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

By guest contributor Surj Patel – The year 2020 brought us unprecedented challenges from COVID-19, record-breaking wildfires across the west, civil and social unrest and a hotly contested national election. With the transition to a new Biden administration coming in view, Grid Forward and more than 130 leaders in electrical power and the grid came...Read More

The shift toward e-mobility presents a unique opportunity to address transportation inequities that have long plagued underinvested neighborhoods. Guidehouse reports on how the topic unfolded at GridFWD 2020.Read More

Uplight, Portland General Electric and Terry Oliver are recognized for their industry-defining contributions to modernizing the electric grid. August 20,2020 – As part of its 10-year anniversary celebration, Grid Forward announced the winners of the Grid Innovator Awards during its Annual Member Meeting on August 20, 2020. Uplight, Portland General Electric and Terry Oliver were...Read More

Larry Bekkedahl, VP, Grid Architecture at Portland General Electric, gave an update on on the utility’s transportation electrification plans, as well as its recent demand response event, during Grid Forward’s fifth Virtual Utility Roundtable. The conversation was wide ranging with utility leaders from across the region, the central coast, down to Los Angeles and across...Read More

Our regional power system is operating in uncharted territory, in real time, due to the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis. On Thursday April 16, GridForward hosted a Virtual Roundtable of local and national leaders to see first-hand data on load shape impacts. The group received information and observations from representatives of BPA, Cascade Energy, Clark...Read More

by Bryce Yonker, Executive Director, Grid Forward We have talked with nearly half of our members one-to-one in the days since the COVID-19 virus has really shut down work as usual. While each organization is in various places to adjust to these new dynamics, we thought we could share a few general observations about emerging...Read More

The Grid Forward organization was formerly launched in June of 2019, but our roots go back to 2010, when a group of forward-looking energy experts banded around the name “Smart Grid Oregon.” Now we look forward to our first full year as Grid Forward, and the huge potential of grid modernization in the coming decade....Read More

In a world of synchrophasors, auto reclosers, and volt-var optimization, you may ask, “What do customers have to do with grid modernization?” The reality is that modernization of the electric grid, and transformation of the electric utility industry in general, requires much more than widgets and software.Read More

In a world of synchrophasors, auto reclosers, and volt-var optimization, you may ask, “What do customers have to do with grid modernization?” The reality is that modernization of the electric grid, and transformation of the electric utility industry in general, requires much more than widgets and software.Read More

In a world of synchrophasors, auto reclosers, and volt-var optimization, you may ask, “What do customers have to do with grid modernization?” The reality is that modernization of the electric grid, and transformation of the electric utility industry in general, requires much more than widgets and software.Read More

Grid modernization discussions often focus on the promise of new technologies such as analytics or energy storage. But the second session of the Grid Forward Accelerating Grid Innovation Summit proved that technological innovation actually occurs when the technology is supported by transformations in business models and financial approaches, along with establishing key collaborative partnerships.Read More