Reflections on AESP Flex Connect

Liz Kelley (ILLUME, an E Source Company) and I had the opportunity to lead an interactive Learning Lab on Friday, August 15, the last day of the AESP Flex Connect in Salt Lake City. For those of you who have attended conferences, the last day morning sessions can be hit or miss. People have attended multiple engaging sessions and enjoyed fun and productive networking events, so that last day can sometimes become a travel day, with people eager to get home.

Liz and I were excited to facilitate the session on equitable program design within Time of Use (TOU) programs, but we were fully prepared for—let's say—an intimate group. We were pleasantly surprised by a pretty full room and a group of attendees who were engaged and ready to discuss the importance of equity in our programs. This is a testament to the quality of the agenda (congrats to the planning committee) and to the commitment of the AESP community.

AESP is the first conference I attended when I started my career almost 20 years ago, when I'm not sure if we used the term "equity" at all. Presenting on equity to a group of engaging attendees on the last day of the conference, was an important moment for me on my career journey and, I believe, an important moment for our industry.

Conversations about equity and ensuring all people have access and opportunity to realize the benefits of clean energy programs are no longer reserved for a specific track in a small room in the back. Now more than ever, we need to center conversations around how we can ensure that communities and individuals aren't left behind in our efforts to modernize and decarbonize.

See you all at the AESP Annual Conference in San Diego!