[E&E seminars] Tomorrow - SMARTpower: Climate Change, the Smart Grid, and the Future of Electric Utilities

[Jameson Twomey]

SMARTpower: Climate Change, the Smart Grid, and the Future of Electric  
Utilities

Dr. Peter Fox-Penner

April 14

3:00 PM

Room E51-325, Tang Center

Book signing and reception to follow

Presentation overview

Dr. Peter Fox-Penner will provide attendees with an overview of the  
rapidly changing landscape of the utility industry and how current  
challenges will shape its transformation. The potential for a national  
policy to address the impact of climate change is pressuring utilities  
to shift their focus to the development and acquisition of new sources  
of renewable energy and low-carbon power. Meanwhile, a technical  
revolution known as the Smart Grid is underway in the electric power  
sector, providing dramatic new opportunities for customers to control  
their power usage and for utilities to change the way they operate. In  
addition, interest in renewable energy infrastructure has exploded and  
the electric industry is planning significant expansion of  
transmission lines and the creation of a national transmission  
superhighway.

These unprecedented developments will prompt utilities to undergo the  
largest and most significant changes in their history, transforming  
them from regulated commodity energy firms to low-carbon network  
operators. Dr. Fox-Penner will discuss how and why the utility  
industry must adapt to the climate imperative by examining the  
industry’s technology, cost characteristics, and ability to function  
as a sustainable business, as well as the practi cal and political  
dimensions of making these dramatic changes. He will describe how an  
energy efficiency-focused business model and new regulatory structures  
can create sustainability in an industry that is facing the biggest  
challenges in its history.

About the Speaker

Dr. Peter Fox-Penner is a consulting executive and internationally  
recognized authority on energy and electric power industry issues. He  
is a principal and chairman emeritus of The Brattle Group, a leading  
international economic consulting firm. He is also on the advisory  
boards of GridPoint and Enviance, and is a frequent speaker and author  
on energy issues.

In his consulting practice, he advises energy companies, government  
agencies, and their counsels on energy regulatory and market policy  
issues. Although his work has spanned most areas within the energy  
field, his current primary focus is on electric industry competition  
and structure, global climate change, and energy efficiency policies.

Dr. Fox-Penner’s background includes co-founding Environment2004, the  
Environmental Alliance, and Patriot’s Energy Pledge; service as a  
senior official in the US Department of Energy and the White House  
Office of Science and Technology Policy; and staff positions in the  
Illinois Governor’s office. He has a Ph.D. in economics from the  
business school at the University of Chicago and M.S. and B.S. degrees  
in engineering from the University of Illinois.
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