*Note: This talk will be presented remotely via Zoom and on the Energy Institute's YouTube channel. See access details after the bio.
Bio: Suzanne Bertin leads TAEBA’s efforts to promote the advanced energy industry in the State of Texas. Before joining TAEBA, Suzanne handled regulatory and government affairs in Texas and the Southeast for EnerNOC (now part of Enel NA), a global leader in demand response and energy intelligence software. Suzanne also worked at Reliant (NRG) for more than a decade on a wide range of wholesale and retail legislative and regulatory issues, from the inception of the competitive retail market in ERCOT and through its first eleven years of operation. In these roles, Suzanne has had direct business and policy experience for a range of advanced energy technologies including energy efficiency, demand response, natural gas, solar, wind, electric vehicles, and smart grid.
Suzanne worked in the Office of Policy Development at the Public Utility Commission of Texas during the late 1990s, when the ERCOT competitive retail market was established by Texas Senate Bill 7. She co-led the team responsible for implementing the transition to competition, which encompassed more than 40 regulatory proceedings, many of which were highly complex and contentious. Suzanne also held electrical engineering positions at Austin Energy and at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. She holds a Master of Public Affairs degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. Suzanne also holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts (Managerial Studies), both from Rice University in Houston, Texas. Suzanne is a lifelong Texan and resides in Austin.
Abstract: Texas took bold steps to restructure its electricity market more than 20 years ago. Due to public policy choices, competition, advances in technology, and changing economics, Texas has created one of the most competitive markets in the world while expanding its national energy leadership to include advanced energy technologies such as utility-scale wind, solar, and storage. The next phase in market development will come with integration of distributed energy resources (DERs), such as distributed generation, demand response, energy efficiency, storage and electric vehicles. The Texas restructuring legislation passed in 1999 separated formerly integrated utilities into competitive retail and generation companies and cost-of-service regulated transmission and distribution “wires-only” utilities. This separation creates complexity and requires Texas-specific policies regarding DERs and non-wires solutions to be crafted in a way to address utility needs while preserving Texas market principles of separation between competitive and non-competitive activities. This presentation will discuss some of the opportunities and challenges associated with DERs and non-wires solutions in Texas.
Note: This talk will be presented remotely via Zoom Webinar and on the Energy Institute's YouTube channel. If using Zoom, viewers must register for an account with Zoom and log in to Zoom using that registration in order to use the meeting link and participate. Faculty, students and staff of UT, please use your personal UT Zoom account.
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https://utexas.zoom.us/j/91552413436
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