Mr. Chuck Zebula, Executive Vice President, Energy Supply for American Electric Power
“Resources that will Power our Future”
During the last decade, there have been considerable changes to the resource mix that provide capacity and energy to the electric power grid --- including changes in what we call “resources”. These changes have been driven by many factors, including the availability and price of natural gas, the declining cost of renewable energy, new regulations for coal-fired power plants, corporate sustainability objectives and the power of big data analytics. In addition, advancements in technology offer the opportunity to bring additional resources such as micro-grids, batteries, transmission optimization and virtual power plants into the mix. This transformation of the electric power industry has led to the retirement of many baseload coal and nuclear power plants and increased usage of natural gas, wind and solar resources. Maintaining a balanced set of resources, which include gas, coal and nuclear power, while utilizing new energy resources and technologies, provides the best opportunity to bring capacity and energy to the market and preserve the diversity, reliability and resiliency of the power grid. In this lecture, the history of energy will be reviewed, and thoughts about the future of the electric industry will be foretold.
The lecture will be followed by a Speaker's Reception at 3:30 PM.