INFOCUS 2024 Schedule
April 15-17, Tempe, AZ
Pre-Conference - Sunday, April 14
- 12:30 p.m.– 4:30 p.m.
Golf Scramble - Sold Out
Tee times between 12:51 and 1:27 p.m. at the Papago Golf Course
- 7 p.m.– 9 p.m.
Conference Check-in
Attendees can check in at the conference registration desk to pick up their name badges and swag.
Day 1 - Monday, April 15
- 7 a.m. – 8 a.m.
Breakfast
- 7 a.m.– 11 a.m.
Conference Check-in
Attendees can check in to pick up their name badges and swag.
- 8 a.m. – 9:50 a.m.
Product Training Session 1
- ROOM 1: Optimize Your Front-Office Power Workflows: Streamlining Deal Capture & Scheduling - Vinay Singh & Praveen Allaka
- ROOM 2: How to Evaluate Risk - Marc Siemer
- ROOM 3: Electricity Settlements: Intro to RTO Settlements and Contract Settlements Deep Dive - Amy Banks, Kate Kidwell, & Justin Shearer
- ROOM 6: Coordinate Day-Ahead and Real-Time Operations with Renewable and Battery Penetration - CJ Biddle & Paul Davis
- ROOM 7: PCI Hosted Systems: Hit the Ground Running with This Services Primer and Cybersecurity Overview - Jeremy Alleman & Peter Samoray
- ROOM 8: Optimize Your Transmission Scheduling: Automation, Visualization, & Analytics - Suiyi Su, Praveen Allaka & Arun Devarakonda
- AMBER: Energy Accounting Made Easy: Master EA Workflows, ISO Submissions, & Reporting - Malashree Basavarajaiah
- 9:50 a.m. – 10:10 a.m.
Morning Break
- 10:10 a.m. – Noon
Product Training Session 2
- ROOM 1: Optimize Your Fuel Management Workflow - Joe Frick
- ROOM 2: GSMS Best Practices: Understanding Task Scheduling and Useful Tools - David Matejka
- ROOM 3: Mastering P&L Analysis & Reporting for RTO Markets with P&L Analyzer and PCI Insights - Ha Tran & Khai Le
- ROOM 6: Advanced Battery and Hybrid Modelling with GenTrader - Paul Davis & CJ Biddle
- ROOM 7: Manage and Automate Your Front-Office Workflow for RTO Markets - Stanley Eng & Jeremy Pober
- ROOM 8: Manage Generation & Transmission Outages & Streamline Your OM Workflow - Shawn Davis & Arun Devarakonda
- AMBER: Overview of Transmission Billing: Create and/or Validate Transmission Bills - Julie Rogers & Suiyi Su
- Noon. – 1 p.m.
Lunch
- 1 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Conference Welcome & Kick-off
- Justin Shearer, VP Customer Experience, PCI
- 1:30 p.m. – 2:05 p.m.
Keynote Speaker: Meeting Today’s Challenges with the Power of the Integrated Grid
- Sarah Edmonds, President & CEO, NWPP (dba Western Power Pool)
- 2:05 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Innovating Solutions for Today’s Energy Challenges
- Javier Martin, President & COO, PCI
- 2:45 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Afternoon Break
- 3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
RTO Panel Session
- Update on EDAM and other new market initiatives - Becky Robinson, Director of Market Policy Development, CAISO
- New SPP Market Initiative for the West - Carrie Simpson, Senior Director, SPP
- 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
PCI Product Roadmap
- What to Expect from PCI in the Future - SVP Enterprise Product, Bryan Kelly
- 5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Drinks & Demos
- 7 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Dinner at Culinary Dropout, Tempe, AZ
Day 2 - Tuesday, April 16
- 7 a.m. – 8 a.m.
Breakfast
- 7 a.m.– 11 a.m.
Conference Check-in
Attendees can check in to pick up their name badges and swag.
- 8 am – 9:00 a.m.
Using PCI Insights to Automate Reports and Support BI Analytics
- Sr. Product Manager Ron Swartz & Sr. VP Khai Le, Ha Tran, Development Manager, PCI
- Christa Hook, Manager, Market Settlements, NIPSCO
- Scott Hartz, Business Systems Administrator, MEAN
- 9 am – 10:00 a.m.
Solving Key Challenges with Renewable Market Participation
- RWE's experience using PCI to Validate Settlements for RTOs Markets - Stefanie Wiseman, Manager Back Office Contracts, RWE
- Using PCI to Automate Workflows to Sell Wind Energy to California - Matt Veghte, Sr. Manager, Pattern Energy
- 10 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Morning Break
- 10:15 am – 11 a.m.
Western Resource Adequacy Program (WRAP) Roundtable
- Justin Shearer, VP Customer Experience & Shawn Davis, Director Enterprise Solutions, PCI
- 11 a.m. – Noon
Using AI & Machine Learning Techniques to Improve Forecasts
- Challenges with Integrating Solar Resources from an Operations Viewpoint - Aaron Casto, Executive Director, FMPP
- PCI's Experience Using Machine Learning Techniques to Forecast Loads & VER – Dwarak Varadharajan, Development Manager, Khai Le, Sr. VP, PCI
- Noon. – 1 p.m.
Lunch
- 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Breakout Sessions
- ROOM 1 - Shaping Eastern Markets: ISO Vision and PCI Roadmaps for SPPIM, MISO, PJM, ERCOT, NYISO, ISO-NE - Hicham Mansouri & Jeremy Pober
- ROOM 2 - Future-Proofing the Enterprise: Migration to Hosted Services and its Benefits, Upgrade Support, and Cyber Security - Jeremy Alleman & Peter Sanoray
- Featuring: Avista’s Experience with PCI Hosted Solution - James Dykes, Sr. Manager, Avista
- ROOM 3 - Preparing Portfolio Optimization for the era of Batteries, Virtual Power, and AI/ML - Paul Davis, CJ Biddle & Dwarak Varadharajan
- Featuring: Operating with 50%+ Renewable Penetration - Aidan Gallegos, PNM
- ROOM 6 - Planning for Resilience: FERC 881 Compliance, Long-Term Outages, Wind GADS, and PCI's OMS Roadmap - Arun Devarakonda
- ROOM 7 - Balancing Authority Operations, Transmission and Reliability and Meter Data Management in Organized Markets - Praveen Allaka, Julie Rogers & Malashree Basavarajaiah
- ROOM 8 - Using PCI to Navigate Natural Gas & Coal Trading & Scheduling - Jenn Panariso & Joe Frick
- AMBER - Navigating the Transformation of Western Markets: PCI's Roadmap for EDAM, DAME, Markets+, RTO West & WRAP - Justin Shearer & Stanley Eng
- 3 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Afternoon Break
- 3:15 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Breakout Sessions
- ROOM 1 - Charting the course of progress on the PCI Platform - Bill Spens & Larissa Rodrigues
- ROOM 2 - Mitigating Risk while Driving Results - Marc Siemer
- ROOM 3 - Integrating Coordinated DA-RT Workflows and Energy Storage for Enhanced Portfolio Optimization – CJ Biddle
- Featuring: NIPSCO Post-Analysis: Why? - Bipin Balar, Operations Engineer and Judith Siegler, Lead Operations Analyst
- ROOM 6 - Reporting Automation & Business Analytics: How Innovators Are Driving Value from PCI Insights - Khai Le, Ron Swartz & Ha Tran
- ROOM 7 - Front Office ETRM Elevated: Multi-Region eTag+ and Transmission Portfolio Optimization - Vinay Singh, Suiyi Su & Praveen Allaka
- Featuring: Using the PCI Platform to Support ETag & NSI Automation - Jason Smith, Sr. Engineer, Santee Cooper
- ROOM 8 - Using PCI to Navigate Billing Complexities with Natural Gas & Coal - Amy Banks & Jenn Panariso
- AMBER - CAISO and WEIM Market Updates and PCI Roadmap - Stanley Eng & Justin Shearer
- 5 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Drinks & Demos II
- 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Customer Appreciation Dinner at The Omni
Day 3 - Wednesday, April 17
- 7 a.m. – 8 a.m.
Breakfast
- 8 am – 8:30 a.m.
Keynote Speaker: Navigating the Rapid Pace of Change
- SRP faces rapid changes in customer expectations, system growth, grid transformation, and evolving markets. Effective planning, technology, and workforce enablement are crucial for providing affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy to customers.
- Chris Campbell – Senior Director Distribution & Technology Operations, SRP
- 8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Benefits to Duke of using PCI Energy Accounting to Validate Meter Data
- Andres de Valencia, Lead Energy Accounting Analyst and Product Owner, Duke Energy
- 9:00 a.m. – 9:50 a.m.
Meeting Today's Challenges in Resource Optimization
- Managing PacifiCorp Resources in Transmission-Constrained Areas - Janice Bacon, Director, PacifiCorp
- Optimizing Hybrid Resources in the Future Grid - Chris Bremer, Renewable Forecasting Data Scientist, Salt River Project
- 9:50 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Benefits of Using Contract Settlements at NIPSCO
- Christa Hook, Manager, Market Settlements & Danialle Parks, Lead Market Settlement Analyst, NIPSCO
- 10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Morning Break
- 10:30 a.m. – 11 a.m.
SRP's Experience Using PCI's Hosted System
- David Dunton, Manager, Salt River Project
- 11 a.m. – Noon
PCI Conference Wrap-up
- Javier Martin, President & COO, PCI
- Noon