The Answers To Hit Your Carbon Reduction Goals

Aggregation of Customer-Sited Assets to Support The Grid & Customer's Goals

Presenter: Sangeeta Ranade, VP, Clean Energy Solutions, NYPA

NYPA is working to bring distributed resources such as solar, storage, and level 2 chargers to governmental and commercial customers across New York State. Sangeeta will share how NYPA's solution to aggregate government customer-sited assets helps to better support the grid and customer's goals.

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Change Imperative: An Economywide View of Decarbonizing the Electric Sector 

Presenter: Stephen Torres, Principal Manager, Climate Adaptation & Resilience Planning and Analytics, Southern California Edison

As other states adopt GHG reduction targets, electric utilities will need to understand how decarbonization in other sectors impact the electric sector, the impact of these new loads in hourly demand, and how to integrate higher level of renewables to meet states' GHG reduction goals. Stephen Torres will discuss how SCE utilized economy-wide GHG reduction pathways to support their role in decarbonizing the economy in California.

• Stephen Torres
  Principal Manager, Climate Adaptation & Resilience Planning and Analytics
  Southern California Edison
  Speaker

After the initial shock in March 2020, utilities faced significant, and urgent, internal challenges to maintain services for customers. Today, successful utilities have turned these challenges into opportunities and led with exceptional courage and compassion.

• Chris Schroeder
  Vice President, Strategic Solutions
  Smart Electric Power Alliance
  Moderator
• Jenell McKay
  Policy & Strategy Manager, Advanced Clean Technology
  San Diego Gas & Electric
  Speaker
• Josh Gould
  Director of Innovation
  Duquesne Light
  Speaker
• Rebecca Tolene
  Vice President, Environment
  Tennessee Valley Authority
  Speaker

How do you continue to develop pilots, programs, and other customer offerings, when in-person convenings are impossible? Dig into opportunities, lessons learned, and best practices from utilities who are setting the bar for virtual stakeholder engagement.

• Kate Strickland
  Manager, Industry Strategy
  Smart Electric Power Alliance
  Moderator
• Mary C Palmer
  Environmental Program Coordinator
  Austin Energy
  Speaker
• Rachel Huang
  Director, Energy Strategy, Research and Development
  SMUD
  Speaker
• Brian Schuster
  Director, Customer and Community Engagement
  National Grid
  Speaker

Growing DER adoption and electrification, coupled with an unprecedented number and magnitude of natural disasters have highlighted significant challenges to current distribution system capabilities and planning processes. Several state clean energy mandates and grid modernization processes have driven increased movement towards integrated distribution planning (IDP). Panelists will share their experiences in different phases of investigation and implementation and execution of IDP plans.

• Ben Ealey
  Principal, Grid Integration
  Smart Electric Power Alliance
  Moderator
• Lavelle Freeman
  Director of Distribution System Planning
  Eversource
  Speaker
• Susan Mora-Schrader
  Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives
  Exelon Utilities
  Speaker

DERs are rapidly changing the way the grid is managed. This session will investigate the impacts of growing DER adoption on overall utility performance both at the circuit level and in different applications from high-density feeders to rural circuits. Our panel of experts will discuss emerging regulatory and technological advances, including cluster studies, performance metrics, the proliferation of dispatchable smart inverters, and FERC Order 2222.

• Lee Hall
  Smart Grid Program Manager
  Bonneville Power Administration
  Moderator
• Anja Gilbert
  Principal, Integrated Grid Planning and Innovation
  PG&E
  Speaker
• Henry Yoshimura
  Director, Demand Resource Strategy
  ISO-NE
  Speaker

Maximizing participation in clean energy programs and initiatives is a group effort. This session will discuss how the emPOWER campaign became a scalable model for addressing the needs of low-to-moderate-income customers and improving access to environmental benefit programs in California.

• Ben Russak
  Director, Public Partnerships
  Liberty Hill Foundation
  Speaker
• Tom Knox
  Executive Director
  Valley Clean Air Now
  Speaker
• Michelle Nuttall
  Sr. Advisor, Energy Equity & Access Policy
  Southern California Edison
  Moderator

The State of Utility Low-Income Solar

Presenters: Jared Leader, Senior Manager, Research and Industry Strategy and Ravi Malhotra, Founder and President, ICAST

SEPA and ICAST will present recent research highlighting the latest utility and state actions on reducing utility costs for low-income communities through solar PV and discuss how solar PV and community solar programs can help with housing affordability for low-income populations. SEPA is a partner on ICAST's U.S. DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) supported initiative, Project Sunlight, which seeks to provide solar PV access to low-income customers and develop a cost-effective approach to scale these projects.

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Non-Wires Alternatives: A Look at Eversource’s Screening Framework

Presenter: Gerhard Walker, Principal Engineer, Eversource 

Gerhard Walker will share insights from Eversource's NWA Screening Framework that looks at a broad portfolio of NWA options, both from a technical and a financial standpoint.

• Gerhard Walker
  Principal Engineer
  Eversource
  Speaker
• Jared Leader
  Senior Manager, Research and Industry Strategy
  SEPA
  Speaker
• Ravi Malhotra
  Founder and President
  ICAST
  Speaker

Customers and external stakeholders are hungry for what comes next with a clean and modern grid. However, effectively managing that transition is a challenge for utility leadership and their teams. How can you set the table today by thoughtfully implementing carbon reduction and grid modernization plans that will ensure a sustainable and reliable system down the road? Start off your last day of Utility Conference with an appetite for solutions!

• Jolene Thompson
  President and Chief Executive Officer
  American Municipal Power, Inc.
  Speaker
• Luis A. Reyes
  Chief Executive Officer
  Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, Inc.
  Speaker
• Sharon Allan
  Chief Strategy Officer
  Smart Electric Power Alliance
  Moderator
• Mary Kipp
  President
  Puget Sound Energy
  Speaker

Municipalities and transit agencies across the country are rapidly adopting clean transportation goals. This session will cover strategic approaches to help these entities achieve their goals, including charging infrastructure and utilizing microgrids, energy storage, and grid energy services.

• Fabio Mantovani
  VP, e-Mobility
  New York Power Authority
  Speaker
• Garrett Fitzgerald
  Principal, Electrification
  Smart Electric Power Alliance
  Moderator
• Jordan Smith
  Consulting Engineer
  SCE
  Speaker
• Yamen Nanne
  Electric Transportation Program Manager
  LADWP
  Speaker
• Sejal Shah
  Senior Program Manager
  National Grid
  Speaker

For buyers small and large, purchasing clean energy isn’t one size fits all. Utilities can utilize renewable energy products as a bespoke option for meeting customers’ clean energy needs and goals. This session will compare different solutions from across the country.

• Chris Hansen
  VP, Origination and Renewables
  Tennessee Valley Authority
  Speaker
• Heather Mulligan
  Manager, Customer Clean Energy Products
  Puget Sound Energy
  Moderator
• Kevin Brannan
  Manager, DER Products and Services
  Evergy
  Speaker

Concerned about developing modern utility pricing solutions that accelerate carbon reduction efforts? This unique session will investigate recent efforts to renovate rate design to support carbon reduction efforts. Get ready to challenge your pre-existing assumptions!

• Lon Huber
  Vice President, Rate Design and Strategic Solutions
  Duke Energy Corporation
  Moderator
• Margot Everett
  Director, Energy, Sustainability and Infrastructure
  Guidehouse
  Speaker
• Nick Brown
  City Energy Manager
  City of Phoenix
  Speaker

Aggressive state and local carbon reduction goals have led to increased renewable generation and transmission assets, many of which need to be sited on land under the stewardship of proactive community leadership. How can utilities collaborate, and not compete, with these communities? This session will identify how PNM successfully transitioned to a culture of thoughtful, deliberate collaboration with 23 sovereign tribal nations across the state to partner for the effective stewardship of the environment to the benefit of all parties.

• Cathy Newby
  Director, Tribal Government and Customer Engagement
  Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM)
  Speaker
• Max Zuni
  Former Governor
  Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico
  Speaker