The IEEE NZ North Section Lifelong Learning Series is designed as a webinar series aimed at bringing in global experts and facilitate interaction with the members of the IEEE NZ North Section and wider NZ engineering fraternity. Each session will be organized by different societies under IEEE NZ North Section to ensure the diversity of the topics discussed.

Details of the upcoming session of the series brought to you by PES NZ North Chapter on 4th December are as follows:

Speaker: Dr. Jessica Bian

Vice President of Grid Services at Grid-X Partners, USA

Topic     : Regulatory Aspects of Implementing Advanced Technology

Date      : 4th December 2020

Time      : 1200-1300 hrs NZST

Abstract of the Webinar:

Would deploying energy storage and/or other innovative technology alter business models and the utility of the future? We are experiencing significant changes in energy sup

ply due to a number of factors, including the increased availability of natural gas; the growth in renewable, demand-side and storage technologies; and new environmental requirements. This lecture provides an overview of US federal regulation of public utilities, including rate revision, challenge process, and the landmark orders that shaped energy industries we have today. In addition, the lecture offers insights of why energy industries moved from traditional cost-based regulation to competitive markets in an open access environment, and how regulators encourage the use of advanced technology in new transmission projects. Advanced transmission technologies increase the capacity, efficiency, or reliability of an existing or new transmission facility while continuing to ensure that consumers have access to sustainable energy at a reasonable cost. Current regulations establish incentive/performance-based rates for the transmission of electric energy in interstate commerce by reducing transmission congestion, and stimulate investment in new transmission facilities.

Biography:

Dr. Jessica Bian is the President-Elect of the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES). She is a visionary leader and architect, has spearheaded electric industry’s reliability metrics and grid risk assessment. Currently she is the Vice President of Grid Services at Grid-X Partners.  Before that, she was with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Washington, DC. Previously, she was the Director of Performance Analysis at North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) in Atlanta, Georgia. Under her leadership, a total of 18 industry-wide reliability indicators were established to determine grid reliability, adequacy, and associated risks.  She is widely recognized as a pioneer and trusted world leader in the field.

Before joining NERC, Dr. Bian was with PJM, ERCOT and Westinghouse Electric.  She earned her Bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering from the Taiyuan University of Technology, China; Master of Science from the Electric Power Research Institute, Beijing, China; and Ph.D. from Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.  She was the PES Secretary from 2016 to 2019.