Paul Mahlberg | How Small Cities Manage Big Energy Needs

About this episode

The episode discusses how small cities manage their energy needs and the role of municipal utilities in Kansas.

In this episode of Power of the Network, Tim Drake sits in for host Tim Locker and is joined by Paul Mahlberg, General Manager of the Kansas Municipal Energy Agency (KMEA). The conversation explores how municipal utilities operate in Kansas, how KMEA supports small, city-owned electric systems, and how the energy landscape is changing amid rapid load growth, data centers, and AI-driven demand. Paul shares an inside look at KMEA’s unique project-based model, its expanding services arm through Mid-States Energy Works, and the challenges facing rural utilities as energy prices, transmission planning, and infrastructure demands evolve. The discussion also dives deep into Southwest Power Pool (SPP), data center impacts, transmission expansion, and Paul’s long career in public power leadership.

People in this episode

Host: Tim Drake

Guest: Paul Mahlberg

Topics covered

• municipal utilities
• energy management
• small cities
• data centers
• public power leadership
• transmission planning

Keywords

• energy needs
• municipal utilities
• Kansas
• load growth
• AI-driven demand
• transmission expansion
• rural utilities

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Kansas Municipal Energy Agency, Mid-States Energy Works, Southwest Power Pool

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