Barry Smitherman is an attorney, consultant, private investor, author, and board member for not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. He is the only person to have served as Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Texas Railroad Commission. He probably has as much knowledge of the oil and gas and the electricity business as anyone in the U.S. He is now Chairman of the Texas Geothermal Energy Alliance. Barry authored the book,  If Jesus Were an Investment Banker (or Any Other Type of Modern Businessman): Leadership Principles from the Messiah and Personal Reflections of an Investment Banker Striving to Be a Christian.
In this interview, we discuss the Texas market for electricity-the ERCOT market-and changes to that market which are under review, the issues we faced with Winter Storm Uri in 2021, the staggering potential of geothermal energy in Texas, and much more.