“Distributed Energy Resources and the Grid of the Future”

Austin Electricity Conference The University of Texas at Austin AT&T Hotel and Conference Center Austin, Texas April 21 & 22, 2016

“Distributed Energy Resources and the Grid of the Future” The 2016 Austin Electricity Conference will explore the idea of states and nations as the electric industry is undergoing a transformation. Distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar panels, electric cars, and sophisticated energy management systems are changing the way electricity is produced, delivered and consumed in the United States. The trend is unmistakable, and is being pushed along by policy in places like New York and California. At the same time, some of the impetus for decentralization is coming from the ground up, from technological advancements that have sharply reduced the cost of solar panels to the proliferation of smart meters in homes and businesses. These trends pose a series of difficult policy problems for the existing electric grid. How can we design for the robust electric system of the future, one that ensures technological innovation, resilience and diversity? Is renewable generation best deployed on rooftops, or at utility scale? How does a distribution grid designed to deliver energy in one direction, from the central station to the customer, handle the delivery of energy from distributed rooftop solar and electric car batteries back to the grid? How should distributed generators be compensated for the power they provide? How should they pay for access to the backup power on the grid? Where, if anywhere, does planning occur in this system? Is planning necessary? If so, who should do it? These are the themes we will explore at the 2016 Austin Electricity Conference.

Thursday, April 21 Conference Schedule *All events are in Classroom 105 unless otherwise noted

8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Outside of Classroom 105

Registration and Breakfast

9:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.

Introduction and Conference Overview David Spence, The University of Texas at Austin

9:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Panel 1: “Does Decentralization Make Sense?” Moderator: Dr. Ross Baldick, The University of Texas at Austin Panelists: Dan Seif, The Butler Firm, PLLC Amy Stein, The University of Florida Paul Wattles, Electric Reliability Council of Texas Elizabeth Wilson, The University of Minnesota

*Coffee break 10:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Outside of Classroom 105

12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. Classroom 103

Lunch with Keynote Speaker: Dr. Michael Webber, The University of Texas at Austin

1:45 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

Panel 2: “The Electricity Business Models of the Future” Moderator: Dr. Varun Rai, The University of Texas at Austin Panelists: Inês Azevedo, Carnegie Mellon University Sanya Carley, Indiana University Dan Halperin, Pacific Gas and Electric Michael Wara, Stanford University

*Coffee break 2:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Outside of Classroom 105

4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Will convene on the Amphitheater Patio

Reception

Friday, April 22 Conference Schedule *All events are in Classroom 105 unless otherwise noted

8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Outside of Classroom 105

Breakfast

9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Panel 3: “Who Designs the Grid of the Future?” Moderator: Dr. David Spence The University of Texas at Austin Panelists: Rao Konidena, MISO Energy Jeremy Lin, PJM Interconnection Hari Osofsky, University of Minnesota Frank Wolak, Stanford University

*Coffee break 10:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Outside of Classroom 105

11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Classroom 103

Lunch with Keynote Speaker Zin Smati, LS Power and LifeEnergy

1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Panel 4: “Evolution of the Grid in Latin America” Moderator: Dr. David Adelman, The University of Texas at Austin Panelists: Erika Benson, Benson International Group, LLC José María Lujambio, Cacheaux, Cavazos & Newton, L.L.P Peter Nance, ICF Consulting Alejandro Ibarra-Yúnez, Tecnológico de Monterrey

*Coffee break 2:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. Outside of Classroom 105

3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Wrap Up Time David Spence, The University of Texas at Austin

Keynote Speaker Thursday, April 21,2016 12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

Dr. Michael Webber The University of Texas at Austin As Deputy Director of the Energy Institute, Co-Director of the Clean Energy Incubator, Josey Centennial Fellow in Energy Resources, and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Dr. Michael E. Webber trains the next generation of energy leaders at The University of Texas at Austin through research and education at the convergence of engineering, policy, and commercialization. He was selected as a Fellow of ASME, has authored more than 200 publications, holds 4 patents, and serves on the advisory board for Scientific American. His television special Energy at the Movies is currently in national syndication on PBS stations, and his massive open online course (MOOC) “Energy 101” launched globally in September 2013 to over 44,000 students. Webber holds a B.S. and B.A. from UT Austin, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford. He was honored as an American Fellow of the German Marshall Fund, an AT&T Industrial Ecology Fellow, and on four separate occasions by the University of Texas at Austin for exceptional teaching.

Keynote Speaker Friday, April 22,2016 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Zin Smati Senior Advisor, LS Power Chairman & CEO, LifeEnergy Mr. Smati is a senior executive and industry leader bringing more than 30 years of North American and international experience in the energy sector. He is currently a Senior Advisor at LS Power (developer, owner, operator and investor in power generation and electric transmission infrastructure in the U.S.) and also Chairman and CEO of LifeEnergy, a North American Distributed Energy Company and an affiliate of LS Power Private Equity fund. Until December 31, 2015 and for 10 years, Mr. Smati was President and CEO of GDF SUEZ Energy NA, a North American company and part of ENGIE, one of the world’s leading energy groups. Mr. Smati joined GDF SUEZ Energy NA in 2001 as its Executive Vice-President of Strategy and M&A and became President and CEO of GDF SUEZ Energy Resources NA in 2002. In 2006, he was appointed President and CEO of all energy activities of GDF SUEZ in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It included 14,000 MW of power generation, 2 LNG terminals, 6 gas distribution companies, 3 pipelines, a trading and marketing business and the 3rd largest electricity retail company in the US. Prior to that, Mr. Smati held various executive positions in a number of energy companies in the U.S. and the U.K., including President and CEO of BP Global Power, overseeing all power generation developments worldwide. Mr. Smati is an incoming Board director of a global engineering and infrastructure listed company and a board member of the University of Houston’s Bauer College of Business. He is a former Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA) and a former member of the National Petroleum Council, an industry advisory body to the U.S. Secretary of Energy. Mr. Smati holds a Ph.D. from Brunel University, England, a Master of Business Administration from Henley Management College, England, and a Bachelor of Engineering from Sheffield University, England. He lives with his family in Houston, Texas.

Panel 1: “Does Decentralization Make Sense?” Why does it make sense to move toward increasing reliance on distributed energy resources? Does it make sense from a cost and cost allocation perspective? From a technological and infrastructure perspective? What are the technical implications for the distribution grid of increasing reliance on distributed energy resources? What is driving decentralization? Is it policy? Is it technological advances?

Dr. Ross Baldick Moderator The University of Texas at Austin

Dan Seif Panelist The Butler Firm, PLLC

Amy Stein Panelist The University of Florida

Paul Wattles Panelist Electric Reliability Council of Texas

Elizabeth Wilson Panelist The University of Minnesota

Panel 2: “The Electricity Business Models of the Future” What are the economic and business opportunities associated with decentralization? What are the business models that are promoting development of rooftop solar and other distributed generation, or demand response? What policies and market constructs are leading to the emergence of such models? What companies are pursuing these innovative approaches?

Dr. Varun Rai Moderator The University of Texas at Austin

Inês Azevedo Panelist Carnegie Mellon University

Sanya Carley Panelist Indiana University

Dan Halperin Panelist Pacific Gas and Electric

Michael Wara Panelist Stanford University

Panel 3: “Who Designs the Grid of the Future?” Where, if anywhere, does planning occur in an increasingly distributed system? Should it occur at the Regional Transmission Organizations level? The state level? Should it happen organically from the ground up? Which parts of the distributed infrastructures are amenable to bottom-up emergence, and which parts need coordination and planning from above? What legal and policy institutions do we need to move efficiently toward the grid of the future?

Dr. David Spence Moderator The University of Texas at Austin

Rao Konidena Panelist MISO Energy

Hari Osofsky Panelist University of Minnesota

Jeremy Lin Panelist PJM Interconnection

Frank Wolak Panelist Stanford University

Panel 4: “Evolution of the Grid in Latin America” How are renewables and distributed energy resources changing the electric systems of Latin America? We will hear from experts about the opportunities in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America.

David Adelman Moderator The University of Texas at Austin

Erika Benson Panelist Benson International Group, LLC

Alejandro Ibarra-Yúnez Panelist Tecnológico de Monterrey

José María Lujambio Panelist Cacheaux, Cavazos & Newton, L.L.P

Peter Nance Panelist ICF Consulting

Participant List

David Adelman Parviz Adib Kenneth W. Anderson Tom Anson Inês Azevedo Ross Baldick Fred Beach Erika Benson Chad Blevins Seth Blumsack William Boyd Ashley Brown R. Scott Brown James Bushnell John Butler Michael Caramanis Sanya Carley Ann Carlson Andres Carvallo Antonio J. Conejo Lincoln Davies John Dumas Roger Duncan Jim Dyer Thomas F. Edgar Joel Eisen Frank Felder Marilyn Fox Talat Genc Michael Gregerson Gürcan Gülen

Dan Halperin Emily Hammond Ian Hamos Charlie Hemmeline

Monty Humble Alejandro Ibarra-Yúnez Sharon Jacobs Liz Jones Lynne Keisling Carey W. King Robert (Bob) King Alexandra Klass Becky Klein Rao Konidena Carl Lenox Jeremy Lin Stephen Littlechild Gus Lott Melissa Lott José María Lujambio David Maggio Laura Manz Frank McCamant Colin Meehan Robert Michaels Rob Minter Felix Mormann Peter Muhoro Bill Muston Peter Nance Sarma Nuthalapati Philip O’Connor Sheila Olmstead Shmuel Oren Hari Osofsky Francis O’Sullivan Uma Outka Dustin Owens Dalia Patiño-Echeverri

Brett A. Perlman Jane S. Peters Jorge Piñon Jonathan Pinzon John Pitts Steve Puller Varun Rai Joshua Rhodes Mark Rose Jim Rossi Dan Seif Zin Smati Raiford Smith Paul Smolen David Spence Amy Stein Caleb Stephenson Ingmar Sterzing Melinda Taylor Sheridan Titman James Tong Jess Totten Chen-Hao Tsai Brian Tulloh Michael Wara Paul Wattles Michael Webber Elizabeth J. Wilson Henry Wischmeyer Frank Wolak Taylor Woodruff Jay Zarnikau Carl Zichella

Participant Biographies David Adelman David E. Adelman teaches and writes in the areas of environmental law, intellectual property law, and climate change policy. Professor Adelman’s research focuses on the many interfaces between law and science. Professor Adelman clerked for the Honorable Samuel Conti of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Before entering academia, he was an associate with the law firm Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C., where he litigated patent disputes and provided counsel on environmental regulatory matters, and a Senior Attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council also in Washington, D.C. Professor Adelman was an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Arizona Rogers College of Law from 2001 to 2009. Parviz Adib Dr. Parviz Adib is the Founder of Pionergy consulting firm, who is currently working on the development of value added services to meet retail electricity consumers’ needs and preferences. He has about 35 years of experience with energy markets including 21 years with the Public Utility Commission of Texas where he, as the Director of the Market Oversight Division (“MOD Squad”), performed the duties of the first ERCOT Market Monitor between 2000 and 2006. He has recently assisted the government of Mexico to open its wholesale competitive electricity market and implement market monitoring and surveillance functions. Dr. Adib has a Ph.D. in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin where he taught graduate and undergraduate courses. Kenneth W. Anderson Ken Anderson has served on the Public Utility Commission of Texas since September 2008. He received his bachelor’s degree in international affairs from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and a law degree from Southern Methodist University.

Tom Anson Tom Anson is a partner at the law firm of Strasburger & Price, LLC. His energy and utility law practice spans over three decades, including regulatory, contract, financial, administrative, and litigation matters for the electricity and pipeline industries. Tom is also very active in, and serves on the Board of Directors of, the Gulf Coast Power Association, an industry education and networking organization. Tom has a Bachelor of Science from Oklahoma State University, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law.

Inês Azevedo Inês M. Lima Azevedo is Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. She is co-PI and the coDirector for the Climate and Energy Decision Making Center. She has a B.Sc. in Environmental Engineering (2004) and a MSc in Engineering Policy and Management of Technology from IST-Portugal, and a PhD in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University (2009). Dr. Azevedo’s research interests lie at the intersection of behavioral and decision making, environmental, technical and economic issues, such as how to address the challenge of climate change and to move towards a more sustainable energy system. She addresses complex problems in which traditional engineering plays an important role. Ross Baldick Ross Baldick is Professor and Leland Barclay Fellow in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He has undergraduate degrees from the University of Sydney, Australia, and graduate degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. His current research involves optimization, economic theory, and statistical analysis applied to electric power systems, particularly in the context of increased renewables and transmission. Dr. Baldick is a Fellow of the IEEE and the recipient of the 2015 IEEE PES Outstanding Power Engineering Educator Award. Fred Beach Dr. Beach is the Associate Director for Energy & Technology Policy at the Energy Institute. He is responsible for supervising and conducting research and studies related to the interplay between the development of Energy Policy, Environmental Policy, and Technology Policy. Dr. Beach also teaches Energy Technology Policy and International Energy Policy in the Cockrell School of Engineering and McCombs Business School. Prior to joining The University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Beach served for twenty-five years in the United States Navy where he was a qualified Submariner, Naval Aviator, Surface Warfare Officer, and Acquisition Professional. Since retiring in 2003 he has also served as a consultant on defense-related topics.

Erika Benson Erika D. Benson assists clients with developing, strategizing and managing renewable energy transactions, primarily utility-scale solar projects, and providing policy and regulatory advice to generation and transmission project developers in emerging and expanding electricity markets. Prior to Erika’s time with the Benson International Group, she spent several years as a partner and shareholder with top international law firms in Washington DC and Austin, Texas. She was also with the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C., as a Senior Advisor for the Americas in the Office of Policy and International Affairs. She took this expertise and now represents clients interfacing with U.S. and multi-lateral financial institutions or foreign governments for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) or other structures for energy project development.

Chad Blevins Chad serves as the lead ERCOT market analyst for the Butler Firm, where he provides regulatory support to many of the world’s most successful solar development companies. Chad has experience building financial models for more than a billion dollars worth of PV projects, is an Air Force trained GIS specialist, is Co-Founder and CFO of Smart Power Maps, and he is Chairman of the ERCOT Emerging Technologies Working Group. He has worked at a 35,000 acre coal mine, the Energy Resources Division of the General Land Office, a vertically-integrated grid-scale battery storage company, and at the Austin Technology Incubator. Chad is an Air Force Honors Graduate and Distinguished Graduate, and is a Summa Cum Laude alumnus of Saint Edward’s University. Seth Blumsack Seth Blumsack is Associate Professor of Energy Policy and Economics in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University and Chair of the Energy Business and Finance program. He earned a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from Reed College in 1998, an M.S. in Economics from Carnegie Mellon in 2003, and a Ph.D. in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon in 2006. Prior to returning to academia, Dr. Blumsack worked for Economic Insight, Inc., in Portland, Oregon, where he served as a consultant and contributing editor for the Energy Market Report, a daily newsletter covering wholesale electricity and natural gas markets in North America. William Boyd William Boyd is an associate professor of law at the University of Colorado Law School and a fellow of the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute. He holds a JD from Stanford Law School and a PhD from the Energy & Resources Group at UC-Berkeley. Prior to joining Colorado Law he practiced energy and environmental law at Covington & Burling in Washington DC and served as counsel to the Democratic minority staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. At Colorado law, he teaches energy law & regulation, climate change law & policy, and environmental law. His current research addresses how conceptions and practices of public utility regulation are changing in the face of growing decarbonization imperatives. Ashley Brown Ashley Brown is the Executive Director of the Harvard Electricity Policy Group (HEPG), a program of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School. HEPG provides a forum for the discussion and analysis of electricity issues in the U.S. Mr. Brown is of counsel to the law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP. Mr. Brown has specialized in litigation in federal and state courts and before administrative bodies. He has taught in public schools and universities, frequently lectures at universities and conferences world-wide, and publishes articles on subjects of interest to electricity sectors.

R. Scott Brown R. Scott Brown is the Vice President of Exelon’s Market Initiatives & Analysis. Brown leads a group responsible for analysis of key Federal, state, retail and wholesale energy policy issues, support of significant state and market initiatives and serves as a resource on energy business efforts and emerging commercial matters. His group’s mission is to support key initiatives and policies to enable Government and Regulatory Affairs and other Exelon business unit clients to successfully deliver value and public policy leadership within the energy industry.

James Bushnell James Bushnell is a Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of California, Davis, and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. Prior to joining UC Davis, he spent 15 years as the Research Director of the University of California Energy Institute in Berkeley, and two years as the Cargill Chair in Energy Economics at Iowa State University. Prof. Bushnell has been actively involved in energy and environmental policy for over a decade. Since 2002, he has served as a member of the Market Surveillance Committee (MSC) of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO). He has also advised the California Air Resources Board in several capacities, including as a member of the Economic Analysis and Allocation Committee. Michael Caramanis Michael Caramanis (BS, Stanford 1971, MS/PhD Harvard 1972/1976) is Professor of Systems and Mech. Eng. at Boston University (1982-pres.), chaired the Greek Reg. Authority for Energy and the International Energy Charter’s Investment Group (2014-2008), and was active in power market implementations in England and Italy. His recent application domain focus is Marginal Costing and Dynamic Pricing on smart Power grids, grid topology control for congestion mitigation, and power market reform to include distribution connected loads, generation, and resources. He is co-author of Spot Pricing of Electricity, Kluwer, 1987, and 100+ refereed publications. His disciplinary background is in Mathematical Economics, Optimization, and Stochastic Dynamic Decision Making. Sanya Carley Sanya Carley is an Associate Professor at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, where she also serves as a research member of the Richard G. Lugar Center for Renewable Energy and of the Ostrom Workshop. She conducts research on topics related to energy policy and economics that are at the forefront of modern energy debates. Her research focuses on the effects, effectiveness, and unintended consequences of electricity and transportation policy; the pursuit of sustainability within the U.S. energy sector; energy-based economic development; and public perceptions of emerging energy technologies such as electric vehicles. She received a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2010.

Ann Carlson Ann Carlson is the Shirley Shapiro Professor of Environmental Law, and the inaugural Faculty Director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the UCLA School of Law. She is also on the faculty of the UCLA Institute of the Environment. Professor Carlson is one of the country’s top scholars of climate change law and policy. She is co-author (with Daniel Farber) of a leading casebook, Environmental Law, Cases and Materials. Her forthcoming work (with William Boyd) examines the role of rate design and federalism in promoting clean energy innovation. She leads the PUC Energy Collaborative and is co-principal Investigator of a Sloan-funded study on durability and flexibly in long term energy policy. Andres Carvallo Mr. Andres Carvallo is the founder and CEO of CMG, Board Director at SGIP, Board Director at UTC’s Smart Networks Council, Board Director at Gridmates, Board Advisor to Smart Grid Summits, Board Advisor to Energy Thought Summit and Zpryme, and Advisor to several institutions and companies. Mr. Carvallo is an award winning engineer, speaker, author, and executive with 28 years of experience in the Energy, Telecommunications, Computer and Software industries. Mr. Carvallo is globally recognized by the IEEE as one of the early developers of the smart grid concept and technology. Mr. Carvallo defined the term Smart Grid on March 5, 2004. Mr. Carvallo co-authored the bestselling book “The Advanced Smart Grid”, he has received 34 industry awards since 2005. Antonio J. Conejo Antonio J. Conejo is a professor at Ohio State University. He received his B.S from Univ. P. Comillas, Spain, his M.S. from MIT, and his Ph.D. from the Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. He has published over 165 papers in SCI journals and is the author or coauthor of books published by Springer, John Wiley, McGrawHill and CRC. He has been the principal investigator of many research projects financed by public agencies and the power industry and has supervised 19 PhD theses. He is an IEEE Fellow.

Lincoln Davies Lincoln Davies is the James I. Farr Professor of Law, Presidential Scholar, and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law. Professor Davies is co-author of one of the leading energy law casebooks, Energy Law and Policy. He has written extensively on energy law and policy, and in particular on renewables, nuclear power, and technology innovation. His articles have appeared in the University of Illinois Law Review, Connecticut Law Review, Maryland Law Review, BYU Law Review, and Energy Policy, among others. His recent articles include Fukushima’s Shadow, U.S. Renewable Energy Policy in Context, and Feed-in Tariffs in Turmoil (with Kirsten Allen). His scholarship is available at http://ssrn.com/author=195508.

John Dumas John Dumas is currently the Vice President of Market Operations for the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) where he is responsible for QSE operations. Mr. Dumas has 29 years of experience in the management of electricity grids and wholesale energy market operations. Prior to LCRA, Mr. Dumas was the Director of Wholesale Market Operations at ERCOT where he led the transition from the Zonal market to the Nodal Market. He was responsible for all Day-Ahead, RealTime and Congestion Revenue Rights market activities at ERCOT. Prior to this position, Mr. Dumas served as the Manager of Operations Planning at ERCOT where he was responsible for wind integration, advanced network applications, load and wind forecasting. Roger Duncan Roger Duncan is a research fellow at the Energy Institute. He is the former General Manager of Austin Energy. Prior to that position, Roger served in various manager roles for Austin Energy and the City of Austin, with management over government relations, water and air quality, sustainability and various environmental initiatives. He was twice elected to the Austin City Council. Roger serves on the Board of Directors of the Alliance to Save Energy, the Board of Trustees of the American Solar Energy Society, and is President of the Pecan Street Project, an Austin smart grid initiative. Jim Dyer James S. Dyer is the Fondren Centennial Chair in Business at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Dyer teaches courses on decision and risk analysis, decisionmaking with multiple objectives, and management science in the M.B.A. and Ph.D. programs at The University of Texas at Austin. He also teaches in the Master of Science program in Commercialization of Technology. More recently, he was cochair of a seminar jointly sponsored by The University of Texas and Schlumberger on applications of decision and risk analysis in the oil industry. Thomas F. Edgar Dr. Edgar holds the George T. and Gladys H. Abell Chair in Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin and is Director of the UT Energy Institute. He received his B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Kansas and Ph.D. from Princeton University. Dr. Edgar’s current energy research covers renewable energy, combined heat and power, energy storage, and improved oil recovery (http:// utw10249.utweb.utexas.edu/edgar_group/) with over 500 publications. His group develops modeling, control, and optimization tools to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon footprint. He has received major awards from AIChE and ASEE and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Joel Eisen Professor Joel Eisen teaches and writes in the areas of energy law and environmental law. He is a co-author of the leading law and business school textbook on energy law, Energy, Economics and the Environment: Cases and Materials, and numerous books, book chapters, treatises, and law review articles on electric utility regulation, renewable energy, and the Smart Grid. Professor Eisen’s scholarship has appeared in law journals at Harvard, UCLA, Duke, Notre Dame, Fordham, Illinois, Wake Forest, and William and Mary Law Schools, among other venues. He was awarded the University of Richmond’s Distinguished Educator Award in 2010, and his article “Residential Renewable Energy: By Whom?” was voted one of the four top environmental articles of 2011. Frank Felder Frank Felder, PhD, is an expert on the modeling of electric power systems. He is the Director of the Center for Energy, Economic and Environmental Policy and member of the faculty at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University. His primary research area is the reliability and efficiency of restructured electric power systems. Frank holds a PhD in Technology, Management, and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where his research focused on the economics and reliability of restructured electric power systems. He has both a BA and BS in Applied Mathematics from Columbia College and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Columbia University. He served as a nuclear power system engineer and as a submarine officer in the United States Navy. Marilyn Fox Marilyn is a professional accountant, specializing in rate regulation, financial analysis and policy issues. She has served as an expert witness for regulatory accounting and affiliated transactions issues in local and state proceedings. Marilyn is a co-founder and the President of Fox, Smolen & Associates, Inc. (FSA), founded in 2001. FSA sold its electricity brokerage business to NRG SimplySmart Solution, LLC. She served as a Director for SimplySmart from September 14, 2014 through October 23, 2015 to assist with the transition. Talat Genc Talat Genc is an Associate Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics of the College of Business and Economics at the University of Guelph in Canada. Genc completed his Masters in Industrial Engineering and PhD in Economics at the University of Arizona. He specializes in Industrial Organization, and Energy and Environmental Economics. His current research interests concern renewable energy generation and investment, market power and optimal bidding in wholesale electricity auctions, capacity investments in energy markets, resource allocations under indivisibilities, and equilibrium characterizations and computations under uncertainty in large-scale oligopolies. He teaches graduate and undergraduate Industrial Organization and Economics of Regulation.

Michael Gregerson Mike Gregerson has over 40 years of management, executive and consulting experience in the electric utility arena including environmental and regulatory affairs, customer service and energy policy negotiations. As an energy policy consultant, Mike has worked to advance clean energy initiatives and electric transmission with the Great Plains Institute and the Midwestern Governors Association. As VP of Customer Care for Xcel Energy, he managed customer service for 3 million electric and gas customers and also led company efforts to deal with acid rain, hazardous waste disposal, power plant and high voltage transmission line impact issues. Gregerson holds a BS degree in engineering and Master of Public Health degree from the University of Minnesota. Gürcan Gülen Gürcan Gülen is Senior Energy Economist at Bureau of Economic Geology’s Center for Energy Economics, UT-Austin, where he investigates energy value chain economics and commercial frameworks. He worked internationally on the economics, policy and regulation of resource development and delivery, and power market design. Most recently, he has been working on U.S. shale resource assessment; natural gas demand; and UTEI’s Full Cost of Electricity study. He served in the U.S. Association for Energy Economics in various positions and was the editor of USAEE Dialogue for several years. He is a USAEE Senior Fellow. He received a Ph.D. in Economics from Boston College and a B.A. in Economics from Bosphorus University in Istanbul, Turkey. Dan Halperin Dan joined PG&E in May 2013 as Director of Distributed Generation (DG). In this role, Dan is responsible for PG&E’s DG program offerings, customer experience initiatives and policy objectives for customers interested in adopting solar and other renewable technologies. Prior to joining PG&E, Dan spent six years in the solar industry with leadership roles in project development and finance at HelioPower, Solyndra and MMA/Fotowatio RV. Dan began his energy career at Entergy in corporate development and also worked at PG&E in regulatory and finance. He has an MBA from Duke University and a law degree from the University of Western Australia. Emily Hammond Emily Hammond is a nationally recognized expert in energy law, environmental law, and administrative law. A former environmental engineer, she brings technical fluency to cutting-edge issues at the intersection of law, science, and policy. Her articles have appeared in numerous top-ranked journals, including the Columbia Law Review, the Duke Law Journal, the Michigan Law Review, and the Vanderbilt Law Review. She is a co-author of one of the nation’s leading energy law texts, Energy, Economics and the Environment, and the environmental law text Environmental Protection: Law and Policy, in addition to numerous book chapters and shorter works. An elected member of the ALI, she is also chair-elect of the AALS Administrative Law Section.

Ian Hamos Ian Hamos is the Chief of Staff for Renewable Power in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. In this role, he helps manage the Department’s Solar, Wind, Water, and Geothermal Energy Technology research and development investments to accelerate progress towards a clean energy economy. Since joining EERE in 2013, he has also worked on legislative issues and strategic planning. Prior to his time in EERE, Mr. Hamos served in a variety of other offices across the Department, including the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer. Charlie Hemmeline Charlie Hemmeline is the Executive Director of the Texas Solar Power Association. A native Texan, he returned to Austin in 2011 after more than eight years with the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, DC leading innovative programs for solar and energy efficiency. Serving originally under President George W. Bush and later President Obama, Charlie led wide-ranging efforts to break down the barriers to mainstream solar and reduce the soft costs of implementation. He holds a master’s degree in Public Service & Administration and a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering, both from Texas A&M University. Monty Humble Monty Humble is currently a managing member of Brightman Energy LLC, a developer of renewable energy projects, and is also an adjunct professor at The University of Texas School of Law, teaching courses on federal energy policy and energy project development. Previously, he served as senior vice president for a renewable energy company owned by Boone Pickens, and led the renewable policy portion of the Pickens Plan, and before that, Mr. Humble was a partner at Vinson & Elkins for over 20 years where he headed the firm’s public policy group.

Alejandro Ibarra-Yúnez Alejandro Ibarra-Yunez is a professor of economics and public policy at the EGADE Business School, Tecnológico de Monterrey. He has been a guest professor at The University of Texas at Austin during the summers since 2000. During 2011-2012 Ibarra directed a project on bi-national electricity integration and trade between Mexico and the United Stated. At the Tecnológico he has developed his career for 37 years as a researcher and consultant. He has written 11 books and more than 50 journal articles.

Sharon Jacobs Sharon Jacobs joined the University of Colorado Law School faculty in 2014 as an Associate Professor. Professor Jacobs graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2009. After graduation, she practiced in the energy and environmental regulatory groups at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington, D.C. Most recently, Professor Jacobs spent two years as a Climenko Fellow at Harvard Law School. Professor Jacobs’ teaching and research focus on issues at the intersection of energy, environmental and administrative law. Her most recent article, Consumer Generation, explores the rise of the energy “prosumer” and the puzzles these hybrid consumer/producers create for electricity law and policy. Liz Jones Liz Jones became the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for Oncor in January 2016. Before then, she represented Oncor and its predecessor companies in policy-making proceedings at the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the Texas Reliability Entity, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. She was also an attorney at the Public Utility Commission of Texas and in private practice. She has a B.A. from Rice University and a J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law.

Lynne Kiesling Lynne Kiesling is an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Department of Economics at Northwestern University. At Northwestern she is also a Faculty Affiliate in the Searle Center on Law, Regulation, and Economic Growth, a Faculty Member in the Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO), and a Faculty Affiliate in the Center for the Study of Industrial Organization (CSIO). Her specialization is industrial organization, regulatory policy and market design in the electricity industry. Lynne has a Ph.D. in Economics from Northwestern University and a B.S. in Economics from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

Carey W. King Dr. Carey W. King performs interdisciplinary research related to how energy systems interact within the economy and environment as well as how our policy and social systems can make decisions and tradeoffs among these often competing factors. The past performance of our energy systems is no guarantee of future returns, yet we must understand the development of past energy systems. Carey’s research goals center on rigorous interpretations of the past to determine the most probable future energy pathways.

Robert (Bob) King Bob King has been involved in the development of clean energy and electric utility market policy in Texas since staffing the Governor’s Energy Advisory Council in 1975. After years in government including brief assignments with the Governor of California and Tennessee Valley Authority, he formed Good Company Associates in 1991, to provide business development support for companies in the electric power, energy efficiency, demand response, renewable energy, energy storage and related businesses. He was founder of the Texas Solar Energy Society, the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association, and the South-central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource, SPEER, for which he is the CEO, and serves as the 2016 President of the Gulf Coast Power Association. Alexandra Klass Alexandra B. Klass is a Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota Law School. She teaches and writes in the areas of energy law, environmental law, natural resources law, tort law, and property law. Her recent scholarly work, published in many of the nation’s leading law journals, addresses regulatory challenges to integrating more renewable energy into the nation’s electric transmission grid, siting and eminent domain issues surrounding interstate electric transmission lines and oil and gas pipelines, and applications of the public trust doctrine to modern environmental law challenges. She was a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School in 2015. Becky Klein Rebecca Klein is Principal of Klein Energy, LLC, an energy consulting company based in Austin, Texas. Her clients include international and domestic companies focused on penetrating or expanding, in the North American power sector whose needs concern regulatory, commercial, financial and/or government affairs expertise. Over the last twenty years she has worked in Washington, DC and in Texas in the energy, water and national security arenas. Ms. Klein retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve in January 2015. She is a veteran of Desert Storm where she served in Saudi Arabia. She received her academic training at Stanford University (B.A., Biology); Georgetown University (M.A., National Security Studies); and St. Mary’s Law School (J.D.).

Rao Konidena Rao Konidena works in Policy & Economic Studies at MISO. In this role, he is responsible for leading policy questions around increased penetrations of renewables and their impacts on MISO operations and planning frameworks. Rao has a Masters in EE from UT Arlington, and an MBA from Carlson School of Management, U of MN. Rao is volunteer Finance Commissioner at City of Roseville, MN.

Carl Lenox Carl Lenox is SunPower’s solution architect and product line manager for energy management, energy storage, and SunPower’s energy data platform, delivering insights and customer engagement via web and mobile. He has offered fifteen years of experience in the areas of solar energy, energy management, digital services, and grid integration in diverse roles including product management; product development and certification; codes & standards development; performance modeling; technical policy; and testing and reliability. He holds numerous US patents with additional applications pending. Jeremy Lin Dr. Jeremy Lin has more than sixteen years of experience in power system planning, operations and markets. He has extensive knowledge about industry restructuring and electricity market developments in the US. He also has significant experience in modeling, simulation, analysis of restructured electricity market, transmission system analysis, power flow analysis, and advanced computer technology applications to power system. He is currently affiliated with PJM Interconnection. Dr. Lin received his M.S.E.E. in power and energy systems from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his Ph.D. in electrical power engineering from Drexel University. He is a senior member of IEEE. Stephen Littlechild Stephen Littlechild is an International consultant on privatisation, competition and regulation, and is an emeritus Professor from the University of Birmingham. He is a fellow of the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge. Littlechild is the Former Director General of Electricity Supply (UK electricity regulator) 1989-98.

Gus Lott Dr. Lott is Principal Engineer at YarCom Inc., Austin, TX. He has 35 years engineering experience, spanning electrical, electronics, cyber-sciences, and telecommunications disciplines. His energy related design activities include real-time systems sensing, grid metrology. SCADA and control security, grid communications, sustainable energy integration, renewable energy noise emission reduction, and grid integration with the INTERNET-of-Things (IoT). He earned a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, M.S. in Applied Mathematics, M.B.A. (accounting), and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. Dr. Lott is a professional engineer (PE) in AL, AZ, CA, NV, TX, and VA. He is a retired US Navy Commander, having served as a Naval Cryptologist. He holds CISSP, ISSEP, PMP certifications.

Melissa Lott Melissa C. Lott has worked for more than 12 years as an energy systems engineer and consultant in the United States and Europe. She specializes in technology and policy analysis, focusing on the co-impacts of energy transitions. Ms. Lott has worked at the International Energy Agency, U.S. Dept. of Energy, White House Council on Environmental Quality, and as an advisor on Alstom’s International Science and Technology Committee. She has been a writer for Scientific American’s Plugged In since 2011. Ms. Lott was featured in IEEE’s Women in Power in 2015 and named a Forbes Magazine 2013 ‘30 under 30 in Energy’. She holds two masters degrees - in mechanical engineering and public affairs - from UT Austin and a BS in engineering from UC Davis. She is now pursuing a PhD. José María Lujambio Since 2014, José María Lujambio coordinates the energy practice of the law firm Cacheaux, Cavazos & Newton, from its Austin office. His work has included negotiations of PPAs, support for renewables’ projects, and advice in hydrocarbons midstream and downstream regulation. From 2009 to 2012, he was the General Legal Counsel of the Mexican Energy Regulatory Commission, implementing the 2008 reforms on renewable energy and gas. From 2005 to 2009, he worked as attorney at the Legal Counsel’s Office of Mexico’s President. In 2014, Lujambio got an LL.M., with energy concentration, from UT Austin, and in 2002 a Law degree from the ITAM. In 2013 he directed the energy agenda of the think tank CIDAC. He has published several articles on energy and constitutional law. Dave Maggio Dave Maggio received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2004 and 2006, respectively. He has been an employee with the ERCOT ISO since 2007 and is currently manager of Congestion Revenue Rights. His group is primarily responsible for the operation, design, and analysis of the Congestion Revenue Rights market and for analyzing results from various ERCOT Markets to support and coordinate consistency. His principal focuses at ERCOT have also included Ancillary Service requirements for the ERCOT region, the integration of intermittent renewable resources, systems and rules development for the ERCOT Nodal Market, and the analysis of proposed market design changes. Laura Manz Ms. Manz is Principal of L J Manz Consulting and a Senior Fellow with the More Than Smart distributed energy initiative in California. She is a recognized leader in the energy industry with executive and field experience in electric and natural gas utilities. Her executive experience includes interactions with Chief Executives and Boards of Directors and other stakeholders of member-driven organizations. She was instrumental in restructuring power grid operations, markets and planning in the Mid-Atlantic (PJM), California (CAISO), and Texas (ERCOT). She has consulted internationally on electricity industry restructuring and power markets. She has over 30 years of experience in executive management, operations, and strategy in the electric and gas utility industry.

Frank McCamant Frank McCamant has been building strong and effective relationships in the energy resource management and smart grid industry for more than 38 years. Mr. McCamant led several key business development projects for both generation and transmission, which provided valuable assets for the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) under a private/public joint ownership framework. Since launching McCamant Consulting LLC, Mr. McCamant has been working with utility and private business clients to successfully implement both smart grid and power development projects, in addition to managing power supply acquisition and strategic resource planning efforts. Mr. McCamant holds both a B.S. in civil engineering and an Executive MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. Colin Meehan Colin Meehan is Director of Regulatory and Public Affairs at First Solar, with responsibility for governmental affairs in Texas and the eastern U.S., promoting policies that support cost-competitive utility-scale PV. Prior experience includes serving as Comverge, Inc.’s Director of Regulatory and Market Strategy; Environmental Defense Fund’s Policy Manager for U.S. Climate and Energy; Wholesale Settlement Analyst for the Lower Colorado River Authority; as wholesale power markets analyst for ICF International where he was the lead analyst for the development of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative IPM model. Mr. Meehan holds a BA in Math and Economics from the University of Rochester and MS in Energy and Earth Resources from the University of Texas at Austin. Robert Michaels Robert J. Michaels is Professor of Economics at California State University, Fullerton and an independent consultant. He holds an A.B. from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is an expert on regulation and competition in electricity. He has advised state regulatory commissions, electric utilities, competitive power producers, and governments. He has participated in electricity restructurings in California and other states, as well as Japan and New Zealand. He has also testified before several state regulatory commissions and before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on utility mergers and market power. He has testified before Committees of the U.S. Congress. Rob Minter Rob Minter is a senior executive with over 30 years of extensive government, regulatory and external affairs experience in the regulated and competitive electric power, and natural gas and LNG industries in the US, Mexico and Canada. He is currently Senior Vice President of Government & Regulatory Affairs for ENGIE North America, which in 2015 had investments of approximately $11 billion and revenues of $8 billion in power and gas assets in North America. Rob joined ENGIE NA in 2002 as Vice President of Government & Regulatory Affairs. Since joining the company, Rob created a strong organization that has successfully confronted high profile LNG safety and security issues, provided critical support to challenging but successful business development projects, and now manages regulatory and electricity market design initiatives with outcomes valued at $336 million.

Felix Mormann Felix Mormann is Associate Professor at the University of Miami School of Law and Faculty Fellow at Stanford University’s Steyer–Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance. His interdisciplinary, often comparative scholarship explores the legal, policy, and financial challenges along the path to an environmentally and economically sustainable energy future. Mormann worked as a corporate and energy lawyer for some of Germany’s premiere law firms. As a management consultant for McKinsey & Company, he advised international clients from the high-tech sector. Professor Mormann holds J.D. and J.S.D. degrees from the University of Passau and an LL.M. from UC Berkeley School of Law. He advises federal policymakers on clean energy and energy efficiency. Peter Muhoro Dr. Peter Muhoro is the Director of Energy Research and Strategies at Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC), the largest electric distribution cooperative in the United States. Peter works to strategize on the implementation of advanced cutting-edge, cost-saving technologies while keeping rates affordable for the members. Prior to PEC, Peter served as an Advisor at the Cooperative Research Network, the technology research arm of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. He previously launched several small businesses focused on bottom of the pyramid issues and poverty reduction through electricity access. He is a sought after speaker both on the national and international arena. Peter holds a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from the University of Michigan. Bill Muston Bill is the Manager of R&D at Oncor, a regulated electric utility delivering electric energy in the competitive market in Texas. The role of emerging technologies and ways in which they can be brought to fruitful use to improve electric delivery services are his core work. Energy storage in utility distribution systems, customer utilization of energy storage, and distributed control systems to integrate all forms of distributed energy resources into the grid are his focus in 2016. Scope includes micro grids that provide both grid-connected and islanded operations. Bill graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an M.S. in Engineering. Peter Nance Mr. Nance is an energy economist with energy sector restructuring experience in a variety of capacities internationally. With Que Advisors, Mr. Nance focuses on financial due diligence, markets and asset transactions in Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. He served as Executive Director for North America Power Research for J.P. Morgan, and as President of Teknecon Energy a financial and economic consultancy. He shared responsibility for LCRA’s energy portfolio managing fixed price risk for a $200 million portfolio. He is Past-President for the United States Association for Energy Economics, and is currently a Senior Fellow. He earned a B.S. from The University of Texas, an M.B.A. from The University of North Carolina, and an M.A. from The University of Texas.

Sarma Nuthalapati Dr. Sarma (NDR) Nuthalapati obtained his Ph.D. degree from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India in 1995. He is currently Principal Engineer, Grid Operations Support at ERCOT. Dr. Sarma is currently involved in the Synchrophasor Project at ERCOT that was funded of DOE, USA under the Smart Grid Initiatives Grants. Dr. Sarma is involved in organizing several panel sessions at the IEEE Power Engineering Society General Meetings. He is active in the IEEE Working Group for State Estimation and led a Task Force on ‘State Estimation Concepts and Terminology’. He is currently the Chair of the IEEE Task Force on Real Time Contingency Analysis. He is also a member of the NERC SAR Drafting Team on ‘Project 2009-02 Real-Time Monitoring and Analysis Capabilities’. Philip O’Connor Phil O’Connor is President of PROactive Strategies, a Chicago energy and insurance regulatory consulting firm, and a leading advocate of competitive market solutions in regulated industries. For a decade he led development of the Midwest’s competitive electricity sector. He chaired the Illinois Commerce Commission and was Director of the Illinois Department of Insurance a member of the Illinois State Board of Elections. Six Illinois governors appointed him to boards, commissions and transition teams. 2007-8 Phil served in the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq as an advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity. A magna cum laude graduate of Loyola University of Chicago, Phil received his Masters and Doctorate in Political Science from Northwestern University. Sheila Olmstead Sheila Olmstead joined the LBJ School as an Associate Professor of Public Affairs in 2013. Olmstead is an environmental economist whose current research projects examine the environmental externalities associated with shale gas development in the United States, regulatory avoidance under the U.S. Safe Drinking Water Act, the influence of federal fire suppression policy on land development in the American West, and free-riding in dam placement and water withdrawals in transboundary river basins. She holds a PhD from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government (2002), a Masters in Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas, Austin (1996), and a BA from the University of Virginia (1992). Shmuel Oren Shmuel S. Oren is the Earl J. Isaac Chair Professor in the Science and Analysis of Decision Making in the Industrial Engineering and Operations Research department at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the Berkeley site directora of PSERC, a multi-university Power System Engineering Research Center sponsored by the National Science Foundation and industry members. He is also a former member of the California ISO Market Surveillance Committee. His academic research focuses on planning, scheduling and market design of electric power systems. He has been a consultant to various private and government organizations in the US and abroad including the PUCT and the California CPUC. He holds a Ph.D from Stanford and is a fellow of the IEEE and of INFORMS.

Hari Osofsky Hari Osofsky is a Professor of Law, Faculty Director of the Energy Transition Lab, and Director of the Joint Degree Program in Law, Science and Technology at the University of Minnesota. She also is on the faculty of the Conservation Biology Graduate Program; an adjunct professor in the Department of Geography, Environment and Society; and a Fellow with the Institute on the Environment. She received a B.A. and J.D. from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in Geography from University of Oregon. Her over fifty publications on energy and climate change have received peer awards from legal scholars and geographers. She has assisted numerous government agencies and non-profit organizations on these issues and held national and international professional leadership roles. Francis O’Sullivan Dr. Francis O’Sullivan is Director of Research for the MIT Energy Initiative. His current research is focused on unconventional oil and gas resources, and how power systems are evolving to accommodate large-scale generation from renewable resources, particular solar power. He has written and spoken widely on these topics and is a lead author of both the 2011 MIT Future of Natural Gas Study, and the 2015 MIT Future of Solar Energy study. Dr. O’Sullivan is a member of the U.S. National Academies’ Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability, and is a Senior Associate with the Energy and National Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Uma Outka Professor Uma Outka works at the intersection between energy law and environmental law, with a focus on renewable energy and the transition to a lowcarbon electricity sector. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Kansas School of Law and an Affiliate Faculty member of the Environmental Studies Program and the Center for Environmental Policy at KU. Professor Outka previously served as General Counsel for 1000 Friends of Florida, a non-profit advocacy organization focused on growth management, environmental conservation and affordable housing, and worked as a litigation attorney in private practice with a large northeast law firm, Verrill Dana, LLP in Portland, Maine. She is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Maine School of Law, and holds a Masters in Public Policy and Administration from the Muskie School of Public Service. Dustin Owens Dustin Owens is the Director of Industry Relations at Alberta Energy. Currently Dustin supports implementation of the Government of Alberta’s Climate Leadership Plan specific to electricity. This includes engaging market participants and the ISO to develop renewable energy policies required to achieve prescribed sectorbased outcomes: a coal phase-out and a related renewable energy target. Dustin previously held management positions at the Government of Alberta’s Ministry of Executive Council where he coordinated natural resource policy across multiple departments. Dustin holds a bachelor arts from the University of British Columbia, majoring in political science, and is currently completing an executive management program at the University of Alberta.

Dalia Patiño-Echeverri Dalia Patiño-Echeverri is assistant professor at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, where she studies the economic and environmental impacts of power generation technologies, market rules, and policies affecting capital investment and operating decisions within the electricity industry. She is also adjunct assistant professor at the Engineering and Public Policy Department at Carnegie Mellon University and co-principal investigator of the NSF Center for Climate and Energy Decision Making. She received B.S. and M.Sc. degrees in Industrial Engineering from University of The Andes, Bogotá, Colombia and a PhD degree in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University. Brett A. Perlman Brett A. Perlman is currently President of Vector Advisors, a management consulting firm that serves telecommunications and energy clients. Prior to his current role, he was a Commissioner on the Public Utility Commission of Texas. He was appointed to the Texas PUC in 1999 by then-Governor George W. Bush and served until his term ended in September 2003. His consulting practice specializes on advising senior executives on business strategy, business development, marketing, policy and regulatory issues and mergers and acquisitions. In addition to his consulting work, Mr. Perlman has been an independent Director of Just Energy Group, a NYSE and TSX listed gas and electricity retailer, since 2013. Jane S. Peters Dr. Jane S. Peters, President and Owner, of Research Into Action, has nearly 35 years of experience in clean energy program evaluation, market research, customer engagement, evidence-based behavior change, and organizational analysis. She has conducted research on all types of clean energy programs: residential, commercial, institutional, industrial, residential, low-income, agricultural, research and development, demand response, end-use renewables, and distributed generation. Jane is particularly interested in determining how best to design and implement programs that spur individuals and organizations to take actions that will reduce the risks of climate change, such as reducing energy use in homes, businesses, and transportation choices. Jorge Piñion With international experience in business development, joint ventures and relationship management in emerging and transitional markets, and a network of senior energy contacts in Latin America; Jorge Piñon is recognized as an independent analyst of regional energy issues, as well as the geopolitics of oil and natural gas in Latin America. During his thirty-two year career in the energy sector, he has conducted research and country risk assessments as a Visiting Energy Fellow at the University of Miami’s Center for Hemispheric Policy (2005-2010) and at Florida International University’s Latin American and Caribbean Center (20102011) prior to joining the University of Texas at Austin in 2012. Mr. Piñon holds a degree in International Economics and a certificate in Latin American Studies from the University of Florida, Gainesville.

Jonathan Pinzon Jonathan Pinzon is an independent consultant. Most recently he was head of the Energy & Innovation practice at GreenMomentum. During 2008-2013, Jonathan managed US-Mexico cooperation projects for USAID. Previously he worked for Red Mexicana de Energía, a group of independent experts advocating energy reform. He is co-author of several reports on energy, cleantech and innovation, including Renewable Energy in Mexico’s Northern Border Region and Cleantech México 2015. Jonathan Pinzon has a MSc in Technology Commercialization from the CIMAV-University of Texas, Austin program. He did his undergraduate degree in International Relations at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico and has a diploma in Energy Law from the Escuela Libre de Derecho. John R. Pitts John R. Pitts Jr. is a Principal at Texas Star Alliance. His background combines policy and political experience with infrastructure origination, development, and financing. He represents clients before policymakers on a range of issues and advises clients on business and project development and financing. John has worked for political campaigns and for officeholders, including former Governor Rick Perry and Lt Governor David Dewhurst. He spent four years developing large solar plants across North America as part of the Utility & Power Plant team at SunPower Corp; this team developed the first and largest PV plants in the world. During his time at SunPower, the Americas team built and/or contracted over 1GW of solar plants, representing $4 billion in project capital. Steve Puller Steve Puller is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at Texas A&M University, and a Research Associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research. In addition to his duties at Texas A&M, he has served as a visiting research associate at the University of California Energy Institute and an advisor to the Public Utility Commission of Texas. Steve specializes in the field of Industrial Organization and has recently investigated a variety of topics in energy and environmental policy. He earned an AB in Economics from University of Chicago and a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley. Varun Rai Varun Rai is an Assistant Professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He studies how interactions between the underlying social, behavioral, economic, technological, and institutional components of the energy system impact the diffusion of clean energy technologies. He serves on the Editorial Boards of The Electricity Journal (Elsevier) and Energy Research & Social Science (Elsevier), for which he is also an Associate Editor. Varun received his Ph.D. and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur.

Joshua Rhodes Joshua D. Rhodes, Ph.D. is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in The Webber Energy Group and the Energy Institute UT-Austin. His current research is in the area of residential smart grid applications, including system-level applications of energy efficiency and distributed generation. He is also interested in policy and the impacts that good policy can have on the efficiency of the local economy, especially policy that utilizes market forces to increase the efficiency of the residential building stock. He holds a double bachelors in Mathematics and Economics from Stephen F. Austin State University, a masters in Computational Mathematics from Texas A&M University, and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. Jim Rossi Jim Rossi is a Professor of Law and Director of the Program in Law & Government at Vanderbilt University. He teaches energy law and renewable energy. His books include Energy, Economics and the Environment (4th edition, Foundation Press, 2015, with Eisen, Hammond, Spence, Weaver & Wiseman) and Regulatory Bargaining and Public Law (Cambridge University Press 2005). His recent articles focus on the role of public utility doctrines and principles in modern energy markets. He also has written extensively on shared jurisdictional issues affecting agency regulation, including articles on federalism and electric power transmission, cooperative energy federalism, and the regulation of behind-the-meter resources. Dan Seif Dan Seif serves as an energy finance, market, and policy expert for the consultancy, The Butler Firm, in Austin, TX. Previously, Dan was a Principal with the energy thinktank, Rocky Mountain Institute. Dan was the lead author on NREL’s solar finance 2013-2020 roadmap, creator of RMI’s Business Renewables Center for facilitation of corporate utility-scale renewable power procurement and finance, and project lead of the solar-and-storage analysis, Economics of Grid Defection. Dan was an investment associate with US Renewables Group, where he participated in $40MM in cleantech venture investing, with all companies garnering later financing $165 MM and 2 in the current Global Cleantech 100. Mr. Seif holds a Harvard MPA and a BS & MS in chemical engineering. Raiford Smith Mr. Smith has 25 years of experience in the energy industry, earned a BS in computer science from the University of Georgia, an MBA from the University of Virginia, and a JD from the Charlotte School of Law. Mr. Smith is a licensed attorney and member of the North Carolina Bar Association; holds several patents on grid optimization and electric grid technologies; and has published several papers on the future of the smart grid, energy efficiency, asset optimization, and price forecasting.

Paul Smolen Paul Smolen has assisted commercial customers and cities with assessment of their financial options and regulatory requirements related to the restructured electricity market in Texas. Paul is a co-founder and the Vice President of Fox, Smolen & Associates, Inc. (FSA) which was founded in 2001. FSA sold its electricity brokerage business to NRG SimplySmart Solution, LLC. in September of 2014. He served as a Director for SimplySmart from September through October 2015 and was hired as a Consultant to NRG to assist with the development of the marketing program. Smolen managed electricity procurement for members of 30 Chambers of Commerce and several associations. David Spence David Spence is Professor of Law, Politics & Regulation at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business and School of Law. He earned his Ph.D in political science from Duke University, and his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law. Professor Spence’s scholarship and teaching focuses on government regulation of business, particularly energy and environmental regulation. He is co-author of the leading energy law textbook, Energy, Economics and the Environment (Foundation Press, 4th Ed., 2015).

Amy Stein Professor Stein focuses her scholarship on clean energy law, electric grid governance, distributed energy resources, reliability, environmental law, and federalism. Her recent articles explore the regulatory uncertainty associated with energy storage and the impacts of distributed ownership on grid reliability. She began her academic career at GW University Law School and Tulane Law School. Prior to her academic appointments, she practiced as an environmental and litigation associate for Latham & Watkins LLP in the firm’s Washington, D.C., and Silicon Valley offices. She is a member of the District of Columbia, Illinois, and California state bars. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago (AB) and the University of Chicago Law School (JD). Caleb Stephenson Caleb Stephenson has served as Calpine’s Senior Vice President of Commercial Analytics since May 2014. In this role, he oversees the company’s analysis of factors affecting the company’s commodity margin performance, including market, regulatory, contractual and operational factors. Mr. Stephenson joined Calpine in October 2008 as Vice President of Commercial Analytics. He came to Calpine from PA Consulting Group’s Global Energy Practice, where he advised merchant power industry participants on energy market outlook and risk management issues. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history and social studies from Oral Roberts University and a Master of Business Administration in finance from Washington University.

Ingmar Sterzing Ingmar Sterzing is currently serving as Vice President of Power Supply and Energy Services for Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) in Johnson City, Texas. At PEC, Ingmar is responsible for planning, directing and executing power supply and energy management strategies. He manages the Co-op’s power supply activities, contract agreements and the solicitation and evaluation of future power supply options.

Melinda Taylor Melinda Taylor is a Senior Lecturer and Executive Director of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Energy, Law, and Business at the University of Texas. At the law school, she teaches courses on environmental law and oversees the Center, which publishes policy and legal analyses, offers interdisciplinary courses to law and business students, and sponsors symposia and conferences. Prior to joining the faculty of the Law School in 2006, Taylor was the Director of the Ecosystem Restoration Program for the Environmental Defense Fund, a national, nonprofit conservation organization. Taylor was a partner at the law firm Henry, Lowerre, Kelly & Taylor from 1991-1993. She served as Deputy General Counsel of the National Audubon Society from 1988-1991. Sheridan Titman Professor Titman is the director of the Energy Management and Innovation Center at UT. His research interests include both investments and corporate finance, and he has published and consulted in both of these areas. Having co-authored a leading advanced corporate finance textbook entitled “Financial Markets and Corporate Strategy,” he has served on the editorial boards of leading academic journals. He is a past director of the American Finance Association and a current director of both the Asia Pacific Finance Association and the Western Finance Association. Professor Titman holds a B.S. from the University of Colorado and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University. James Tong James Tong is vice president of strategy at Clean Power Finance, where he leads industry-wide efforts to accelerate solar deployment. He has led three projects awarded a total of $4.5MM from the Department of Energy, and is currently a principal in a $2.3MM consumer adoption research led by NREL. James has spoken at the White House Solar Summit and authored a series of paper on utility reform, grid neutrality and creation of independent distribution system operators. Previously, he served in various management positions at GE, where he completed its elite commercial leadership program. James earned a BA from Yale University and an MBA from Northwestern University.

Jess Totten Jess Totten is a principal of the Austin, Texas energy consulting firm Stratus Energy Group. Prior to joining Stratus, he worked for 23 years at the Public Utility Commission of Texas, in a number of management, legal, and policy positions. He provides advice to clients concerning electric utility matters, particularly with regard to rules and procedures of the Public Utility Commission of Texas and protocols and procedures of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. His areas of emphasis have included wholesale and retail competition, renewable energy, and energy efficiency. He led the PUCT efforts to develop a framework for designating Competitive Renewable Energy Zones and selecting transmission companies to build the CREZ facilities. Chen-Hao Tsai Dr. Chen-Hao Tsai is a Senior Energy Economist at the Center for Energy Economics, Bureau of Economic Geology at UT Austin. Dr. Tsai received his PhD in Energy and Mineral Engineering with an option in Energy Management and Policy from Penn State University. He also earned a BS in Civil Engineering from National Taiwan University and an MPA from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, University of Indiana Bloomington. A former civil and project engineer at the Lungmen Nuclear Power Project in Taiwan, Dr. Tsai’s research interests include electricity market deregulation/regulation, nuclear power, and nonfuel minerals. Brian Tulloh Brian Tulloh is vice president of Public Policy for Energy Future Holdings (EFH). EFH subsidiaries include TXU Energy, a competitive retail electricity provider, and Luminant, the largest electricity generator in the state. Tulloh is responsible for delivering the company’s public policy and external affairs objectives, working with policymakers and the broader public to best serve customers and communities across Texas. Tulloh earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Purdue University and is a registered professional engineer. He holds an MBA from Southern Methodist University. Michael Wara Michael W. Wara is an Associate Professor and the Justin M. Roach, Jr. Faculty Scholar at Stanford Law School where he teaches Environmental Law and Policy, International Environmental Law, and Energy Law. His current research focuses on international climate change policy, implementation of emissions pricing systems, and innovation in regulated industries, and competition policy in electricity. Prior to joining Stanford, he was an associate at Holland & Knight, LLP. He holds a J.D. from Stanford Law School, a Ph.D. in Ocean Sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a B.A. from Columbia University.

Paul Wattles Paul Wattles is Senior Analyst, Market Design and Development, at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the Independent System Operator for 90% of Texas electric load. The Market Design team has led initiatives to enable demand response participation in the Real-Time Energy Market, develop and implement Fast Response Regulation Service, redesign the Ancillary Services markets to meet the needs of the grid of the future, and develop a market framework for Distributed Energy Resources. Paul has been with ERCOT since May 2004. He has over 15 years of electric industry experience with an emphasis on wholesale markets, advanced metering, demand response, and governmental affairs. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona in Tucson. Elizabeth J. Wilson Dr. Elizabeth J. Wilson is a Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy and Law at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Her research examines policies and institutions supporting energy system transitions. She holds a doctorate in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University and was selected as a Leopold Leadership Fellow in 2011 and an Andrew Carnegie Fellow in 2015.

Henry Wischmeyer Henry Wischmeyer is Vice President for Smart Wires Inc. responsible for the TOLA region. His company is engaged in adding intelligence to the transmission side with distributed real time power flow control enabling a Dynamic Grid. He participated in the development of energy storage solutions that scaled from utility grade for wind farms to Forward Operating Bases (FOB) for the U.S. Army. He has a passion for the future of the Smart Grid/Dynamic Grid. Henry spent the majority of his career in the telecom industry in the US, Canada, and Europe. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, with a B.S. in Ocean Engineering. He flew the A6E Intruder deployed on several aircraft carriers over 13 years. He has 2 children in college and lives in ATX. Frank Wolak Frank Wolak is the Holbrook Working Professor of Commodity Price Studies in the Economics Department and the Director of the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development at Stanford University. From April 1998 to April 2011, he was Chair of the Market Surveillance Committee (MSC) of the California Independent System Operator. In this capacity, he has testified numerous times at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and at various Committees of the US Senate and House of Representatives on issues relating to market monitoring and market power in electricity markets. Wolak was also a member of the Emissions Market Advisory Committee (EMAC) for California’s Market for Greenhouse Gas Emissions allowances from January 2012 to December 2014. He recently co-authored a National Academies of Sciences study entitled, “Modernizing the Freight Rail Regulation.”

Taylor Woodruff Taylor Woodruff is a Senior Project Manager and Market Liaison in the Market Relations group for Oncor Electric Delivery, a regulated electric transmission and distribution service provider that serves 10 million customers across Texas. Taylor currently represents Oncor on various matters in the ERCOT stakeholder forums and manages initiatives with a market-wide impact, including distributed generation, advanced metering, and demand response. He began working with Oncor in 2009 and has had roles in various operational, engineering, and regulatory groups. Taylor is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington, with a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. Jay Zarnikau As president of Frontier Associates, Jay provides consulting assistance in the design and evaluation of energy efficiency programs, retail market strategies, electricity pricing, demand forecasting, and energy policy. Jay is an Adjunct Professor of Public Policy and Statistics at The University of Texas. He formerly served as the Director of Electric Utility Regulation at the Public Utility Commission of Texas. His publications include roughly 40 articles in academic journals. His research interests center on energy pricing, electricity resource planning, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and the application of modeling techniques to problems in resource economics. Jay has a Ph.D. degree in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin. Carl Zichella Carl Zichella is the director for western transmission for NRDC. He leads NRDC’s western U.S. renewable energy transmission siting work and serves on a nationwide team working on renewable energy development and climate issues. He works to find renewable energy transmission solutions that accelerate renewable energy development while respecting wildlife and land conservation efforts. Mr. Zichella is a director of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technology, a member of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council’s Transmission Expansion Planning Policy Committee, a member of DOE’s Electricity Advisory Committee, and a member of the Gridwise Architecture Council, a project of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Notes:

Notes:

Thank you to our Sponsors Corporate Sponsor:

Educational Sponsors: