Program At-a-Glance - IEEE PES Energy & Policy Forum

MONDAY, 14 APRIL

An additional fee will be required to participate on this day.

Registration | National Ballroom Foyer
8:00AM – 5:00PM

Tutorial: Electricity Policy and Utility Regulation 101 | National Ballroom A
10:00AM - 12:00PM

Instructors: Juliet Homer (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory), Jeremy Twitchell (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

This tutorial is designed for people who want to understand better the policy and regulatory landscape in the United States and how it influences investment and program decisions, utility cost recovery, and impacts to customers. The tutorial is designed for those who may understand different aspects of the electricity system but want to strengthen their knowledge of policy and regulation and how they can better tailor their work to be responsive to the needs of regulators, policymakers, and other electric system decision-makers. The tutorial will cover utility players, processes, and essentials of ratemaking and planning, as well as important federal entities and roles. It will describe why policy and regulatory topics matter for engineers and researchers. It will cover definitions and key terms and how engineers and researchers can tailor their work to inform real-world outcomes.

Lunch Break: attendees on their own
12:00PM – 1:00PM

Tutorial: Policy and Regulation Supporting Energy Storage | National Ballroom A
1:00PM - 3:00PM

Instructors: Will McNamara (Sandia National Laboratories), Jeremy Twitchell (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

This session builds on a foundational understanding of the power industry’s regulatory framework and delves into the unique challenges and opportunities surrounding energy storage. The discussion will cover how existing regulations shape the deployment, ownership, and financing of energy storage systems at both the federal and state levels, with a particular focus on decarbonization goals, market dynamics, and emerging federal policies.

Tutorial: The Three Ps of Electric Transmission: Planning, Paying, Permitting | National Ballroom A
3:00PM - 5:00PM

Instructors: Paige Rodrigues (Americans for a Clean Energy Grid)

This tutorial will provide a comprehensive understanding of the importance of electric transmission, how the grid operates, and the three key aspects of transmission: planning, paying, and permitting.

Track 1:
Distributed Energy Resources (DER), Load Flexibility – National Ballroom A

Track 2:
Generation – National Ballroom B

Track 3:
Transmission & Distribution – National Ballroom C

TUESDAY 15 APRIL

Registration | National Ballroom Foyer
7:00AM – 7:00PM

Welcome: Babu Chalamala, IEEE PES Vice President, Conferences & Meetings | National Ballroom
8:30AM – 8:45AM

Super Session: Powering Data Centers: Innovations in Technology and Policy | National Ballroom
8:45AM - 10:00AM

Moderator: Masood Parvania (University of Utah)

Speakers: Lane Dilg (Open AI), Paul Donohoo-Vallett – U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Policy, Natalie Mims Frick (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), Craig Litteken (The Permitting Council), Brian George (Google)

Coffee Break (provided with registration fee) | 1400 & Vista Terrace
10:00AM – 10:15AM

Super Session: The Electric Power Industry Workforce: Challenges and Opportunities | National Ballroom
10:15AM - 11:15AM

Moderator: Wayne Bishop (Quanta Technology)

Speakers: Chris Nichols (Renewables Forward), Josh Nieves (Miller Electric Company), Regina “Gina” Elbert (Dominion Energy)

Transition Break
11:15AM – 11:30AM

Super Session: Follow the Yellow Brick Technology Adoption Curve: Integrated Utility System Planning as Your Roadmap to Deployment | National Ballroom
11:30AM - 12:30PM

Moderator: Lisa Schwartz (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

Speakers: Jason Salmi Klotz (PGE), Carlo Brancucci (encoord), Lavelle Freeman (Eversource)

Lunch (provided with Registration fee) | 1400 & Vista Terrace
12:30PM – 1:30PM

Super Session: Policy and Technology Innovation for Grid Resilience | National Ballroom
1:30PM - 2:45PM

Moderator: Damir Novosel (Quanta Technology)

Speakers: Melanie Frye (WECC), Jim Robb (North American Electric Reliability Corporation), Thomas Pierpoint (NOVEC)

Coffee Break (provided with Registration fee) | National Ballroom Foyer
2:45PM – 3:15PM

Tracks
3:15PM – 4:30PM

Rate Design for Electrification and DERs

Moderator: Hayden Reeve

Speakers: Daniel Kirwin, Jessica Shipley, Tim Treadwell, Alex Antal
Room: National Ballroom B

From Sandcastles to Stone Castles: Using Regulatory Sandboxes to Scale Deployment of Innovative Grid Technologies

Moderator: Kerry Cheung

Speakers: Anne Keyworth, Grace Relf, James Riley Allen, Matthew McDonnell
Room: National Ballroom A

The Road Ahead: Overcoming Hurdles and Capitalizing on Opportunities in Transmission Planning to Power the Future

Moderator: Juliet Homer

Speakers: David Palchak, Dan Schwarting, Adria Brooks
Room: National Ballroom C

Tech Talk - How CICA's Global Applications Solve Transmission Challenges - Shemar USA | National Ballroom A
4:35PM - 4:55PM

Speakers: Eric Moal (Shemar USA), Marcos Fernandes (Shemar USA)

Break (provided with Registration fee)
4:55PM – 5:30PM

Technology and Utility Innovation Reception (Provided with Registration Fee) | 1400 & Vista Terrace
5:30PM – 7:30PM

WEDNESDAY 16 APRIL

Registration | National Ballroom Foyer
7:30AM – 5:00PM

Super Session: All-Hands On Deck: Unleashing American Energy Innovation | National Ballroom
8:30AM - 9:30AM

Moderator: Michael Pesin (U.S. Department of Energy)

Speakers: Elliott Nethercutt (Edison Electric Institute), Travis Fisher (Cato Institute), Josh Smith (Abundance Institute), Danielle Sass Byrnett (Center for Partnerships & Innovation), Karen Wayland (GridWise Alliance)

Coffee Break (provided with Registration fee) | National Ballroom Foyer
9:30AM – 9:45AM

Super Session: Supporting Congress on the Nation’s Evolving Electricity Grid: Perspectives from the U.S. Government Accountability Office | National Ballroom
9:45AM - 10:45AM

Moderator: Katherine Chambers (U.S. Government Accountability Office)

Speakers: Charlotte Hinkle (United States Government Accountability Office), Jarrod West (U.S. Government Accountability Office), Katrina Pekar-Carpenter (U.S. Government Accountability Office), Rebecca Parkhurst (U.S. Government Accountability Office), Sterling Thomas (United States Government Accountability Office)

Transition Break
10:45AM – 11:00AM

Super Session: AI Governance for Electric Grid Operations | National Ballroom
11:00AM - 12:00PM

Moderator: Avnaesh Jayantilal, (GE Vernova Electrification Software)

Speakers: Jo-Ann Clynch (Gartner), Henry Huang (Argonne National Lab), Sandeep Shah (AWS)

Lunch (provided with Registration fee) | 1400 & Vista Terrace
12:00PM – 1:00PM

Super Session: Policy Innovation for Advanced Nuclear Power | National Ballroom
1:00PM - 2:15PM

Moderator: Jack Spencer (The Heritage Foundation)

Speakers: David Terry (NASEO), Craig Piercy (American Nuclear Society), John Kotek (Nuclear Energy Institute), Andrew (Andy) Zach (U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Republicans)

Coffee Break (provided with Registration fee) | National Ballroom Foyer
2:15PM – 2:45PM

Tracks
2:45PM – 3:45PM

Supporting Regulatory and Policy Considerations of Emerging Grid-Edge Technology Through Analysis

Moderator: Bobby Jeffers

Speakers: Danielle Sass Byrnett, Kirsten Verclas, Paul Zummo, Jared Leader, Travis Carless
Room: National Ballroom A

Understanding Electricity Markets

Moderator: Lincoln Davies

Speakers: Todd Aagaard, Stephanie Lenhart, Liza Reed (Niskanen Center)

Room: National Ballroom C

Usage of Existing Interregional Transmission: Current State and Proposed Solutions to Operations-Related Inefficiencies

Moderator: Julie Kemp

Speakers: Jack Moore, Johannes Pfeifenberger, Leila Safavi
Room: National Ballroom B

Transition Break
3:45PM – 4:00PM

Tracks
4:00PM – 5:00PM

IEEE-USA: Advocacy and its Effects on Public Policy

Moderator: Ryan Cunius

Speakers: Veronika Rabl, Thomas Pierpoint
Room: National Ballroom A

Role of the Public in Energy Infrastructure Planning and Operations

Moderator: Jay Liu

Speakers: Hong Chen, Jason Burnett, Richard Sokolow, Elise Caplan
Room: National Ballroom C

Transmission Criticality to Grid Reliability in Latin America

Moderator: Guadalupe Gonzalez

Speakers: Diego Pardow, Luis Jesús Sánchez de Tembleque, Marcelino Madrigal
Room: National Ballroom B

THURSDAY 17 APRIL

Registration | National Ballroom Foyer
7:30AM – 3:30PM

Super Session: Technology and Policy Innovation for Reliable Transmission Network | National Ballroom
8:30AM - 9:45AM

Moderator: Adria Brooks (Grid Strategies)

Speakers: Branden Sudduth (WECC), Theodore Paradise (CTC Global), Matthew Gardner (Dominion Energy), Jeb Stenhouse (Invenergy), Valerie Teeter (FERC)

Coffee Break (provided with Registration fee) | National Ballroom Foyer
9:45AM – 10:00AM

Super Session: Demand Flexibility Demonstrations Deliver Flexible Loads in Buildings as Grid Services | National Ballroom
10:00AM - 11:00AM

Moderator: James Campbell (PacifiCorp)

Speakers: John Cordi (New York Power Authority), Sivakumar Sankaranarayanan (Electric Power Research Institute), Seth Hoedl, Guillermo Pereira (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

Transition Break
11:00AM – 11:15AM

Super Session: Economics of Advanced Conductors | National Ballroom
11:00AM - 12:00PM

Moderator: Kristina LaCommare (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

Speakers: Kerry Cheung (U.S. Department of Energy), Jake Gentle (Idaho National Laboratory), Jeffery Phillips (Tennessee Valley Authority), Robert Snook (Maine Governor’s Energy Office), Gregory Bennett (Southern Company)

Lunch (provided with Registration fee) | 1400 & Vista Terrace
12:00PM – 12:45PM

Super Session: Market Dynamics: Policy and Technology Landscape for LDES | National Ballroom
12:45PM - 1:45PM

Moderator: Will McNamara (Sandia National Laboratories)

Speakers: Todd Olinsky-Paul (Clean Energy States Alliance and Clean Energy Group), Huiyi Jackson (Edison Electric Institute), Farnaz Farzan (Quanta Technology)

Super Session: The Frontier of Energy Storage: Policy Challenges for Emerging Technologies and Use Cases | National Ballroom
1:45PM - 2:45PM

Moderator: Katherine Peretick (Michigan Public Service Commission)

Speakers: Jeremy Twitchell (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory), Ted Ko (Energy Policy Design Institute)

Coffee Break (provided with Registration fee) | National Ballroom Foyer
2:45PM – 3:00PM

Super Session: Enabling Grid Modernization through Enhanced Coordination across Transmission and Distribution Systems | National Ballroom
3:00PM - 3:45PM

Moderator: Monish Mukherjee (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

Speakers: Karan Patel (Energy Solutions and Clean Energy), Mads Almassalkhi (University of Vermont ), Shiva Poudel (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory), Mingguo Hong (ISO New England), Shaun Moran (Jacobs Solutions)

Awards, Prize Drawing and Closing Remarks (All invited) | National Ballroom
3:45PM – 4:00PM