The Young Energy Professionals (YPE) is a national organization that facilitates advancements for young professionals in the energy industry through social, educational, and civic service oriented events. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, YPE has 40 chapters in cities around the world. On September 26, 2019 Ted Flanigan accepted an invitation by YPE-LA to interview California State Senator Henry Stern (D-DA 27th District) at a YPE Fireside Chat in Los Angeles. High above the Avenue of the Stars at a local law firm, Flanigan reached back into Stern’s Malibu upbringing, his college path from Harvard to Berkeley Law, then his work with the legendary California State Senator Fran Pavley. Flanigan drew out Stern’s insights on the climate emergency — he’d met Greta in New York the prior week — and the Aliso Canyon methane leak and its impact on the natural gas industry. Flanigan dug in with questions about his progressive microgrid bill that was signed into law in September 2018: SB 1339 requires that utilities develop microgrid tariffs and streamline interconnection procedures for microgrids, two key ingredients in providing investor certainty in the burgeoning microgrid field.