As Labor Day weekend came to a close, a sense of dread settled in at the home of Allison Clements, who was appointed to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2020.On the cusp of entering fifth grade, Clements' daughter was tasked with completing a homework assignment over the summer break. And of course, it wasn’t done.Upgrading the U.S. electric grid is akin to the nation's own summer homework, Clements said on Episode 16 of the Factor This! podcast. And Labor Day weekend has long since passed as an opportunity to complete catch-up work. Clements discussed record heat in the West, resiliency, and FERC’s effort to reform transmission planning and interconnection rules. Show notes: -Full article: FERC Commissioner Allison Clements on record heat, resiliency, and smart gridsSponsor: -This episode is sponsored by Nextracker, the industry’s most advanced smart solar tracking systems. Learn more about how Nextracker is ramping up domestic manufacturing capacity to 10 GW here. Factor This!  is produced by Renewable Energy World and Clarion Energy. Connect with John Engel, the host of Factor This!, on LinkedIn and Twitter.We're just a few weeks out from the GridTECH Connect Forum being held in Newport Rhode, Island Oct. 23-25. Register today using promo code PODCAST at checkout to save 20% off admission. Join host developer Nexamp, and host utilities National Grid and Rhode Island Energy, for this groundbreaking event hyper-focused on DER interconnection in the Northeast.  You've heard me talk a lot about the GridTECH Connect Forum - Northeast event being held in Newport, Rhode Island Oct. 23-25. Well, registration is now LIVE. We're excited to partner with the DOE to bring together DER developers, utilities, and regulators around the critical issue of interconnection in the Northeast. Click here to register today.  The Factor This!  podcast is growing! We're adding a weekly climate and clean energy news roundup episode to the feed, co-hosted by John Engel and cleantech PR veteran Mike Casey.  Beginning July 21, "This Week in Cleantech" will give you all of the top stories in 15 minutes or less, and feature a leading journalist or market analyst to share the juice behind the headlines. Email story ideas and topics to ThisWeekinCleantech@tigercomm.us.