on at least some key issues — even if they use different language to describe it.

That’s because the electric grid is undeniably under attack from wildfires and other forms of extreme weather. Yes, some companies and investors are backtracking from their climate commitments. But when it comes to climate risk and resilience, utilities and their rating agencies are not.

In this month’s Gist, AHG partner Julia Hamm shares how a new class of startups is emerging to help utilities prevent wildfires from taking down the grid. Without a reliable and resilient grid, the Trumpian goals of energy dominance and winning the AI race will prove out of reach.

2025 is off to quite a start. LA is on fire. Homes, schools, and entire neighborhoods have vanished. The loss is profound for so many. We all know someone affected.

Last week, the Biden administration doled out its final climate billions before exiting stage left. On Monday, the Trump administration released a flurry of executive orders launching an all-out assault on Biden’s climate legacy.

In this month’s Gist, we turn to allies to share their predictions for the year. From resilience to AI to carbon removal, there’s a lot on the docket. One thing is certain: 2025 will not be dull.

As the holiday season begins, our trusted senior advisors reflect on the biggest energy surprises of 2024 and why they matter for the climate and the energy transition. From artificial intelligence’s unquenchable thirst for energy to the existential demands of an increasingly vulnerable electric grid, a lot has changed this year.

We’ve known for some time that a second Trump presidency was a high-probability event and that even a Republican trifecta could be a reasonably expected outcome of the election.

Though the dust has hardly settled, in this month’s Gist we give you an “inside-the-Beltway” view on what we and our lobbyist friends believe is the emerging state of play on climate policy.

Since there’s nothing new to write about the election at this point, this month’s Gist is on a more practical and less emotional topic — heat pumps.

We’re now in heating season in much of the country, which is a good time to consider replacing that old gas or oil furnace. Enter heat pumps — the worst named, but most practical way to electrify your home heating system and get off of fossil heat.

However, those who believe the market is ready for massive heat pump uptake are living in a fantasy. The tech works, but, as you’ll learn from the lived experience of the Ad Hoc team, the customer experience remains a mess. We can and must do better!

With all the focus on the presidential election, it can be easy to lose sight of how aggressively several states are advancing a climate agenda. Washington State under Governor Jay Inslee – perhaps the most climate-forward governor in the country – stands out.

In this month’s Gist, we dig into Inslee’s legacy and leadership on climate and equity with his Senior Climate Advisor (and my former Opower teammate), Anna Lising. She talks about what Washington is doing on climate and energy policy that other states should follow. I’ll also be interviewing Anna and other state leaders at NYC Climate Week.