Grid Modernization: Technological Advancements Beyond Smart Grid

This talk will familiarize participants with a vision for Grid Modernization, focusing on technological advancements beyond Smart Grid. The technological advancements include discussions of key industry/societal trends, Smart Grid concepts, holistic solutions, integration of microgrids and distributed generation, and Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS) software applications. The talk will also cover feeder automation business models, managing different types of data, big data, analytics, enterprise data management, Smart Grid standards and interoperability, and Smart Grid deployments and lessons learned.

Biography:

John D. McDonald, P.E., is Founder & CEO of JDM Associates, LLC.  John has 50 years of experience in the electric utility industry.  

John was elected to the Board of Governors of the IEEE-SA (Standards Association), focusing on long term IEEE Smart Grid standards strategy. John was the Chair of the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) Governing Board for 2010-2015 (end of 1Q) coordinating Smart Grid standards development in the US and global harmonization of the standards. John is a past member of the NIST Smart Grid Advisory Committee and Chair of its Technical Subcommittee.

John is Past President of the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES), Founding Board Member of the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC), the VP for Technical Activities for the US National Committee (USNC) of CIGRE, and the Past Chair of the IEEE PES Substations Committee. He was on the IEEE Board of Directors as the IEEE Division VII Director. John is a member of the Advisory Committee for the annual DistribuTECH Conference, on the IEEE Foundation Board of Directors and Vice President of Development, on the IEEE-HKN Board of Governors, Past Vice Chair of the Texas A&M University Smart Grid Center Advisory Board, past member of the Purdue University Strategic Research Advisory Council, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. John received the 2009 Purdue University Outstanding Electrical and Computer Engineer Award and the 2023 Purdue University Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award.

John teaches Smart Grid courses at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga, and substation automation, distribution SCADA and communications courses for various IEEE PES local chapters as an IEEE PES Distinguished Lecturer (since 1999). John has published 150 papers and articles in the areas of SCADA, SCADA/EMS, SCADA/DMS and communications, and is a registered Professional Engineer (Electrical) in California, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.

John received his B.S.E.E. and M.S.E.E. (Power Engineering) degrees from Purdue University, and an M.B.A. (Finance) degree from the University of California-Berkeley. John is a member of Eta Kappa Nu (Electrical Engineering Honorary) and Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honorary), a Life Fellow of IEEE (member for 53 years), and was awarded the IEEE Millennium Medal in 2000, the IEEE PES Excellence in Power Distribution Engineering Award in 2002, the IEEE PES Substations Committee Distinguished Service Award in 2003, the IEEE PES Meritorious Service Award in 2015, the 2016 CIGRE Distinguished Member Award, the 2016 CIGRE USNC Attwood Associate Award, the 2021 CIGRE Honorary Member Award, the SECC Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2023 Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity Career Achievement Award.

John has co-authored five books and has one US Patent: Automating a Distribution Cooperative from A to Z: A Primer on Employing Technology (National Rural Electric Cooperative Association – 1999); Electric Power Substations Engineering (Third Edition) (CRC Press – 2012); Power System SCADA and Smart Grids (CRC Press – 2015); Big Data Application in Power Systems (Elsevier - 2017); Smart Grids: Advanced Technologies and Solutions (Second Edition) (CRC Press – 2018); and US Patent (9,853,448) on Systems and Methods for Coordinating Electrical Network Optimization (December 26, 2017).

Address:Nuevo Leon, Mexico