The same week I attended IEEE PES Grid edge in San Diego in January, wildfires were still raging in L.A. and even in San Diego County; and Donald Trump was being sworn in as the next U.S. president. Considering the location of the event and considering that the host utility SDG&E was dealing with wildfires in its own territory, wildfire mitigation was one of the main topics of discussion. The new administration was mentioned, but the flurry of activity that he set off when he took office had not yet happened. So, the discussions were more vague as far as federal policy was concerned.
The focus of this event was the ‘edge of the grid.’ Policy is crucial, of course, but this conference tended to center around what Wood Mackenzie defines as “an umbrella term to cover all the distributed hardware, software and business innovations that exist in proximity to the end user, rather than at the center of a traditional generation network. The grid edge can be leveraged by both customers and utilities to help decarbonize the grid and unlock new value streams while maintaining and enhancing reliability.” AI, electrification, sustainability and resiliency, and distributed energy resources took center stage (literally), as IEEE PES featured technology stages on the exhibit floor dedicated to these discussions.
San Diego Gas & Electric CEO Caroline Winn kicked off the event by acknowledging the California wildfires and utility response. She also discussed some of SDG&E’s innovative programs and mentioned that one huge challenge is keeping customer costs low while managing energy transition and reliability. SDG&E has been a leader in mitigating wildfires after battling them in 2007. After those fires destroyed 1,738 homes and consumed more than 368,316 acres (149,052 hectares), SDG&E started thinking about how best to design, engineer, construct and maintain the utility’s infrastructure against the threat of increasingly violent fires.
The utility upgraded over 18,000 wooden poles to steel and ramped up vegetation management, with expert arborists trimming and evaluating nearly half a million trees each year. To enhance fire risk decision-making, SDG&E developed a specialized tool called the Vegetation Risk Index and created a Wildfire Safety Community Advisory Council. And one of the most recent, cool initiatives was a state-of-the-art Fire Science and Innovation Lab.
The Next Generation of Engineers
One of the most dynamic and interesting conversations at the event was during the first super session covering change in the energy industry. Shay Bahramirad, IEEE PES president and Pacific Gas and Electric Company VP of T&D Engineering, stressed the dire need to attract the next generation of energy engineers.
All this discussion on energy innovation, security, reliability and sustainability is not going to do us any good if we don’t have the engineers to fulfill those needs.
Shay practices what she preaches: She mentioned PG&E’s programs that support high schools with scholarships, career exploration and financial education. PG&E’s Power Pathway program is a nationally recognized workforce development model that works through public-private collaborations.
And IEEE PES is one of the best organizations out there for recruiting and mentoring young engineers. IEEE’s TryEngineering that supports educators, engineers, technical professionals, and parents in inspiring the next generation of technology innovators. The goal is to provide high-quality lesson plans, resources, and programs that engage and motivate school-aged kids to explore engineering.
IEEE PES has also been good about hosting student poster competition sessions and catering to young engineers at all of its events. IEEE PES YP (Young Professionals), a subgroup of PES, publishes its own newsletter and holds special events throughout the year for new engineers.
Shay also mentioned the trust that the public puts in engineers, which I thought was interesting since I am married to an electrical engineer. And to think about it, I trust him pretty well, not just because I am married to him. There is that but also considering his strong commitment to ethics and ability to solve problems.
She cited a nationwide survey that IEEE PES conducted at the end of last year that found two out of three people have positive opinions of power and electrical engineers; and three out of four people feel that power and electrical engineers are influential in addressing climate change. They trust engineers over energy companies or government agencies.
Energy affordability was the no. 1 energy-related concern with climate change or more extreme weather events coming in a very close second. This seemed to reflect the discussions at IEEE PES Grid Edge as well, with customer affordability while meeting reliability and decarbonization goals as one of the toughest issues facing utilities.
The conversations at IEEE PES Grid Edge made it clear that the energy industry is at a critical crossroads. With wildfires, climate change, and energy affordability weighing heavily on utilities and customers alike, innovation is essential—but so is the talent to drive it forward. After all, the best technology means little without the people who bring it to life.
