Mar

23

Operations Conference – Virtual (Mar 23)

The WEI Operations Conference brings together hundreds of electric and natural gas energy operations senior leaders, managers, supervisors, and front-line employees for three days of education and networking, with breakout discussions for specific operations functions including; Operational Leadership, Workforce Development, Safety + Health, Safety Management Systems, Asset Management, Damage Prevention, Natural Gas Green Future, Natural Gas Emergency Response + Restoration, Natural Gas Integrity Management, Natural Gas Operational Excellence, Grid Resilience, Electric Distribution, Grid of the Future, Electric Substation, and Electric Transmission. This conference is a must for any professional in the energy business.

General Details

  • Program Chair(s)
  • Lora Anguay, Director, Distribution Operations & Maintenance, Sacramento Municipal Utility District

    • Program Location
    • Virtual Event
    • No travel required. All agenda times are in Pacific time.Instructions to access the virtual event will be provided to the attendee before the program.
    • Who Should Attend
    • Electric and Natural Gas Energy Operations:

      • Vice Presidents
      • Directors
      • Managers
      • Supervisors
      • Front line employees
      • Control professionals
      • Engineering professionals
      • Planning personnel
      • Substation professionals
      • Electric transmission professionals
      • Asset Management professionals
      • Renewable Gas engineering and policy leaders
      • Electric personnel responsible for wildfire mitigation, planning, and response
  • Registration Options
  • Member: $199 USD
    Regular: $299 USD

    Registration includes virtual access to all agenda items and digital program materials presented on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. If you are planning to attend the in-person conference on April 19-22, 2022, please register here. In-person registration includes access to this virtual event.

  • General Cancellation Policy
  • To best serve WEI members and program participants during the COVID-19 pandemic, WEI will be waiving its standard cancellation policy for this virtual program. Registrants can receive a full refund should they need to cancel their registration up to the day before the program begins.
  • Participation Policy
  • Western Energy Institute programs and events are open to energy companies (including gas production and electric generation, gas and electric transmission and gas and electric distribution utilities). Select programs and events are open to energy industry product and service suppliers. Programs and events are closed to all media representatives and to the general public.
  • For more information contact Beverly Woolf, Program Manager at (971) 303-2294.

Agenda

All session times are listed in Pacific time.

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

8:30 AM - 9:00 AM

Virtual Help Desk + Technology Check

The room will open early with optional time for participants to get familiar with the virtual platform, test their audio and webcam, or ask questions about the agenda before we begin.

9:00 AM - 9:15 AM

Welcome + Opening Remarks

9:15 AM - 10:30 AM

Breakout Sessions #1

Electric Substation Track: DERs Are Coming. Are We Ready?
Panelists:
Dawid Lizak, Manager, Infrastructure Advisory, METSCO Energy Solutions Inc.; Nataliya Kazakova, Senior Manager, Asset Management and System Planning, EPCOR Distribution and Transmission Inc.; Doug Houseman, Senior Management Consultant, 1898 & Co.
This panel will explore the emergence of distributed energy resources and their impact on substations. We will hear perspectives from developers and utilities. What are some of these new technologies? What are their risks and impacts to our substations and what do we need to do to prepare and plan accordingly?

Grid of the Future Track: Climate Change and Its Impacts on Utilities
Speakers:
Paul Dockery, Director of Energy Resources, Clatskanie People's Utility District; David James, Wildfire Resiliency Plan Manager, Avista Corp.; Lisa Ruchkall, Regional Engineer, FortisBC; Bill Meyring, Senior Fire Protection Engineer, Coffman Engineers; Brian Mulhollen, Division Manager, Safety Officer, Heli Dunn    
Evidence of Climate Change can be seen all over the world with an increased frequency of flooding, wildfires, and other natural disasters. Join us for a discussion on how utilities are combating the effects of climate change at present, how greenhouse gas reduction targets are impacting the ability to serve peak load, and wildfire mitigation strategies.

Natural Gas Emergency Response + Restoration Track: The Mobile Command Post, Establishment and Utilization
Moderators:
Brian Burdette, Emergency Management Supervisor, Southern California Gas Company; Rick Condry, Manager of Gas Field Operations, San Diego Gas & Electric Company
Speakers: Dallas Neville Jr., Senior Emergency Readiness Program Advisor, San Diego Gas & Electric Company; Miguel Angles, EOC Watch Specialist, Southern California Gas Company; Timothy Stuber, Senior Emergency Readiness Program Advisor, San Diego Gas & Electric Company
The effective establishment of a command post for natural gas emergencies is a critical part of response, safety, and restoration. This session will cover how to effectively establish and utilize a mobile command post including location, command vehicles, and technology.

Natural Gas Operational Excellence Track: Make the 1st Move: Kick Off your Management of Change
Speakers:
Greyson Brenk, Senior Engineer of Integrity Management, Dominion Energy Utah; Courtney Chamness, Operations Policy Specialist, MDU Utilities Group
In an industry where pipeline safety is the forefront of each day, properly implementing technical, physical, procedural or organization changes – whether minor or major – can make or break the day. This session will encourage you to Make the 1st Move toward bettering your company's pipeline safety by implementing a Management of Change program. Showing you that whether you're taking a simplistic or an intricate approach to kicking off an MOC program, it can be a highly benefitting move to make!

Safety Management Systems Track: You Have Collected SMS Data, Now What?
Speaker:
Steve Allen, Executive Director of Pipeline Safety, ENERGY worldnet, Inc.; Nancy Maynard, Manager of Damage Prevention Program Management, NiSource
Learn how companies evaluate and implement changes to their SMS. This session will explore the various ways that today’s technologies support the elements of a Safety Management System.  Technologies from Mobile Applications covering things such as training, communications, notifications, documentation, audit checklists, etc. to sophisticated Risk Modeling software applications enable organizations to manage and operate their companies in ways that were only dreamed of ten years ago.

Workforce Development Track: The Dynamic Normal: Sharing Experiences Around Growth of a Hybrid Workplace
Speakers:
Carolynn Ryan, Vice President People & Chief Human Resources Officer, BC Hydro; Alice Massara, Power Supervisor II, Tacoma Power; Tina Drews, Director, Talent Management, Human Resources, Salt River Project
Before the global COVID-19 pandemic, many utilities required office and field employees to spend most, if not all, of their time working onsite. Many of those utilities are now working to implement a hybrid model. Salt River Project (SRP), Tacoma Power/Tacoma Public Utilities (TPU), and BC Hydro have embraced the workplace of the future and have been developing policies, procedures and content to prepare leaders and employees to be successful in a hybrid workplace. Learn about SRP’s Leadership Essentials for the Hybrid Workplace program, how TPU is working to better understand and respond to their changing culture and mitigate the growing divide between “Boots and Suits" staff, and how BC Hydro transitioned their workforce to a flexible work model after realizing the benefits of remote working.

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM

Break

11:00 AM - 12:15 PM

Breakout Sessions #2

Asset Management Track: Asset Management by the People (and For the People)
Speakers:
Derick Dunkley, Asset Data Lifecycle Manager, National Grid; Kent Hamil, Senior Electrical Mechanic Supervisor, Los Angeles Department of Water & Power; Mahelet Dejene, Asset Management Team Lead, San Diego Gas & Electric Company    
Hear about the journey of asset management in two different companies from a people-focused perspective. Learn who and what triggered the creation of the asset management department, how teams were selected and integrated as part of the company and how asset programs continue to stay relevant as the department has matured. 

Electric Distribution Track: Problems and Solutions for Making the Grid of the Future a Reality
Speakers: 
Chad Heidt, Senior Electrical Engineer, MDU Utilities Group; Michael Diedesch, Lead Smart City Engineer, Avista Utilities; Nathan Ortega, Portland General Electric
Distributed energy resources, virtual power plants, microgrids, energy storage – many have predicted these technologies will be key to the future power grid. Utilities face many challenges as they seek to make this future a reality. In this session, you will hear from utilities carrying out cutting-edge projects, the challenges they have encountered and overcome, and how they are working to mitigate these technologies’ potential negative impacts on the grid and the utility enterprise.

Electric Transmission Track: Challenges and Choices: Transmission Project Review
Speakers:
Stanislav Dekic, Principal Engineer, San Diego Gas & Electric Company; Scott Ekeland, Project Engineering Manager – Transmission, Black & Veatch; Paul Mostella, Project Engineering Manager – Substation, Black & Veatch; Corey Scrima, Project Engineer, POWER Engineers, Inc.; Scott McKinney, Geotechnical Engineer, POWER Engineers, Inc.    
A review of several projects where unique challenges were overcome through creative solutions from engineering, supply chain and construction personnel.  This session will include presentations covering various topics, including a project in Texas where optimal project execution strategies were implemented to efficiently upgrade system voltage while simultaneously interconnecting to ERCOT, how a fly ash shortage lead a utility in California to develop an innovative foundation materials solution and double casing design being used on a project in Washington to mitigate lateral loading on an adjacent pipeline.

Low Carbon Fuels Track: Decarbonization: Overview of the Options
Panelists:
Michael Goff, Technology Manager, Black & Veatch; Brendan Shaffer, Associate, Zen Clean Energy Solutions; Christy Engemann, Manager, Environmental Commitment, Spire Storage
This session will provide an overview of technologies that are being considered by gas utilities to address decarbonization. We will hear from both utilities and engineering firms on the decarbonization technologies being considered including hydrogen, RNG, carbon capture, etc.

Natural Gas Integrity Management Track: Putting the Data Into Action: Improving the Quality & Usefulness of IM Data
Speakers:
Jackie Smith, Principal, Integrity Management Systems, Rosen Swiss AG; Brian Patrick, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Rosen – Integration of new ILI results with previous ILI results and Pipeline records, such as GIS, offer more in-depth understanding of pipeline integrity threats.  Integrating and aligning multiple integrity datasets gives operators more information and spatial awareness so the integrity of pipeline assets can be better understood, managed, and analyzed for making informed decisions.  Inline inspection technologies have allowed ILI tools to capture data that aids in identifying specific pipeline characteristics for comparing with GIS pipeline records and to aid in defining populations, reducing the burden of the material verification process.  The adoption of Pipeline Data Standards, like PODS,  provides a stable system of record for an operator's assets, this allows for more efficient collection and exchange of pipeline information between relevant stakeholders and integrating with ILI results for more effective Integrity Management overall.  Integrating ILI data from the inspection tools with the Operators pipeline records enables valuable insight and should be part of an Operator's Integrity Management Plans.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company – Leak/rupture boundary model for cracks and cracklike defects:  PG&E implemented method to use integrity management data and fracture mechanics principals to delineate the line between a leak and a rupture (beyond just using operating pressure < 30% SMYS).  Data is used to inform and prioritize upcoming integrity management driven projects.  Emphasis on managing axial cracking related threats (i.e. manufacturing, selective seam weld corrosion, and axial-SCC).    

Safety + Health Track: COVID: A State of Constant Change
Facilitator:
Dean Battershill, Manager, Safety Operations, ENMAX Corporation
Panelists: Marc Hendon, Risk Manager of Corporate Health & Safety, Los Angeles Department of Water & Power; Brad Hawn, Construction Engineer, Salt River Project; Ashley Kaiser, Integrated System Analysis Distribution System Planning – Engineer 2, Southern California Edison
Come join us for a chance to discuss the impact COVID has had on the health and safety of our workforce. This global pandemic has manifested profound changes in our daily life and routines. The constant changes in policies, mandates and even our work locations have left workers feeling upended, confused and frustrated. In this session, you will broaden your understanding by hearing three distinct perspectives on how COVID changes have impacted workers’ mental and physical health as well as the impact these changes have had on workers’ ability to safely continue to perform their work.

12:15 PM - 12:45 PM

Break

12:45 PM - 2:00 PM

Breakout Sessions #3

Damage Prevention Track: Identifying High Risk Tickets
Speakers:
Ryan Dove, Program Manager, Damage Prevention Strategies, Southern California Gas Company; Michael Kaminski, Administrator/Damage Prevention, Southwest Gas Corporation
Southwest Gas and SoCalGas present how they each implemented 811 ticket risk scoring technology differently to quickly identify high risk excavation sites.  Learn the differences between Southwest Gas’s deployment of a vendor provided ticket risk scoring solution vs SoCalGas’s in-house developed solution and how both Companies are leveraging the risk scoring technologies to reduce excavation damages.

Grid Resilience Track: The Old, the Best, and the Risky
Speakers:
Tony Marshall, Duke Energy; Jason Le, Electrical Engineer Associate, Los Angeles Department of Water & Power; Jimmy Dai, Engineer In Training (EIT), ATCO Electric
In this session we will discuss how utilities are approaching the aging infrastructure problem in prioritizing replacement. This includes how to be more proactive versus reactive with potential infrastructure failures, how to prioritize and balance spending on grid hardening versus grid resilience, and how to apply analysis techniques to quantify and equitably understand risk for differing options for system improvement.

Operational Leadership TrackNavigating Virtual/Remote Working After Pandemic
Speakers:
Lora Anguay, Chief Zero Carbon Officer, Sacramento Municipal Utility District; Steve Bullum, Power Engineering Manager, Los Angeles Department of Water & Power
A guideline for success in keeping teams together during Covid and maintaining productivity; including strategies for adapting to remote work technology and transforming office culture within a virtual environment.

Meet The Speakers

Joy Estrelon

San Diego Gas & Electric Company

Asset Mgmt Program Manager

Derrick Dunkley

National Grid

Asset Data Lifecycle Manager
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Fellow of the Institute of Asset Management, a Registered Asset Management Professional and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. With more than twenty years working in engineering utilities in the United Kingdom. Derrick has more than 10 years’ senior leadership experience with asset management, a Master’s degree in Business and a Master of Arts in Theology and is currently the National Grid Patron representative and Chair of Global Inclusion Committee at the Institute of Asset Management.

Ryan Dove

Southern California Gas Company

Program Manager, Damage Prevention Strategies
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Ryan Dove is the Damage Prevention Strategies Program Manager for SoCalGas, the nation’s largest natural gas distribution utility, improving excavation safety across approximately 110,000 miles of natural gas Distribution and Transmission pipelines, within a 24,000 square mile service territory and serving over 21 million customers. Ryan is an active member of damage prevention stakeholder groups including the American Gas Association, California Regional Common Ground Alliance, National Common Ground Alliance, and both of California’s Regional Notification Centers. Ryan has over 22 years of experience in the natural gas industry including Distribution Operations Supervisor, Staff Advisor, Resource Scheduling Advisor, Operator Qualifications Specialist, and Pipeline Construction Technician. Ryan has led the Damage Prevention Program at SoCalGas since 2013.

Michael Kaminski

Southwest Gas Corporation

Manager/Engineering
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Michael Kaminski joined Southwest Gas in August of 2016 and has over ten years of experience in the oil and gas industry. Prior to working with Southwest Gas, he held roles in both operations and engineering in upstream oil and gas production across the U.S. As Manager/Engineering he currently oversees various functions including Line Location and Damage Prevention in Phoenix, AZ. Michael also held various Engineering roles and was the Damage Prevention Administrator in Tucson, AZ. He is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering.

Chad Heidt

MDU Utilities Group

Senior Electrical Engineer

Michael Diedesch

Avista Utilities

Lead Smart City Engineer
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Mike Diedesch is the Avista Grid Innovation Lab Manager. He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Washington State University in 2008 and is a registered Professional Engineer in Washington. Since joining Avista Utilities in Spokane, WA, he has worked in various engineering roles including Generation Controls, SCADA, System Protection, Metering, and Smart Cities Lead.

Nathan Ortega

Portland General Electric

Manager, Standby Distributed Generation and Virtual Power Plant Operations
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Mr. Ortega has served in the energy field for more than 15 years. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering with emphasis on Power Systems from New Mexico State University. While in college he worked in Field Engineering at El Paso Electric. After receiving his degree, he worked as an Electrical Facilities Engineer with Intel. He also has worked for PacifiCorp in the roles of T&D project Manager, Substation Design Manager, Director of Transmission Services and Generation Interconnects, EIM implementation Director, and Director Regional System Operations overseeing the 24×7 control center operations of the transmission and distribution system for PacifiCorp’s Washington, Oregon, California, and Wyoming service territories. Mr. Ortega also worked in an energy startup company overseeing the development, design, and integration of edge of grid hardware and embedded software for advanced visibility and control of edge of grid resources and is currently the manager of Standby Distributed Generation and Virtual Power Plant operations at PGE.

Dawid Lizak

METSCO Energy Solutions Inc.

Manager, Infrastructure Advisory
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Dawid Lizak, who has helped support utilities in the continued development and evolution of their AM practice, including the maturity assessment of the AM practice, the development of AM Policy & Strategic Asset Management Plans, as well as the development of Individual Asset Management Plans. Mr. Lizak has also led the development of Disaster Recovery Plans for utilities to better safeguard their distribution grids from extreme events.

Mr. Lizak has previously led initiatives to prioritize and justify major capital investments for utilities as part of their Asset Management and Distribution System Plans. Mr. Lizak also has extensive experience in the development of asset condition assessments, reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) and asset modeling. Planning projects have included the development of Distribution System Plans, Asset Condition Assessments, Asset Management Plans in alignment with ISO55000, and the facilitation of RCM for maintenance operations and development of failure probability curves.

Mr. Lizak’s project background includes leading and managing many asset management and strategy projects exceeding client expectations to further empower utilities to manage their assets better.

Nataliya Kazakova

EPCOR Distribution and Transmission Inc.

Senior Manager, Asset Management and System Planning
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Natalia Kazakova is the Senior Manager of Integrated Planning in EPCOR Distribution & Transmission Inc. (“EDTI”). Ms. Kazakova’s responsibilities include leading the Asset Management, System Planning and Risk and Performance Management teams who manage EDTI’s distribution physical assets and power infrastructure during their life cycle, oversee timely, rational, and cost-effective expansion of EPCOR’s distribution electric system, and plan capital and operational expenditures to ensure EDTI’s system growth and service sustainability.
Natalia has been working in the area of Asset Management for the past 14 years; such, before joining EPCOR, she was providing consulting services to utility companies across North America, and before that served as a Senior Manager in Transmission and Distribution Asset Investment Management in BC Hydro responsible for a broad strategic business portfolio.
Ms. Kazakova holds two Master of Science degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Alberta and Lvov National Polytechnic University, Ukraine respectively and a Business Degree from the Simon Fraser University, and is a Professional Engineer registered with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (“APEGA”).

Doug Houseman

1898 & Co.

Senior Management Consultant
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Doug is a long-time industry veteran with more than 45 years of experience. He has filled every position in the industry from climbing poles to running a utility. He is the Chair of IEEE P2030, A NIST resiliency fellow, A former member of GWAC, and the retired chair of the IEEE PES Intelligent grid and emerging technology coordinating committee. He is co-chair of the just announced IEEE GridEdge conference to be held in the spring of 2023.

Corey Scrima

POWER Engineers, Inc.

Project Engineer
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Corey Scrima is a civil engineer with a broad range of experience in transmission line design from 34.5 kV to 500 kV including lattice steel tower, tubular steel pole, wood pole and guyed structure designs. His experience includes siting, routing, engineering support to permitting, detailed design, and cost estimating.
POWER supported Puget Sound Energy’s Energize Eastside Project which will upgrade of 18 miles of transmission line from 115 kV to 230 kV from Redmond to Renton, Washington as Owner’s Engineer. Corey is the Lead Project Engineer of the transmission line.

Stanislav Dekic

San Diego Gas & Electric Company

Principal Engineer
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Stanislav Dekic is a principal engineer in the SDG&E Electric Engineering Civil/Structural Department. He has been involved in the power generation and transmission industry for 25 years. He has been involved in design, repairs, upgrades and maintenance of numerous fossil fuel and nuclear power plants, and transmission lines. He is a professional engineer in California and Wisconsin. He has a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from University of Illinois at Chicago.

Scott Ekeland

Black & Veatch

Project Engineering Manager – Substation
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Scott Ekeland is a Project Engineer for Black & Veatch in College Station, TX. He has 3 years of experience in HV equipment condition assessment and 10 years of substation design experience at voltages up to 345kV, including 4 ½ years as the engineering manager of substation projects for Lubbock Power & Light’s 115kV voltage conversion and ERCOT integration programs. He is a Texas and Oklahoma P.E. and holds a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University.

Paul Mostella

Black & Veatch

Project Engineering Manager – Transmission
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Paul Mostella is a Project Engineer at Black & Veatch’s Houston office with over 12 years of experience in overhead transmission line design and construction. He served as the project’s engineering manager for transmission lines on the Lubbock Power & Light 69kV to 115kV voltage conversion program. He holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering degrees in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University-College Station and is a Registered Professional Engineer. He is also an active member with ASCE and IEEE.

Tony Marshall

Duke Energy

Operations Engineer
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Tony Marshall is a Telecom Power & Facilities Engineer with Duke Energy in Saint Petersburg, FL. Tony has worked with the electric utility for more than 48 years. Previous engineering experience includes multiple disciplines including RF/MW, Telephony, Optical Network Systems, and AC/DC Power Systems. His current responsibilities include design and construction of telecom facilities including towers, buildings, generators, and AC/DC power systems.

Jason Le

Los Angeles Department of Water & Power

Electrical Engineer
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Jason Le is a California-licensed electrical engineer with 20 years of experience in development and design of power engineering projects, engineering management, and support of operation and maintenance activities. He is currently holding a supervisor position of the Maintenance Engineering and Planning group in the Power Maintenance and Construction division at Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). He supervises a group of electrical engineers to provide supports to troubleshoot and restore substation equipment, perform analytics using EPRI software PTX and other LADWP’s tools and resources to prioritize and plan for LADWP power system transformer replacement, research new technologies and best practices for online condition monitoring for critical assets such as power transformers and transmission-class circuit breakers.

Brendan Shaffer

Zen Clean Energy Solutions

Associate
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Brendan Shaffer is an Associate at Zen Clean Energy Solutions, a specialty consulting firm in Vancouver, BC with a focus on hydrogen and fuel cells. He has been working in the clean energy sector for 13 years and has a passion for bringing projects from concept to commercial operation. Brendan is an expert in renewable energy system modeling, integration, construction, commissioning, and operation.

Brendan has a diverse background in renewable system engineering working as a research engineer at UC Irvine and as a Solar + Storage Analytics Engineer at Swinerton Renewable Energy. In both positions, he worked with clients to model, test, develop, and deploy renewable energy systems.

Christy Engemann

Spire Storage

Manager, Environmental Commitment
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Christy Engemann is the Manager of Environmental Commitment for Spire. Her group’s responsibilities include everything sustainability and emissions related, including quantifying, tracking, reporting, and setting the path for Spire to be carbon neutral by mid-century. Christy is a scientist with four years of experience in the natural gas industry, and 16 years of experience in the environmental field. She earned a Master of Science in Environmental Science in 2006 and a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2002.

Michael Goff

Black & Veatch

Technology Manager
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Michael is Technology Manager in Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals at Black & Veatch. His area of expertise is syngas generation from multiple sources and the production of chemicals such as hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, and liquid fuels. His most recent focus on helping clients develop and achieve their decarbonization goals.

Miguel Angles

Southern California Gas Company

EOC Watch Specialist
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Miguel is currently a specialist assigned to the Emergency Operations Center, Watch Desk, and has been in this assignment since April 2021.

Miguel joined SoCalGas in 2013 as a Meter Reader. His prior SoCalGas work experience also includes service as an Advanced Meter Installer, Customer Service Representative, and Safety Mentor for the Customer Contact Centers.

Miguel has a B.S. in Business Management and Administration from the University of Phoenix, OSHA General Industry and Construction Safety Certifications, Certified Ergonomic Assessment Specialist from The Back School, and Certified Occupational Safety Specialist from the Pacific Safety Council, San Diego, and is an Associate Safety Professional (ASP) with the Board of Certified Safety Professionals.

Rick Condry

San Diego Gas & Electric Company

Manager of Gas Field Operations

Brian Burdette

Southern California Gas Company

Emergency Operations Center Supervisor

Dallas Neville

San Diego Gas & Electric Company

Senior Emergency Readiness Program Advisor
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Denny currently serves San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) as a Senior Emergency Readiness Program Advisor. He has been with SDG&E for over 5 years in roles associated with both the company’s emergency response program and facilitating the First Responder Outreach Program in addition to training and mentoring our ICS program. Prior to joining SDG&E Denny spent 39 years in the fire service, retiring at the rank of Deputy Fire Chief.
During his fire service career, he was engaged in many facets of a modern fire agency. From Operations Chief to Fire Marshal, he also specialized in the public safety communications space, specifically involved in the design, specification, construction, operational use and management of radio systems, radio hardware, public safety dispatch centers and mobile command resources.
A native of San Diego, Denny and his wife enjoy travel, wine, and when possible travelling for wine.

Timothy Stuber

San Diego Gas & Electric Company

Senior Emergency Readiness Program Advisor
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Timothy Stuber is Emergency Management Field ICS Program Manager at San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E). Before joining SDG&E in 2020, Timothy climbed the San Diego Fire Service ranks and retired after 31 years of service in the dual role of Deputy Fire Chief and Emergency Manager for a local municipality in San Diego County, California. During his tenure in the fire service, he responded to countless emergencies where he served in the role of Incident Commander and various other positions identified in the Incident Command System.
His goal at SDG&E is to transfer his knowledge, skills, and abilities to provide gas and electric responders with emergency scene management skills, Incident Command System proficiencies, and ultimately a safer work environment for operators at emergency incidents. He enjoys spending time with his family, riding motorcycles, and exercising in his personal time.

Jackie Smith

Rosen Swiss AG

Principal, Integrity Management Systems
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Jackie Smith has over 25 years of experience in GIS, Databases, Data Architecture and Project Management of Information Systems. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a focus on Electrical Engineering and Management Information Systems from the University of Texas in Austin. Jackie has extensive experience in analysis, designing, implementing and supporting enterprise GIS solutions, as well as Enterprise Data Governance and development of databases, recently involved in a major PODS 7 implementation at a major US Operator. Currently, she serves on the Board of PODS Association as the President and on the Board of the Local DAMA Houston Chapter. Jackie joined ROSEN in March 2020 as a Principal, Integrity Management Systems, where she serves clients in all aspects of Integrity Management Software solutions, including GIS and Engineering Services support.

Brian Patrick

Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Expert Gas Risk Engineer
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Brian Patrick is an Expert Risk Engineer in PG&E’s transmission integrity management program with seven years of experience in pipeline integrity management. His primary areas of focus are threat identification, risk quantification, fracture mechanics, and failure analysis for transmission pipelines. Brian has a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from UC Berkeley and PE in mechanical engineering.

Greyson Brenk

Dominion Energy Utah

Engineer III, Integrity Management
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Greyson Brenk graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering. He has ten years of experience in Natural Gas Transmission Integrity Management. He now has responsibility for DEUWI’s Integrity Management Plan, Management of Change process, and material verification plan.

Courtney Chamness

MDU Utilities Group

Operations Policy Specialist
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As the MDU Utilities Group Management of Change Coordinator, Courtney administered the company’s Management of Change program and assisted with the development, writing, and editing of Company policies, procedures, and materials.
With an entrepreneur and radio talent background, her energy industry career began in 2015 at the Montana-Dakota Utilities Company. Working her way up from an entry-level position, Courtney has earned her most recent promotion as an Operations Policy Specialist.
Outside of grammar policing, dotting i’s and crossing t’s Courtney is a mother of two, bonus mom to one and looks forward to her summer 2022 wedding.

Jill Jorgensen

Spinal Health Consultants, Inc.

President

Robert Coleman

Southern California Gas Company

Field Technologies Project Manager II
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I have worked for SoCalGas for nearly 2 decades. I have worked in several departments: Call Center, Transmission, Customer Services Field, Advanced Meter, Gas Operations, and Safety Management Systems. I developed the method by which all employees now perform the majority of their required annual trainings online and have saved my company millions through this and other initiatives. I initiated and with a team of talented individuals developed the Project Management Networking & Development community within SoCalGas for Project Managers and those who wish to become one. I was also involved in testing the use of HENG (Hydrogen Enriched Natural Gas) in our system.

Steve Bullum

Los Angeles Department of Water & Power

Power Engineering Manager

Lora Anguay

Sacramento Municipal Utility District

Chief Zero Carbon Officer
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With over 20 years of experience in the electric utility industry, Lora is currently serving as SMUD’s first Chief Zero Carbon Officer. In this role, she’s responsible for the transition of SMUD’s power supply to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2030. Lora provides leadership for SMUD’s energy supply, which includes design, construction, maintenance and transition of SMUD’s power generation assets; the sale and procurement of energy resources and settlements of energy transactions and customer program design and development pertaining to distributed energy resources. She’s also responsible for research and development activities and establishing new business partnerships that align with SMUD’s 2030 zero carbon goal.

Lora’s previous leadership experience at SMUD includes overseeing the day-to-day operations of the distribution grid, transmission and distribution maintenance engineering, the development of electrical design and construction standards and the work management activities for line design and construction. Lora led the deployment of SMUD’s smart meter project and managed SMUD’s distribution automation project.

Lora earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the California State University, Sacramento and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Western Energy Institute and the CSUS, Foundation Board and is a member of the Leadership Roseville class of 2023.

Dean Battershill

ENMAX Corporation

Manager, Safety Operations
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Dean Battershill has over 24 years in the Utility industry and today he supports ENMAX Corporation in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in his current role as Manager of Safety Operations. He began his career as an apprentice in the Power-line Technician (PLT) program. Once completed, Dean continue to work as a PLT in Ontario, Canada before 2008 where he moved west to Calgary. Dean has strengthened his career with various roles including Field Construction builds for Distribution Overhead, Underground and Network power systems , Secondary Network power system planning and design, Field Manager- Underground, Locates and Network Field teams, and Safety Specialist. Today Dean is very active in his role today as Safety Operations Manager supporting the various companies under ENMAX Corporation. These include Power generation of ENMAX Energy, and Power delivery of ENMAX Power.

Brad Hawn

Salt River Project

Supervisor Field Operations Support
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Brad Hawn, Supervisor Field Operations Support, has been working in construction at SRP for more than 38 years. He started in maintenance with SRP’s water group working on canal structures and gates and applied for a C&M apprenticeship in 1985. In 1986, he transferred to the electric power side of the company, supporting line crews with dry utility work – conduit installations, road crossings, and excavations. In 1993, with the company using more and more contracting crews for construction and maintenance work, he saw the writing on the wall and applied for a second apprenticeship as a lineman. Upon graduation, he worked as a lineman, lead lineman, and foreman for many years before switching his focus to help manage large projects taken on by contracting crews on behalf of SRP. Brad is passionate about teaching new employees and contractors how to perform work efficiently and safely, making sure they don’t just know the “how,” but also the “why.” When he’s not at work, he enjoys spending time with his family and especially his adorable grandchildren.

Ashley Kaiser

Southern California Edison

Distribution System Planning Engineer
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Ashley Kaiser is a Distribution System Planning Engineer with Southern California Edison. She graduated in December 2017 from Cal Poly University, Pomona with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. She started working with Southern California Edison as an intern in 2016 and was offered a full-time position after graduation. Since beginning work with SCE she has been in multiple groups throughout the company, but has always been on the distribution side of the utility as distribution is her passion. Currently, she oversees a large piece of Edison territory in which she plans, designs, and engineers solutions to support growth on the system. Her other passion is mental health, psychology, and trying to reduce the stigma of mental illnesses by sharing her story with anyone who will take the time to listen and learn.

Nancy Maynard

NiSource

Manager of Damage Prevention Strategy and Centralized Operations
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Nancy Maynard was born in Eugene, Oregon, graduated from Oregon State University, and eventually through work ended up in the Columbus, OH area where she has lived since 1993.

As the manager of Damage Prevention Strategy and Centralized Operations at NiSource, Nancy’s organization supports the state damage prevention teams through screening of state one call tickets, investigation, billing and recovery of facility damages, and partnering with state leadership to develop state-specific strategic damage prevention plans leveraging the ticket risk model and interactive dashboards to prevent excavation damages.

Nancy has over 20 years of experience in project management, process improvement, financial analysis and budgeting, and has a MBA from Franklin University. Since joining NiSource in 2009, she has held a variety of leadership positions in project management, finance, IT and damage prevention. Nancy joined the damage prevention team in early 2018 to support the company’s goal of shifting from reactive damage prevention to proactive and predictive risk reduction.

Nancy lives with her husband Troy in Pleasantville, Ohio and enjoys gardening and home improvement projects in her spare time.

Steve Allen

ENERGY worldnet, Inc.

Executive Director of Pipeline Safety
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Steve Allen is the Executive Director of Pipeline Safety for Energy Worldnet (EWN) where he focuses on PSMS Advocacy. Prior to joining EWN, Steve was the Director of Pipeline Safety for the state of Indiana where he served as the Chairman of the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives (NAPSR) from 2015-2016. In 2016 he was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Transportation to serve on PHMSA’s Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC). He was also just recently elected to the BOD of the American Public Gas Association.

Prior to his time as a State Regulator, Steve spent over twenty years working for an investor owned local distribution company in Indiana in a variety of roles. Steve received his BS in Business from Indiana University and his MBA from Butler University and is a non-practicing Certified Public Accountant (Inactive Status) in the state of Indiana.

Alice Massara

Tacoma Power

Power Supervisor II
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Alice Massara is currently a Strategic People Programs Manager for Tacoma Power, Tacoma Public Utilities. Her key areas of business are workforce development, employee programs, organizational culture, and DEI.

Alice studied Human Resources, Strategic Planning, Organizational Culture, Public Policy, Governance and Finance while earning her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from City University of Seattle. She also has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Washington, a Utility Management Certificate from Willamette University, and is credentialed as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR and SHRM-SCP).

Tina Drews

Salt River Project

Director, Talent Management, Human Resources
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Dr. Tina Drews is the Director of Talent Management at SRP. She leads organizational and leadership development, skills training and apprenticeships, diversity and inclusion, education, and talent strategy. Dr. Drews advocates for innovative workforce solutions, is passionate about employee development, continuous learning, and the advancement of our workforce. She has extensive experience in public and higher education and serves on numerous community boards and commissions.

Miguel Angles

Southern California Gas Company

EOC Watch Specialist

Rick Condry

San Diego Gas & Electric Company

Manager of Gas Field Operations

Timothy Stuber

San Diego Gas & Electric Company

Senior Emergency Readiness Program Advisor

Jimmy Dai

ATCO Electric

Engineer In Training (EIT)

Paul Dockery

Clatskanie People's Utility District

Director of Energy Resources
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Paul Dockery is the Director of Energy Resources for Clatskanie People’s Utility District where he manages a dynamic and innovative team of public power professionals. His team created an industry podcast called Public Power Underground during remote work which has evolved into a collaboration with NewsData, the premier intelligence source for electric and natural gas policy, markets and resources in the Western U.S. and Canada.

He joined Clatskanie PUD in 2013 after holding positions of increasing responsibility operating, constructing, and developing wind projects at NextEra Energy Resources.

Paul is the father of three children and is married to his best friend. In their “free time” they built a Hobbit Hole in their backyard which they named “Brackenberry Hollow.”

David James

Avista Corp.

Wildfire Resiliency Plan Manager
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David James is in his 29th at Avista Utilities, Spokane WA. He has held various positions within T&D Engineering and Operations and is currently developing Avista’s Wildfire Resiliency Program. He has engineering degrees from University of Idaho (BSEE, `89) and Washington State University (MSEE, `91). He was instrumental in the development of Gonzaga’s Transmission & Distribution engineering program and remains involved at Gonzaga University.

Mahelet Dejene

San Diego Gas & Electric Company

Asset Management Team Lead
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Mahi Dejene is a Team Lead at San Diego Gas & Electric’s Asset Management Team. She is a licensed Professional Engineer in Electric Engineering in California and a Certified Associate Project Manager. She has been with SDG&E since April 2009 and has held several positions in Asset Management, Business Process Improvement and Optimization, Electric Distribution, Transmission and Substation teams. She was a project manager in SDG&E’s Clean Transportation department leading the effort for its Power Your Drive (PYD) program installing EV Chargers across SDGE service territory. Mahi is currently leading the Investment Prioritization Copperleaf Implementation Project.

Kent Hamil

Los Angeles Department of Water & Power

Senior Electrical Mechanic Supervisor
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Kent’s current role is to supervise one of the larger LADWP user groups that maintains and monitors the Asset & Maintenance Management system (IBM Maximo). The ESM Maximo office supports and monitors maintenance activities of the field crews, and actively maintains day to day asset management for designated assets classes. As the lead administrator for the ESM he coordinates with the main LADWP administrative group that manages the Maximo program. Then ESM acts as a partner to fully develop approved changes to for an existing asset class, or to develop a new asset class for use in the data base.

Scott McKinney

POWER Engineers, Inc.

Geotechnical Engineer
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Scott McKinney is a geotechnical engineer with 10 years of project experience throughout the western U.S. As part of POWER Engineer’s Boise office, GeoSciences Department he supports overhead transmission line foundation design and construction monitoring. He specializes in geotechnical investigations, shallow and deep foundation analysis and design, settlement, slope stability, retaining wall, and soil/rock anchors.

POWER supported the PSE Energize Eastside Project which will upgrade of 18 miles of transmission line from 115 kV to 230 kV from Redmond to Renton, Washington as Owner’s Engineer. Specifically, Scott supported the project as Lead Foundation Engineer to optimize transmission structure foundation types, depths, and diameters. He also evaluated foundation options in sensitive residential areas, evaluated seismic conditions, and evaluated pressures exerted from the foundations on nearby pipelines and coordinated these calculation methods and results with the pipeline engineering team.

Carolynn Ryan

BC Hydro

Vice President People & Chief Human Resources Officer
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I’m the Vice-President, People & Chief Human Resources Officer at BC Hydro. I lead the team of HR professionals who support employees through the entire employment life cycle from recruitment to retirement.

Our HR departments include Recruitment, Client Services, People Development, Inclusion & Diversity, Employee Relations, Total Rewards & Systems and the Ethics and Merit Office. We work collaboratively with many groups across the organization to support managers and employees to do their best work. I believe that everyone comes to work every day wanting to add value and be valued and that belief is evident in my leadership style and I work to ensure that’s reflected in all our HR programs.

I live by the motto: Lead, Learn, Share. It’s important for us to remember that success in our roles isn’t all about individual productivity – we also need to take into account the impact we have on one another. We have to not only “look up” from our work, but also out outside our team, department and even our company. When we lead by example, learn from one another and are open to sharing our knowledge and experience, we all get better.

I have worked in HR for my entire career, specializing for many years in Labour Relations and collective bargaining. Before joining BC Hydro, I worked at WorkSafeBC for 25 years in progressively more senior positions in Human Resources, with my final positions as Director of Labour Relations & Strategic Partnerships and Director, HR Operations – Worker and Employer Services.

I was born in Prince George, raised in Kamloops and briefly lived in Mississauga, but I’ve called Vancouver home for many years. My recent passions include honing my Spanish, roller skating and reinvesting in quality time with my husband and two boys, who are now actually young adults! I also like to go camping and explore our beautiful province.

Marc Hendon

Los Angeles Department of Water & Power

Risk Manager of Corporate Health & Safety
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Marc Hendon is a Risk Manager for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). He graduated from California State University, Northridge with a master’s degree in Environmental and Occupational Health. Marc started his career in 1999 when he joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California as a Health and Safety Engineer. In 2001, Marc was hired by LADWP to serve as Industrial Hygienist during which time he attended law school and earned his Juris Doctorate degree. He is a member of the California State Bar as well as a Certified Industrial Hygienist. Marc currently oversees LADWP’s Corporate Safety Office and is a member of the company’s COVID Task Force. The efforts of his team were integral to LADWP’s achievement of the United States Green Building Council’s Sustainable Innovation award for Indoor Air Quality as well as Electrical Power Research Institute Technology Transfer Awards for Heat Stress Management and Ergonomic Interventions.

Bill Meyring

Coffman engineering

Senior Fire Protection Engineer
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Bill has 20 years of experience incorporating code compliance, fire testing and technical consulting. His expertise includes extensive lithium-ion battery fire protection research and performance testing, serving as SME for BESS Fire protection for over 20 large BESS installations. Other related experience includes fire protection code development, AHJ coordination and permitting for BESS, hazard mitigation analysis for BESS, and clean agent and special hazards fire protection experience. Bill has a master’s in fire protection and mechanical engineering and is licensed PE in five states.

Brian Mulhollen

Heli Dunn

Division Manager, Safety Officer
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Brian Mulhollen is the Division Manager for Heli-Saw Operations and the Safety Officer with Heli-Dunn, a Medford, Oregon, helicopter based company. For over twenty years he spent a career in Interagency Wildland Fire & Aviation Management as a Hotshot, Helicopter Rappeller, Incident Commander, Burn Boss Type II. He left service as a Battalion Chief and Fuels Management Specialist with the US Bureau of Land Management.

Brian began his career in forestry and land management and was recognized early for his talent and dedication to his craft. For his work on an urban park and trail system in his hometown of Jacksonville, Oregon, Mulhollen was awarded two Jefferson Awards; the highest award for public service in the nation, given by the National Institute for Public Service in Washington D.C., 1993.

John Gibson

Avista Utilities

Chief R&D Engineer, Manager of Distribution Services
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John Gibson is an experienced engineer working at Avista for over twenty five year leading a variety of power and innovation projects. John’s positions at Avista have included hydro generation, facility management systems, distribution planning, smart grid DMS systems, storage and micro-grid projects. As the Chief R&D engineer, John is one of the principle team members responsible for envisioning, proposing and implementation grid edge projects. The grid edge projects focus on blending renewable resources, DERM’s, and rate design into a new utility delivery platform. John’s most recent effort is the sponsorship of an eco-district designed to incorporate private investment into utility infrastructure to achieve “net-zero” and “carbon free” cost effective developments. John holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical (BSEE) and civil engineering (BSCE) from Gonzaga University and a Masters in Engineering Management from Washington State University.

Lisa Ruchkall

FortisBC

Regional Engineer
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Lisa Ruchkall graduated from the University of Manitoba in 2012 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering. She spent the first five years of her career working at Manitoba Hydro primarily in roles related to system planning and transmission system operations. In 2017, she relocated to Castlegar, British Columbia, and joined the FortisBC team as a Regional Engineer on the electric side of the utility. In this role, she is involved with system planning, asset management of distribution, and transmission infrastructure where she provides operational support. She has been a member of the FortisBC Climate Change Adaptation Planning Team since 2020, which works to plan and implement projects to help mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Bill Meyring

Coffman Engineers

Senior Fire Protection Engineer