Game Changers 2.0

Jan. 30 | Sustainable Electric Energy Design for Substations | Review the webinar on demand >

A discussion of a new sustainable electric energy design (SEED) concept for substations. Speakers will share how sustainable design and construction practices can turn your next substation into an asset that can help you gain public support for needed system improvements.

March 22 | 3-D Design

Utilities are facing a transmission and distribution building boom of historic proportions. Many are looking for technology, tools and processes that will improve efficiency, help control costs and realize new levels of quality on these projects. Webinar discussion will feature American Electric Power discussing how it did early investigation into 3-D technology, developed new 3-D standard cells and eventually designed (and built) a new, greenfield 138-kV substation using 3-D tools. Review the webinar on demand >

April 26 | Distributed Solar

With the utility industry buzzing over the Million Solar Roof initiative, many are asking about market responses in terms of programs and rates. Responses from customers and developers are of particular interest. Bob Woods, director of electric system planning for Southern California Edison, and Tom Salas, SCE's manager of construction, will describe the utility's plans to install large, intermediate and small-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) rooftop installations and how they will be connected to the grid. The discussion will include distribution system impacts and how SCE plans to control the distributed energy resources, or DER. Installation issues such as permitting, electrical, structural and architectural will be addressed. The presentation will also share the number of PV installations operating today, future projected installations and lessons learned to date. Review the webinar on demand >

May 16 | Thermal Measurements on Lines

The deadline for the second level of the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) facility rating is quickly approaching. At this webinar, you will learn from Burns & McDonnell transmission line engineers about the latest NERC response requirements, best industry practices, improvements for the second and third year of assessment, and other ideas to ensure compliance based on the second level of NERC response efforts. Review the webinar on demand >

May 30 | Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Electric and plug-in vehicles are no longer simply coming, they are here. Many major cities across the U.S. have been targeted as early launch cities for rolling out these vehicles to the public. This increased activity is calling into question the ability of the local utility infrastructure to meet the growing needs of these new mobile loads. Based in Washington, D.C., Pepco Holdings Inc. (PHI) is actively involved in addressing these questions in each of its jurisdictions. PHI is the parent company for Potomac Electric Power Company (Pepco), Delmarva Power and Atlantic City Electric and includes more than 1.8 million total customers located in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. This presentation will discuss PHI's approach to assessing the potential impacts of plug-in vehicles across its service territory as well as innovative solutions for integrating electric vehicle charging management into the company's plans for deploying Smart Grid technologies. Register now >

June | Grid Analytics

July | Smart Grid Communications

August | Enterprise Data Management

September | Standards and Interoperability

October | Marine Renewables

November | High-Voltage Direct Current

Jan. 30: Sustainable Electric Energy Design for Substations

Kenneth B. Bowes | Vice President, Energy Delivery Services, Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P), a subsidiary of the Northeast Utilities (NU)
Bowes is responsible for CL&P's distribution asset management, field services, capital construction groups, meter services, and meter assets and operations. He is also jointly responsible for the meter data management services project. He joined NU in 1984 and has held several engineering and management positions before joining the senior leadership team at CL&P in 2008 as vice president of customer operations. He has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of New Hampshire and a master's in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is the past chairman of the Edison Electric Institute's Transmission Committee.

James M. Hogan, PE | Vice President, Director of Engineering, Burns & McDonnell Transmission & Distribution Group
Hogan is a civil engineer specializing in civil/structural design for electrical substations and transmission lines and has overall responsibility for day-to-day operations of design engineering functions. In his 27 years with Burns & McDonnell, he has led project teams on some of the firm's largest and most complex projects for the largest utilities in North America. A licensed professional engineer in 12 states, Hogan graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering. In 1999, he earned his Master of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of Missouri.

March 22: 3-D Design

Jeff Fleeman | Director, Advanced Transmission Studies and Technologies, AEP
Fleeman leads the AEP department responsible for analytical studies and solutions in support of transmission planning, engineering and operations for transmission lines and T&D substations; HVDC/FACTs engineering; portfolio planning for asset renewal and replacement; and coordination of technology development activities for AEP Transmission. With AEP since 1981, he has also led departments responsible for transmission and substation asset management, substation projects engineering, and major equipment. Before AEP, Fleeman worked for the Ohio State University's Energy Management Division, and for National Electric Coil as a product design engineer. He has bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from Ohio State and is a registered professional engineer in Ohio, a senior member of IEEE and a member of CIGRE. He previously chaired Edison Electric Institute's Transmission Committee and currently is the utility chair of EPRI's Transmission & Substation Committee.

Ron Wellman | Station Design Standards Supervisor, American Electric Power (AEP)
Wellman joined AEP in 1988, designing subtransmission and distribution lines, then leading a team responsible for the oversight of outsourced station engineering and design projects. In his current role, he oversees the development of new standards and maintains current standards. He earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the West Virginia Institute of Technology. He is a registered professional engineer in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.

April 26: Distributed Solar

Tom Salas | Manager of Construction, Southern California Edison
Salas has been with Southern California Edison in a wide range of roles for 39 years. Currently, he is the manager of construction for the innovative Solar Photovoltaic Program. His career began as a communication engineering trainee on the initial general order building construction; he also spent 10 years in the program management organization, building new substations and managing the infrastructure replacement program. He has continually stepped out of the box to provide the best possible results. He worked for eight years at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station 2 and 3 startup organization, as well as eight yeaers in customer service planning and marketing. He is a graduate of the University of California-Los Angeles.

Bob Woods | Director of Electric System Planning, Southern California Edison
Woods, a Southern California Edison employee for 27 years, is responsible for planning the new transmission and distribution facilities needed to serve growing load, infrastructure replacement, and the interconnection of new load and generation for the 50,000 square miles that SCE serves. Prior to this position, he held division manager roles in grid operations and substation construction and maintenance. Throughout his career, he has held management positions in distribution design and distribution engineering. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from California State University, Long Beach.

May 16: Thermal Measurements on Lines

Jamey Bertram | Compliance Manager, Burns & McDonnell
Bertram, a senior-level civil and structural engineer in the Electric Transmission & Distribution Group at Burns & McDonnell, has more than a decade of experience in overhead transmission line design. He currently manages the overhead transmission line department of the Electric Transmission & Distribution Group. His experience encompasses all aspects of project engineering and management, including studies, consulting, design engineering, contract administration and business development. He is responsible for the master coordination of all overhead/underground transmission projects, including code compliance and NERC response effort support and management.

Chris Norquist | Project Manager, Burns & McDonnell
Norquist, a senior-level project manager in the Electric Transmission & Distribution Group at Burns & McDonnell, has nearly a decade of experience. He is responsible for project management and engineering support for the planning and design of high-voltage underground and overhead transmission lines. Currently, he is managing transmission design associated with the surveying, modeling and reporting on all of Duke Energy's existing transmission facilities over 100 kilovolts. Specific tasks include procurement and management of the LiDAR survey contract, covering approximately 12,000 circuit miles, and management of the PLS-CADD modeling, engineering analysis and reporting required for complying with the NERC guidelines. 

May 30: Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Robert S. Stewart | Manager, Advanced Technology and New Business, Pepco Holdings
Stewart leads the effort to develop and manage Pepco Holdings' approach to evaluating and deploying advanced technologies and concepts for application on the electric system. One of Stewart's responsibilities is the interface between the customer and the Smart Grid, including Pepco Holdings' home area network strategy and integration of electric vehicle chargers and renewable generation/intelligent management and control capabilities. He is also a co-chair of the company's Design Authority, an internal governance body for Smart Grid technology evaluation and standardization. He has a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering (biomedical) from the University of South Florida, a Master of Science in electrical engineering (power systems) and a Certificate of Process Mastery from Hammer and Co. He has presented university curriculum on the Smart Grid and is active on several Smart Grid industry panels and committees.