CUB Conference Preview: Toward a More Resilient Energy Future
Posted on September 4, 2019 by Sudeshna Pal
Tags, Conference & Events
We are a couple of months away from the ninth annual CUB Policy Conference, Clean Energy Communities / Reliable Systems, which will be held on Friday, November 8 at the Downtown Portland Hilton! As plans are taking shape for the six breakout discussions that will take place throughout the day, I am excited to offer a preview of one of these breakout panels: Toward a More Resilient Energy Future.
It was not too long ago that a winter snowstorm left around 25000 customers without power in Douglas County of Western Oregon. It took utility companies over a month to restore power to all affected customers. Severe weather events like this are likely to become more common in the face of climate change. Utilities need to plan for a more “resilient” energy system. The Pacific Northwest is also threatened by prospects of a major earthquake and tsunami from the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Severe wildfire threats are growing in number. Further, the digitalization of the power grid with smart meters and other technologies has made the energy system ever more vulnerable to cyber security risks. Both utilities and regulators realize the importance of planning toward a future that will enable prompt recovery from major outages arising from any above-mentioned or similar events.
The ability to promptly recover from a major power outage amidst growing threats to the power system and a rapidly evolving utility landscape forms the basis for the idea of “resilience”, a term that is becoming more significant in the current utility world.
How do utilities plan for a more resilient system? What would be the most impactful investment in this context? Are customers willing to pay for a more resilient energy system? How is resilience different from reliability? Are there standardized metrics to evaluate utility resilience planning and improvement? What additional metrics are needed to evaluate resilience projects in terms of meeting a broader range of neighborhood interests? What are the roles of broadband service access and community engagement in emergency response strategies?
These are some of the questions that the speakers in this panel will endeavor to address. CUB is pleased to have four distinguished panelists confirmed to participate:
- Adam Schultz, Senior Policy Analyst, Oregon Department of Energy. Adam is a lead policy analyst at ODOE on various issues including energy resilience.
- Alexia Kelly, Founder and CEO at Electrical Capital Management. Alexia is currently involved in a “Microgrid” project to enhance energy resiliency at Hood River.
- Lori Koho, Program Manager, Utility, Safety, Reliability and Security Division, Oregon Public Utility Commission. Lori manages the OPUC division responsible for utility safety planning and programs, cyber security, disaster mitigation, emergency preparedness, and emergency response. She oversees a staff that inspects utility lines, pipelines and other facilities, develops safety policies, and investigates accidents.
- Jonna Papaefthimiou, Planning, Policy, and Community Programs Manager, Portland Bureau of Emergency Management.
- Erik Brookhouse, VP, Systems Operations, Pacific Power
We look forward to an exciting and informative discussion, and hope you are able to attend and take this opportunity to have your questions about resilience answered by a great team of experts. Learn more about these and other panelists, and register for the conference, at oregoncub.org/cubcon19! Register by our Early Bird deadline: Friday, October 11 for best pricing. For those traveling from outside of Portland, CUB has a discount block of rooms at the Duniway Hotel, across the street from the Hilton, available to conference attendees on a first-come, first-served basis. (Visit our Travel page for details.)
CUB is grateful to our generous sponsors for making this event possible: NW Natural, Pacific Power, Portland General Electric, and our media sponsor, Energy NewsData’s Clearing Up. Follow CUB conference news by signing up for our email list, and on Twitter at #CUBCon19.
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10/03/19 | 0 Comments | CUB Conference Preview: Toward a More Resilient Energy Future