Dr. Jessica Bian

Summary: We are experiencing significant changes in energy supply due to a number of factors, including the increased availability of natural gas; the growth in renewable, demand-side and storage technologies; and new environmental requirements.  What is driving our industry to adapt and improve performance? How do we, as an industry, make sure we are performing to our customers’ expectations? In today’s power systems, every technology employed, trend established, and policy or standard implemented, should be done so with the best interests of the customer in mind. The utility sector is economically immense and vast in geographic scope, and it combines ownership, management, and regulation in complex ways to achieve reliable energy service. This presentation provides a broad view on NERC reliability standards and compliance.  In addition, it explores how improving bulk power system performance through technology, data, and policies will benefit the customers of electric power.

Biography:

Host/Speaker: Dr. Jessica Bian is a visionary leader and architect. She has spearheaded electric industry's reliability metrics and grid risk assessment. She is currently with Grid-X Partners.  Before that, she was with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Washington, DC. Previously, she was the Director of Performance Analysis at North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) in Atlanta, Georgia. Under her leadership, a total of 18 industry-wide reliability indicators were established to determine grid reliability, adequacy, and associated risks.  She is widely recognized as a pioneer and trusted world leader in the field.

Before joining NERC, Dr. Bian was with PJM, ERCOT and Westinghouse Electric. She published over 70 articles and received the 2014 IEEE PES Wanda Reder Pioneer in Power award for her technical achievements. She has been the PES Secretary since 2016, and is a candidate for the PES President-Elect, 2020-2021.