Kate Heidinger, CEO of Allumia, joins Ian to unpack one of the biggest puzzles facing utilities today: how do you manage load growth, improve customer outcomes, and modernize DSM programs—all at once?

Kate shares her winding path into the energy world (including a disastrous solar thermal install she’ll never forget), why small businesses struggle to access deeper retrofits, and how Allumia’s “energy efficiency as a service” model helps utilities and customers capture real, verified savings.

They dive into AI’s practical role in program administration, what “crawl, walk, run” looks like for utility innovation, and how Allumia teams up with implementers and utilities to unlock deeper, faster energy savings with less friction.

A smart, human conversation about modernizing utility programs without losing the people-first touch that makes them work.

To learn more about Allumia, visit www.allumia.com and connect with Kate on LinkedIn. And don't forget to join their problem solvers session at AESP Annual!

On this episode of The Energy Beat Podcast, we explore how to build community-first grid resilience amid extreme weather and aging infrastructure. Don McPhail, VP of Market Development at eSmart Systems, sits down with Ian to discuss why traditional mitigation strategies aren't enough, how to approach critical infrastructure through a community lens, how AI can improve resilience planning, and more.

Resources/recommendations mentioned in this episode:

- Don recommends the book California Burning by Katherine Blunt

- Ian recommends the Parks and Recreation episode, Emergency Response

Energy costs are rising, devices are getting smarter, and customers expect utilities to meet them with clear choices, not generic messaging. On this episode of The Energy Beat Podcast, Ian chats with Alex Corneglio, VP of Product Management at Brillion, to unpack the importance of precise and proactive utility-customer outreach and the role that data plays in those communications.

They cover how utilities can use data to better segment, target, and communicate with customers, how more effective customer connections benefit both the customer and the utility, and rethinking customer trust.