Co‑hosts Nick Ferguson and Steve Cieslewicz sit down with Chris Vetromile, Wildfire Mitigation Manager at Austin Energy, to unpack how a municipal utility in Central Texas is building a modern wildfire program. Chris traces his career path from California to Texas, then walks through the region’s often‑overlooked wildfire risks and how they differ from the West Coast model. The conversation explores Austin Energy’s preparation for potential state requirements around utility wildfire mitigatio...
All content for The Utility Vegetation Management Podcast is the property of Steve Cieslewicz and Nick Ferguson and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Co‑hosts Nick Ferguson and Steve Cieslewicz sit down with Chris Vetromile, Wildfire Mitigation Manager at Austin Energy, to unpack how a municipal utility in Central Texas is building a modern wildfire program. Chris traces his career path from California to Texas, then walks through the region’s often‑overlooked wildfire risks and how they differ from the West Coast model. The conversation explores Austin Energy’s preparation for potential state requirements around utility wildfire mitigatio...
In this episode, Nick interviews Steve, to discuss his 2025 UVM report calling for a transformation in how utilities manage vegetation near power infrastructure. With over four decades of experience shaping industry standards and investigating some of the most significant failures in North American grid reliability—including the 2003 Northeast Blackout—Cieslewicz outlines why traditional, reactive vegetation management is no longer viable. He makes a powerful case for proactive, data-driven s...
The Utility Vegetation Management Podcast
Co‑hosts Nick Ferguson and Steve Cieslewicz sit down with Chris Vetromile, Wildfire Mitigation Manager at Austin Energy, to unpack how a municipal utility in Central Texas is building a modern wildfire program. Chris traces his career path from California to Texas, then walks through the region’s often‑overlooked wildfire risks and how they differ from the West Coast model. The conversation explores Austin Energy’s preparation for potential state requirements around utility wildfire mitigatio...
