In early September, NiSource hosted a panel at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 53rd Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., on economic inclusion, affordability, and environmental justice in the clean energy transition. Panelists included Lloyd Yates, president and CEO of NiSource; Melody Birmingham, executive vice president and group president of utilities at NiSource; Steve Hightower, president and CEO of Hightower EV Solutions; and Karim Marshall, senior advisor for environmental justice and external civil rights for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“Diversity, equity, and inclusion is opening your aperture to find the best people from every walk of life,” said Yates. “When you do that, your company and organization perform a lot better. Diversity, equity, and inclusion make you a whole lot better than having nothing at all.”

During this session, which was moderated by Ralph Cleveland, president and CEO of the American Association of Blacks in Energy, panelists discussed the importance of business diversity and workforce development to meet the growing infrastructure needs brought on by rising energy demand. 

Yates encouraged attendees to “think about the amount of jobs and opportunities that creates” for disadvantaged communities. “Those jobs are people out in the streets and fields and plants,” he said. As a whole, the electric power industry supports more than 7 million American jobs.

EEI Vice President of Government Relations Eric Grey also participated in a panel discussion at the Annual Legislative Conference with Gilbert Campbell, founder and CEO of Volt Energy Utility; Ben Duncan, chief resilience officer for the South Carolina Office of Resilience; Emile Thompson, chairman of the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia; and Jahi Wise, senior advisor to the EPA administrator. The panelists discussed the economic opportunity and environmental benefits of federal resources dedicated to solar development and deployment.

Ensuring that all voices are included [in the clean energy transition] goes back to ensuring that all resources are available at the local level,” said Grey. “EEI’s member companies operate in every state. They have that in-depth knowledge of all these programs to be able to help every community begin clean energy projects.”