Decoding DERMS: Options for the Future of DER Management

As Senior Director of Grid Strategy, Lakin manages a research portfolio focused on making the distribution grid – the backbone of the clean energy transition – flexible and resilient to better serve all customers affordably. With 18 years of energy industry experience, Lakin specializes in load flexibility, working closely with SEPA’s membership to identify key strategies and tactics for the cost-effective deployment of resources.

Lakin spent 9 years with The Cadmus Group, most recently as Principal of the Planning and Assessment team, where he managed a team of interdisciplinary consultants who specialized in demand-side management analyses for integrated resource planning for a wide range of utility, government, and non-governmental organization clients. Before Cadmus, Lakin was a Senior Planning Project Manager at the Energy Trust of Oregon.

Lakin has a BBA in International Business from the University of Georgia and an MS in Economics from Portland State University. He lives in Athens, Georgia, with his wife and two sons.

Paul Hines is Chief Scientist and VP, Power Systems at EnergyHub, where he leads the Data Science and Power Systems Intelligence (dataPSI) team. Paul joined EnergyHub in 2021 through the acquisition of Packetized Energy, a distributed energy software startup, where he was co-founder and CEO. From 2007-2021, Paul was a professor in electrical engineering at the University of Vermont. Formerly he worked in power systems engineering roles at the US National Energy Technology Laboratory, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Alstom ESCA, and Black and Veatch. Paul earned a Ph.D. in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University in 2007, and MS and BS degrees in Electrical Engineering, with a power systems focus, from the University of Washington and Seattle Pacific University.

Zach Pollock is Director of Grid Strategy & Emerging Technologies within Xcel Energy’s Integrated System Planning group. He is responsible for developing strategy for planning and integration of emerging technologies to help enable the grid of the future. Prior to this role, he led many of the Company’s regulatory initiatives related to integrated system planning for the electric distribution system and gas LDC system, DER integration, renewable energy planning, and other related policy issues. Prior to joining Xcel Energy, Mr. Pollock spent more than a decade in various energy consulting, product, and research roles advising utilities, regulators, technology vendors, and investment firms on topics including integrated distribution system planning, interconnection and integration of DERs, non-wires and non-pipes alternatives, and emerging energy technologies. He has authored several industry-leading reports as a former industry analyst and has been quoted in numerous publications.

Jay oversees the Virtual Power Plant Expansion and Development at APS. He has been part of APS for nine years, contributing to Technology Assessment and Advanced Grid Technology. Prior to his tenure at APS, Jay owned an electrical contracting and solar PV business and helped launch two start-ups in Phoenix.