“Power System Modeling in Support of a Southeast
Power Exchange Market (SEEM)”
Dr. Badrul Chowdhury – UNC Charlotte / CAPER Center Co-Director
Dr. Badrul Chowdhury is currently serving as Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering with a joint appointment in Systems Engineering & Engineering Management at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA. Dr. Chowdhury’s research interests are in power system modeling, analysis, control and economics; system vulnerability and resiliency assessment; integration of renewable and distributed energy resources in the power grid. He currently serves as the site co-director of CAPER at UNC Charlotte.
Charles Bayless – NCEMC
Charles Bayless is the Vice President, Senior Regulatory Counsel at the North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation (“NCEMC”). Mr. Bayless has extensive experience and has served as counsel in numerous adjudicative and settlement proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and various other state and federal regulatory agencies. Mr. Bayless regularly counsels clients on matters associated with the Federal Power Act, the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. He provides advice on PJM issues, a variety of transmission and interconnection issues, compliance with FERC’s standards of conduct, and FERC Orders 888, 890 and 1000.
Prior to joining NCEMC Mr. Bayless was Counsel at American Electric Power. Mr. Bayless also served as an Officer in the United States Air Force where he was the executive officer of his squadron and the contract manager for two satellite communication systems.
Mr. Bayless received J.D. from West Virginia University, his M.B.A for the University of Arizona, his M.S. in Operations Management from the University of Arkansas, and his B.A. from the Virginia Military Institute. He is a member of the Ohio State Bar. He is also a member of the Energy Bar Association and the Electric Cooperative Bar Association.
Dr. David Lubkeman – NC State University
Dr. David Lubkeman is currently a Research Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at North Carolina State University. He serves as a lead instructor with the Electric Power Systems Engineering (EPSE) Master of Science professional degree program and is also a research faculty with the NSF FREEDM Systems Center. His research interests include electric power distribution system analysis, renewable energy integration and microgrid applications.
Dr. Jacob Mays – Cornel University
Jacob Mays is an Assistant Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University. His research focuses on applications of stochastic optimization and statistical learning in energy systems. Jacob holds an AB in chemistry and physics from Harvard University, an MEng in energy systems from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and a PhD in industrial engineering and management sciences from Northwestern University.
Dr. Jeremy Lin – 7X Analytics
Dr. Jeremy Lin has over twenty years of experience in electric power industry in the US, including twelve years at PJM. He has extensive experience in the power system operation, planning, reliability, market design and market operation. He published a book on “Electricity Markets: Theories and Applications” (by Wiley Press, 2017).
Jessica Bian – Grid-X Partners
Dr. Jessica Bian is the President 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.
Dr. Johan Enslin – Zucker Family Graduate Education Center at Clemson / CAPER Center Co-Director
Dr. Johan H Enslin (M’85; SM’92; F’12) is the Duke Energy Endowed Chaired Professor in Smart Grid at Clemson University in North Charleston SC, USA and Executive Director for the Energy Systems Program at the Zucker Family Graduate Education Center. Enslin has combined a 40-year career with leadership in industry and academia, in the US, Europe and South Africa. He served as a senior executive for private business operations and a professor in electrical engineering. He received the BS, MS and PhD degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), South Africa, in 1981, 1983 and 1988 respectively. He is a registered Professional Engineer in South Africa, Fellow of the SAIEE and Fellow of the IEEE.
Kendal Bowman – Duke Energy
Kendal Bowman currently serves as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Policy for North Carolina. In this role, she manages the company’s presence in all North Carolina regulatory matters before the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC). She provides leadership and direction in the development and implementation of public policy that is in the best interest of the customers and communities served by Duke Energy. Bowman works closely with policymakers and other stakeholders to find working, sustainable solutions to energy policy needs. In addition, she serves as the company’s regulatory policy witness in proceedings before the NCUC and other regulatory bodies.
Ms. Bowman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Virginia and a Juris Doctor degree from Stetson University College of Law. She is admitted to the state bars in North Carolina and Florida.
Dr. Linquan Bai – UNC Charlotte
Dr. Linquan Bai is an Assistant Professor at UNC Charlotte. He received his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2017. Prior to joining UNC Charlotte, he was with ABB Power Grids on the power market, renewable integration, and economic studies for ISOs and utilities. His research interests include DER optimization and control, distribution and bulk power grid operation and planning, power economics, and electricity markets. He serves as an editor of Journal of Modern Power and Clean Energy and received the 2020 John H. Maxheim Faculty Fellowship at UNC Charlotte.
Matthew Hammond – Dominion Energy
Matt Hammond is the Manager of Transmission Support for Dominion Energy South Carolina (DESC, formerly South Carolina Electric & Gas) and has been employed by DESC for over 30 years. He and the department support the operation of the electric transmission system. These responsibilities include administering both the Open Access Transmission Tariff (OATT) and the Open Access Same-time Information System (OASIS) as well as managing generation interconnection activities for commercial, industrial and utility scale solar farms. Other functions of the department include transmission customer billing, financial and energy reporting, coordinating the training program for DESC’s NERC certified operators and compliance with Transmission’s responsibilities under the FERC Standards of Conduct. His past responsibilities include generation performance testing, managing the Power Marketing 24-hour trading desk and managing distribution crew quarters. Matt is a licensed professional engineer recognized by the state of South Carolina.
Matthew Lind – 1898 & Co., Part of Burns & McDonnell
Matthew Lind is the Director of Resource Planning and Market Assessments Business Unit at 1898 & Co., part of Burns & McDonnell. He has worked as a professional consultant in the utility and energy sector since 2004. Mr. Lind specializes in system planning and market congestion studies driven by strategic, economic and regulatory considerations for generation or transmission development in markets across North America. He has a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from Iowa State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Dr. Mesut Baran – NC State University / CAPER Center Co-Director
Mesut E. Baran received his Ph.D. degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1988. He is currently a Professor with NC State University, Raleigh. His research interests include distribution and transmission system analysis and control, integration of renewable energy resources, and utility applications of power electronics based devices. Currently, he is a member of the FREEDM Systems Center at NC State focusing on both research and education aspects of renewable electric energy systems and their integration into the electric power distribution systems. He also serves as the NC State site Co-Director for CAPER.
Dr. Michael Mazzola – UNC Charlotte / CAPER Center Director
Dr. Mike Mazzola is at the helm of the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) as Director and Duke Energy Distinguished Chair in Power Engineering Systems.
Dr. Mazzola holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Old Dominion University. After three years in government service at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia, in 1993 he joined the faculty at Mississippi State University where he became known for his research in the areas of silicon carbide power semiconductor device prototyping and semiconductor materials growth and characterization. For the past 10 years he served at the Mississippi State University Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems as the associate director for advanced vehicle systems, where he lead research in high-voltage engineering, power systems modeling and simulation, the application of silicon carbide semiconductor devices in power electronics, and the control of hybrid electric vehicle power trains. In addition, he served two years as the chief technology officer of SemiSouth Laboratories, a company he co-founded.
A professional engineer, he has published more than 100 papers and has been awarded 14 patents. Dr. Mike Mazzola is an expert in several technical areas including semiconductor devices and their applications in power electronics as well as pulsed power technology.
Dr. Pengwei Du – ERCOT
Dr. Pengwei Du is Supervisor of Resource Forecasting and Analysis with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Prior to this, he was a senior research engineer with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Dr. Du has over 16-year extensive experiences in simulation, modeling, protection and control, renewable energy integration, demand response and market design. Dr. Du is the recipient of IEEE PES Power System Dynamic Performance Committee Prize Paper Award in 2016 and IEEE PES Prize Paper Award in 2020. Dr. Du is associated editor of IEEE Transactions on Power Systems and the subject editor of IET Generation, Transmission & Distribution.
Peter Schwarz – UNC Charlotte
Peter Schwarz’s research addresses energy and environment issues, most recently on demand response, solar pricing rates, and China’s carbon emissions. He has received grants from the USDOE and the USEPA, and has lectured in Germany, Israel, China, and Mexico. He is revising his text, Energy Economics, for a second edition.
Rod Gagen – Dominion Energy
Roderick J Gagen is the Manager of Electric Market Operations in the Energy Supply Business group of Power Generation. The Market Operations Center manages Dominion Energy’s regulated portfolio of generation assets utilizing the Generation Management System to provide economic and emergency operational requirements to the PJM Interconnection which is a regional transmission organization (RTO) that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. PJM manages the high-voltage electricity grid to ensure reliability for more than 65 million people. The MOC Team of Generation System Operators and Coordinators are responsible for the 24/7 dispatch of generation with a goal to minimize costs and maximize margins through participation in the PJM Energy and Ancillary Markets.
The Market Operations team interfaces throughout each day with regional transmission organizations, generating plants, fuels group colleagues and Power Generation Coordinators within the Dominion footprint to facilitate the operation of generating units for economic and reliability considerations of the electric grid which encompasses the management and planning of Emergency Operations and System Restoration procedures.
Sammy Roberts – Duke Energy
Sammy Roberts is currently the General Manager – Transmission Planning and Operations Strategy at Duke Energy and is responsible for providing strategic direction for transmission planning and operations needs to enable Duke Energy’s generation transition to achieve clean energy goals. Sammy has 31 years of Nuclear Plant Engineering and Transmission Planning and Operations experience.
Steve Whisenant – Duke Energy / CAPER Chair & Facilitator
Steven G. Whisenant is currently serving as Lead Engineer in the Transmission Department of Duke Energy in Charlotte, NC. He is responsible for developing and managing the capital reliability budget and developing new work processes to ensure compliance with NERC Reliability Standards for the bulk transmission system.
As a Project Manager in a previous role, Mr. Whisenant was responsible for the design and implementation of the transition of responsibility for nuclear switchyards from Nuclear Generation to Power Delivery. Before serving as a project manager, Mr. Whisenant served as manager of Duke Power’s System Power Quality Group. Prior to that assignment, he worked in Customer Operations and Transmission Departments. He served as Electrical Project Manager for the Catawba Nuclear Station from 1981-1987. He first joined Duke Power in 1975 as an electrical engineer in the Design Engineering Department.
Mr. Whisenant received a B. S. degree in Electrical Engineering from NC State University, a M. E. degree in Electric Power from Renesselaer Polytechnic Institute and a MBA degree from Queens University. Mr. Whisenant is a registered professional engineer in North and South Carolina.
Dr. Tiefu Zhao – UNC Charlotte
Dr. Tiefu Zhao is an Assistant Professor at UNC Charlotte. He received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from NC State University in 2010. He was with Eaton Corporate Research and Technology from 2010 to 2016. He joined UNC Charlotte in 2016 and has been conducting research in renewable energy and power electronics areas, including power electronics for utility applications, ocean wave energy and wide bandgap device power converters.
Dr. Valentina Cecchi – UNC Charlotte
Dr. Valentina Cecchi is an Associate Professor and the Graduate Program Director in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research focuses on electric power system modeling and analysis. She leads the Power Delivery Innovation research group. Originally from Rome, Italy, Valentina attended Drexel University and completed B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering in 2005, 2007, and 2010, respectively.
Wesley Hudson – Dominion Energy
Wesley A. Hudson is currently the Manager of Day-Ahead Market Operations at Dominion Energy. He is responsible for the company’s electric wholesale operations, including energy procurement and generation unit commitment within the PJM Markets. Wes has 15 years of experience in engineering, project management, and the PJM Energy, Ancillary, and ARR/FTR Markets.
