Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Utilidata and Pat Hoffman are recognized for their industry-defining contributions to modernizing the electric grid. June 26, 2023 –Grid Forward announced the winners of the 2023 Grid Innovator Awards during its Annual Member Meeting on June 23, 2023. Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), Utilidata and Pat Hoffman received recognition for their roles...Read More

by Bryce Yonker, Executive Director, Grid Forward. This article was first published in the NWPPA Bulletin. While many of us in the utility community wait to hear back from the U.S. DOE on initial funding for submissions such the as the Grid Resilience and Innovative Partnership program, another agency in the federal government is gearing...Read More

An article by Katie Bertcher, Larry Gelbien, and Stuart SchareGuidehouse Energy, Sustainability, & Infrastructure Many utilities in the western United State are ramping up wildfire planning and management efforts in light of increasing wildfires generally and, more specifically, to address the related risk to utility lines and the potential liability for starting wildfires. Simply “doing...Read More

Our GridFWD Seattle event in April of this year included many topics, foremost among them was diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the energy and utility industries. Our friends at the Cadeo Group attended several DEI-focused sessions and have prepared a 2-part blog post series on what they experienced at those sessions, in interviews with key practitioners,...Read More

Generac Grid Services, Holy Cross Energy and Hawaii PUC Commissioner Jennifer Potter are recognized for their industry-defining contributions to modernizing the electric grid during the past year. June 10, 2022 (Portland, Ore.) – Grid Forward announced the winners of the 2022 Grid Innovator Awards during its Annual Member Meeting on June 7 in Honolulu, Hawaii....Read More

60Hertz is recognized for its industry-changing remote maintenance software at Grid Forward’s in-person conference. Seattle, WA – May 19, 2022 – Grid Forward, a member-based non-profit group helping to promote and advance grid modernization, announced 60Hertz, a maintenance software solutions provider, as the winner of the 2022 Grid Innovation Pitch Competition during GridFWD Seattle. During...Read More

“DOE Wants to Hire You” – Remarks by Michael Pesin of the U.S. Dept. of Energy By Linda Barney, Barney and Associates Michael Pesin, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Advanced Grid Research and Development Division at the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity (OE) was a keynote speaker at the sold-out GridFWD Seattle event...Read More

Remarks by Michelle Manary from the U.S. Dept. of Energy By Linda Barney, Barney and Associates Michelle Manary, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Grid Infrastructure was a keynote speaker at the sold-out GridFWD 22 conference held on April 19 and 20, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. Manary is...Read More

Remarks by Congressman Adam Smith, Chair of the House Armed Services Committee By Linda Barney, Barney and Associates The sold-out GridFWD 22 conference was held on April 19 and 20, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. The theme of the conference was Keeping Pace with the Energy Transition and included speakers from the electric industry, technology, government...Read More

Author: Marguerite Behringer, E9 Insight Grid Forward, EPRI, SEPA, and GridWise cohosted the first Utility Business Model Working Group meeting of 2022 in late February with a focus on “Selling Energy As-A-Service.” Consultants and utility representatives explored examples of Energy As-A-Service (EaaS) and how EaaS has emerged as an advantageous business model, particularly when integrated...Read More

We invite you to join us at GridFWD Seattle, April 19-20 at the Bell Harbor Convention Center in Seattle. Don’t miss this gathering of community, partners and friends from across the region and beyond as together we are “Keeping Pace with the Energy Transition.” Join us in exploring key grid topics like these (our preliminary list): Vehicle to Grid...Read More

Bryce Yonker, executive director of Grid Forward, was invited by the Sen. Sinema (AZ) to provide testimony via WebEx in a virtual hearing entitled “Strategies for Improving Critical Energy Infrastructure.” This hearing for the Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs appeared on live...Read More

By now you are well aware that the U.S. Senate has passed a mammoth $1.2T bill investing in infrastructure. You may even know that the energy investments were around $100B – a lot of funds no doubt. What you may not have been able to sparse out in the 2700 pages and various steps is...Read More

The Baton is Now Over to House & Stage Set for $198B Energy Investments in Reconciliation Package  This week the U.S. Senate voted 69-30 to approve a $1.2 trillion down payment in the future of our nation. At the core are a variety of investments in the infrastructure that powers our communities.  Grid Forward has...Read More

E Source, Snohomish PUD and Carl Imhoff are recognized for their industry-defining contributions to modernizing the electric grid. June 10, 2021 –Grid Forward announced the winners of the 2021 Grid Innovator Awards during its Annual Member Meeting on June 10. E Source, Snohomish Public Utility District (PUD) and Carl Imhoff of PNNL were honored for their roles...Read More

This month Grid Forward hosted a “networking social” discussion with Hawaii PUC Commissioner Jennifer Potter to get her insights into the recent Phase II order for performance-based regulation (PBR). As Hawaii transitions from the cost of service model, the structure it has established has both upside potential earnings for the state utility as well as...Read More

To identify key innovations to state’s electricity planning, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) formed the Task Force on Comprehensive Electricity Planning. The Task Force has now released a Blueprint for State Action, five Roadmaps for Comprehensive Electricity Planning, an online library, and additional resources (click here for...Read More

This post originally appeared as a message to the Grid Forward community. It’s been a long time since the U.S. Congress has updated any significant energy legislation. Yesterday, as a part of the coronavirus relief and government funding package, the House and then the Senate agreed to the bi-partisan America Energy Innovation Act that provides funding across...Read More