DistribuTech draws leaders from across the utility industry, including professionals from electric, water, and other municipal utilities.
February 1, 2017
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The 2017 DistribuTech Conference broke record attendance with over 13,000 professionals from 77 nations to come together to discuss electric power transmission and distribution challenges, case studies, and opportunities. The conference draws leaders from across the utility industry, including professionals from electric, water, and other municipal utilities. A few years ago, the conference introduced “mega session”, or panels with common themes that stretch across multiple disciplines.
This year, DOE staff lead one of the six mega sessions – “Grid Modernization at the Convergence of Energy and Information.” DOE panelists included Christopher Irwin, Dan Ton, Eric Lightner, and Michael Pesin, the group focused on topics and challenges well understood by those familiar with DOE’s Grid Modernization Initiative, namely what are the new opportunities and challenges facing the grid in the twenty-first century. “The convergence of energy and information is a significant driver of grid modernization,” said Michael Pesin, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Advanced Grid Research and Development in DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. “Innovation and creativity will direct this change, and we look forward to working with our partners to foster a more resilient, a more reliable, and a more secure electric grid.”
The keynotes for this year’s event also recognized transformational change facing the industry today, both from technology advancement and by regulatory changes. Speakers Geoff Colvin (Fortune Magazine), Audrey Zibelman (New York Public Utility Commission), and Scott Drury (San Diego Gas & Electric) each highlighted rapid technology change and the need for new business models and approaches to meet the demands of a modern grid.
Multiple industry, utility, and academic GMI partners also presented, moderated, and attended the 2017 DistribuTech conference. Other DOE and the National Labs highlights include:
- Michael Pesin, DOE Deputy Assistant Secretary spoke on a panel “Smart Utilities Enabling Smart Cities”. This panel of utility leaders and consultants examined how electric utilities can position for future opportunities to develop smart cities and examine what is being done across the United States and the world today.
- Charlie Gay, Director of SunShot, spoke on the “Smart Cities and the Energy Transition” panel. This panel had leaders from the utility, federal government, and consultancy sector to explore ways in which utilities are working with cities towards the transition into smart cities.
- Joe Paladino, Senior Advisor for the Office of Electricity and Energy Reliability, spoke on the “Utility View on Future Grid Management System Requirements and Architecture” alongside GMLC partners EPRI, SGIP, and Southern California Edison.
- Rita Foster, a Strategic Infrastructure Security Strategic Advisor from Idaho National Laboratory, spoke on “Threat Sources, Susceptibility, and Mitigations for Electro-magnetic Pulse” on the Defending the Grid track.
- Brian M. Kelly, a Critical Infrastructure Research Scientist from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, was a panelist on the “CES21 Machine-to-Machine Automated Threat Response” panel, which focused on the California Energy Systems for the 21st Century (CES21) cooperative research and development program sponsored by the California Public Utility Commission. GMLC partners Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas and Electric, and EPRI participated on the panel as well.
- Murali Baggu, Manager from National Renewable Energy Laboratory, moderated a panel on “Testbed Efforts for Evaluating Advanced Distribution Management Systems (ADMS)”, which included staff from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, NREL, and GMLC partners Schneider Electric, GE, and OPAL-RT Corporation. This panel discussed ADMS testbed setup, results of use cases, and NREL’s Energy System Integration Facility (ESIF).
- Emma Stewart and Ciaran Roberts, both from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, spoke on the “Transformational Sensing and Measurement Analytics for Grid-edge Control” panel within the Data Analytics track alongside GMLC partners City of Riverside, Public Utility Commission and Pacific Gas and Electric Co.