CURENT Seminar – Future of the Grid

Date: October 31, 2014

Time: 12:20-1:10pm EST

Location: Room 124 Min H. Kao Building, Knoxville, TN

Title: Grid of the Future

Presenter: Wanda Reder, Vice President, Power Systems Solutions, S&C Electric Company

Abstract: The U.S. electric grid is undergoing significant transformation from the introduction of digital technologies, policies encouraging the growth of renewable and distributed energy resources, and increasing engagement of electricity customers and businesses in both managing and producing energy.

Large public and private investments made under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) have significantly advanced smart grid technology deployments, providing real-world data on technology costs and benefits, as well as best practices. Deployments are delivering results, yet the rate of smart grid technology adoption varies across the nation and recent experiences have demonstrated that the nation’s electrical infrastructure can be susceptible to widespread outages from natural and manmade cyber-attacks.

This presentation discusses a vision for the grid of the future. It will review the status of the ARRA investments, the emerging requirements for the electrical infrastructure, the differences between the traditional grid and the new grid, and discuss of the customer’s role in the system of the future.

Bio: Wanda Reder, is the Vice President of the Power Systems Solutions at S&C Electric Company offering engineering, procurement, project management and field service capabilities to utilities, developers and industrial customers. Prior to S&C, Wanda held numerous leadership positions at Exelon and Northern States Power (now Xcel) having responsibility for asset investment strategy, planning, engineering, unregulated business start-ups, and more.   

Wanda is an IEEE Fellow and is on the IEEE Board as the Division VII Director. She was the first woman President of the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) in 2008 – 2009 and has served on the PES Governing Board since 2002. Her initiatives as president of the IEEE PES Society helped grow membership, established a successful scholarship fund and positioned IEEE as the source for expert information on smart grid technology. She launched IEEE Smart Grid and provided leadership for it from 2009 – 2013.  In 2011, she launched the IEEE Power & Energy Society Scholarship Plus Initiative to attract additional undergraduates pursuing power engineering through scholarships made possible with philanthropic investment. To date, 549 scholarships have been awarded across the US and more than 160 organizations nationwide have hired a PES Scholar. 

Wanda is a recognized leader in the industry and serves on the DOE Electricity Advisory Committee as a US Secretary Appointee where she chairs the Smart Grid Sub-Committee and the Workforce Ad-Hoc Committee.