Voices of Experience | Electrification & Equity

Roundtable discussion with utility industry leaders about the need for investment in infrastructure and the challenges of electrification.  Presenters:
David Treichler, Oncor
Christina Alston, Georgia Transmission Corporation

The discussion focuses on the need for more infrastructure investment for transportation electrification (fleets, personal vehicles, public transportation, air travel, locomotives) and for premise electrification (residential, commercial, industrial, government).

A roundtable discussion with utility industry leaders about resiliency.  Presenters:
Commissioner Maria Bocanegra, Illinois Commerce Commission
Mary Wiener, Holy Cross Energy

Discussion focuses on

• Utility resiliency
• Adapting to changing conditions
• Recovering rapidly from disruptions
• Cyberattacks or criminal incidents
• Accidents
• Naturally occurring threats
  or incidents
• System maintenance and inspections

A roundtable discussion with industry leaders about the benefits of electrification. Presenters:
Keith Dennis, NRECA
Christopher Budzynski, Exelon Utilities
 Michael Judge, MA-DPU

Electrification is the process of converting an energy-consuming device, system, or sector from non-electric sources of energy to electricity-in homes, buildings, industry, agriculture, and transportation.
Electrification can help us meet clean energy goals, lower overall energy costs, and optimize our existing infrastructure and resources. It is an emerging economy-wide decarbonization strategy that is gaining momentum and beginning to impact the electric power industry.
Electrification can

• Lower emissions and meets clean energy goals
• Lower costs and improves efficiency
• Increase grid flexibility

Portland General Electric partnered with the City of Beaverton to build a community resilience microgrid to support the Beaverton Public Safety Center and Police Department. PGE’s approach to partnering with the community to identify potential sites for microgrid projects may be a starting point for many other utilities exploring resiliency planning for major disasters. This discussion is led by Darren Murtaugh, Senior Manager of Grid Edge Solutions at Portland General Electric.

Dominion Energy has developed a set of operating rules for developers of microgrids to ensure safe interconnections to the distribution grid. These rules may be the foundation for future microgrid interconnection standards. This discussion is led by Mamadou Diong, Engineer III at Dominion Energy.

NCEMC has partnered with their cooperatives and members to execute win-win microgrid projects across the state of North Carolina, providing cost savings, sustainability and resiliency. These projects provide real-world examples of how utilities can turn successful pilots into full customer offerings. This discussion is led by John Lemire, Director of Grid Management at NCEMC.

PSE&G participated in the New Jersey Center DER initiative which funded several microgrid feasibility studies for community microgrids across New Jersey. Looking back at their involvement in the process, PSE&G will offer lessons learned and insights to their peers on the role of the utility in a multi-stakeholder process for microgrid development. This discussion is led by Ahmed Mousa, Manager of the Utility of the Future at PSE&G.

Duke Energy has developed several microgrid projects with contractors, engineers and third-party developers to increase resiliency and reliability in their service territory for their customers. They will share their experience on the roles and responsibilities during the procurement, contract execution and development of these microgrid projects. This discussion is led by Adam Nygaard, Business Development Manager – CHP, Microgrids & Energy Storage at Duke Energy.

Georgia Transmission Corporation is evaluating microgrid projects as a non-wires solution for transmission reliability and resiliency. However, true resiliency may require prime power solutions, such as fossil fuels. Christina Alston, Transmission Development Manager at Georgia Transmission Corporation will share methodologies for evaluating microgrid alternatives and the lessons learned around balancing the use of emerging technologies with being resilient.