At the Crossroads: How Utility Telecommunications Networks Are Essential to the Grid Now, and the Future
(Room Ballroom AB)
19 Jun 19
11:30 AM
-
2:00 PM
Speaker(s):
Malia Hodges, VP and CIO, Oncor; Joao Torres, CEO, EDP Distribuição, SA, of Portugal; Kelly Speakes-Backman, CEO, Energy Storage Association; Tom Galloway, President & CEO, North American Transmission Forum; Matt Wakefield, Director, Information, Communication, and Cyber Security, EPRI; Aaron Smallwood, Vice President of Technical Services, Smart Electric Power Alliance; Sarah Magruder Lyle, President and CEO, Common Ground Alliance;
The utility industry is at a crossroads between the grid as we now know it and the future, which is right around the corner. In order to keep the lights on, and the gas and water flowing, utilities deploy miles of telecommunications networks providing them with situational awareness and a greater level of control over their infrastructure. These networks are integral to providing day-to-day reliability, emergency response and recovery, cybersecurity, and the distributed energy resources consumers and policymakers wish to see. The utility industry is in the midst of a great transformation, and the networks underpinning the delivery infrastructure is only going to grow in importance. What challenges do utilities and other energy providers face in this new era? How will utility telecommunications networks need to grow in order to support new technologies like energy storage? What kinds of safety concerns do utilities need to consider as demands on their infrastructure increase? What can we learn from our colleagues across the world? In this two-part session, UTC will convene a group of experts to discuss these and other challenges. We will first hear from Malia Hodges, CIO of our host utility Oncor, and Joao Torres, CEO of EDP Distribuição, SA, of Portugal, who will discuss the innovations his utility has deployed and share lessons learned. Following this, we will host a panel discussion featuring key officials from a broad swath of the energy sector and the regulators and stakeholders who will be charged with overseeing this transition.