Three noted energy and information technology experts have been elected to the GridWise Architecture Council, a group sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy to advance interoperability among the many entities that interact with the nation’s electric power system.

The new members are regional system operations and demand response market analyst Robert Burke, commercial buildings expert Tracy Markie, and distribution engineer Robert Saint.

Burke is a Principal Analyst at ISO New England, where he focuses on integrating demand-side resources into their wholesale electricity markets. He was involved in the development and implementation of ISO-NE’s Internet Based Communication System Open Solution that is used for activating and providing near real-time data on demand response assets. He is well-versed in wholesale electricity market operations and its position within reliable system operations, and he has a background in computer science and industrial systems.

Markie is President and CEO of Engenuity Systems, where he provides solutions for commercial building automation systems including integration expertise, software platforms and interfaces. He is Chairman of the Board of LonMark International and his association with LonMark helped move it to open standards. He is also Marketing Chair at the EnOcean Alliance, a group that promotes self-powered sensor systems that scavenge energy from the environment to operate. He is well-respected in the buildings automation community.

Automated Logic Corporation Saint is Principal Distribution Engineer, Energy Policy for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). He is well known to many council members for his work in IEEE and NRECA in distribution automation and distributed resource integration where he chairs IEEE P 1547.2 and 1547.7 standards working groups as well as chairs the IEEE PES Distributed Resources Integration working group. He is also program manager for NRECA’s MultiSpeak standards efforts.

The new members are joined by two re-elected members to the 13-member council: David Hardin of Invensys Process Systems; and Richard Schomberg with EDF International.

GWAC members serve staggered two-year terms and are selected from industry and academia for their leadership in power systems, information technology, telecommunications, financial systems and end use electricity consumption.

The goal of the council is to articulate the guiding interoperability concepts and principles that support the GridWise Vision – the transformation of the nation's energy system into a rich, collaborative network filled with decision-making information exchange and market-based opportunities.

Links