Q1. Could you start by giving us a brief overview of your professional background, particularly focusing on your expertise in the industry?

I am the Utility of the Future Senior Lead for PSE&G, responsible for developing R&D initiatives and new, innovative/interactive business development proposals, in addition to technically supporting PSE&G’s Clean Energy Future and the State’s energy master plan and 100% clean energy by 2035. I am also an adjunct professor at Columbia University, Rutgers University, and NJIT, and a board member for several boards, including Rutgers & Pace University cybersecurity and the NJIT Industry Advisory Board. I am the CEO/Founder of Electric Bridge Consulting and 100% Energy Club. I am also the NJ IEEE emerging technology adviser. Previously, I was the 69 kV and distribution planning manager at PSE&G from 2014 until 2019. I served as substation planning manager and energy control center operator at ConEd, and as a distribution engineer at JCP&L and PEPCO. I am the IEEE Planet Positive Utility of the Future committee chair. I am the CEO and founder of Electric Bridge Consulting and 100% Energy Club. I have authored six published books and numerous professional engineering courses.

Q2. How is the rapid electrification of sectors like transport, industry, and buildings reshaping demand patterns and grid planning?

Nowadays, utilities are facing a two-sided critical issue:
•    A massive load coming online at record speed.
Utilities have decades of experience connecting small, medium, and large loads; however, a typical large load, such as a factory, mall, or high-rise, requires several years to complete, giving utilities time to provide the appropriate infrastructure.

A very large load, such as an electric vehicle depot, can be brought online not in several years or months, but actually in a few days. I have personally seen a DC charger commissioned in a few hours; an unutilized piece of load, with no or marginal load, can become a multi-megawatt load in a few hours, while you may need to build a new substation to accommodate it.

The electrification challenge was dwarfed by data centers, where utilities not only have to deal with fast load coming online, but the expected load for one data center may exceed a gigawatt, and the utility's peak load may be two or three gigawatts. As an engineer with decades of experience in short-term, long-term, integrated, and utility-of-the-future planning, I find that historical tools and methods are no longer adequate to handle such massive, fast loads. The transmission process is very lengthy and complex. If the regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) develop innovative, accurate methods to study and expedite the large-load interconnection process, utilities will face further challenges. AI will support such an effort.

Q3. How is the acceleration toward net-zero targets reshaping investment priorities across generation, transmission, and distribution? 

The net-zero goals are positively or negatively affected by the agendas and goals of the President, Governor, Commissioner, and other political institutions. Globally, we continue to experience Natural disasters and first-time events; however, the climate focus and intent to enhance are not uniform. There were significant positive efforts to retire old, polluting fossil plants, replace them with renewables, and establish a utility culture that is pro-climate (ESG matters).

There has been significant progress toward a better climate; however, the large, expected load demand may hinder these efforts. Many abandoned fossil and nuclear generation plants are being resurrected to address the data center loads. We must urgently invest in cost-effective carbon capture technologies to address expected emissions from existing and future fossil fuel generation. As a utility of the future senior lead who developed the roadmap for New Jersey’s 100% clean energy goal by 2035, it is essential to identify system gaps, weaknesses, and strengths and develop clear and dynamic strategies for the future.

Q4. How is grid modernization evolving beyond infrastructure upgrades into a data- and software-driven transformation? 

Utilities have recently shifted focus towards the value of adopting software and other tools, such as:
•    DMS: Distribution Management System
•    ADMS: Advanced Distribution Management System
•    DERMS: Distributed Energy Resources Management System
•    GMS: Generation Management System
•    EMS: Energy Management System
•    AEMS: Advanced Energy Management System
•    Asset life cycle model
AI is also expected to modernize the grid further and support the transformation.

Q5. How is AI transitioning from pilot use cases to core operational intelligence across the utility value chain? 

I have been involved with AI for over five years now; research and adoption within utilities have been limited, mainly due to legal and compliance concerns. Recently, more utilities have been shifting from focusing on ROI (return on investment) to ROP (return on productivity). AI can enhance weather and storm forecasts, improve productivity, etc. We need to stop wasting time on data access and use synthetic data as a proof of concept. There are candidate AI applications for every group within the utility. In the era of customer affordability, we urgently need AI across the value chain.

Q6. What regulatory innovations are most critical to accelerate the transition toward resilient and decarbonized grids? 

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order 2222 is the litmus test for how successful the future 100% clean and renewable energy systems will be, where utilities and control centers will rely on residential, commercial, and industrial customers to meet load demand. As a result, utilities will shift from relying on a limited number of power plants to thousands and millions of customers. I have been proposing an Advanced System Operations (ASO) center to manage a future grid that does not resemble the current one. Also, the future workforce won't have decades of experience like our seniors did, so they need tools to support them.

Q7. If you were an investor looking at companies within space, what critical question would you pose to their senior management? 

How familiar are you with the targeted utility (there are various utilities within the same state)? What is your unique solution to address interconnection issues? Do you have AI tools that do not require utility data? What are the proven use cases? How cyber-resilient is your tool/solution? Have you partnered with utility professionals before engaging the utility?