Conference Program

ELECTRIC POWER is proud to announce Mr. William F. Hederman, JR. - Deputy Director for Systems Integration and Senior Adviser to the Secretary of Energy as our opening Keynote presenter for the 17th Annual Conference.

"Insights from the First Quadrennial Energy Review."
The Department of Energy has announced the development of a Quadrennial Energy Review (QER). Lead by the office of the Secretary of Energy the DOE will hold a series of meetings to discuss and receive comments on issues related to the development of a comprehensive strategy for the infrastructure needed to transport, transmit and deliver energy to consumers. Other federal agencies will also join these meetings.
The Nation’s current infrastructure is increasingly challenged by transformations in energy supply, markets, and patterns of end use; issues of ageing and capacity; impacts of climate change; and cyber and physical threats. The QER will serve as a roadmap to help address these challenges.
Our Keynote presentation from Mr. William Hederman, Jr. Senior Adviser to the Secretary, U. S. Department of Energy, Deputy Director, Energy Systems Integration, Energy Policy and Systems Analysis (EPSA) will discuss the origins, preliminary findings and the analytical approach to gathering the information for this report.

This session will explore the rebalancing of the three primary aspects of electric delivery; cost, reliability and environmental impact. The EPA, through the Clean Power Plan, is boldly redefining the threshold of environmental impact. This transformed definition leads to a greater emphasis on an environmentally focused system dispatch to the potential detriment of low cost power production and maintaining reliable electric delivery.

This session will explore the rebalancing of the three primary aspects of electric delivery; cost, reliability and environmental impact. The EPA, through the Clean Power Plan, is boldly redefining the threshold of environmental impact. This transformed definition leads to a greater emphasis on an environmentally focused system dispatch to the potential detriment of low cost power production and maintaining reliable electric delivery.

This session will review facility reliability, predicting unit capacity and share best practices in performance and maintenance with temporary power as well as the use of remote digital video inspection technology.

Technology advancements from new plants has been increasingly integrated into existing assets. This session highlights such improvements on current power plants.

With the changing technology and the aging infrastructure Power Utilities are required to evaluate the threat of a plant due to: aging plant assets and their expected life, cascading events and the potential for a High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP). These types of risks can all be mitigated via non-destructive examinations of components, probability and mitigation of risks, and methods to block a HEMP attack. Learn how to build resiliency in your power plant to mitigate risk from high impact, low probability hazards, as well as preparing all parties for the unexpected.

This session will present successful CHP facilities, including the conceptual development and results of project operation.

This session will focus on several renewable technologies including solar, wind and biomass. Recent advances in wind and waste processing for distributed generation will be covered.

This course looks at the historical lessons learned from major incidents in the NYC. This session will ultimately provide insight into what the stakeholders from the first response community want to know when they arrive on scene. The ability to communicate the hazards will enable them to develop the response tactics necessary to mitigate the impact of your incident and ensure that everyone goes home safe. The session will also cover the personnel and logistical considerations that will ensure a positive outcome to your incident. Remember you can’t do it alone!

ELECTRIC POWER’s Veterans in Power (VIP) initiative will recognize the employers who have successfully connected, employed, and engaged veterans to become long-term employees in the industry. Employers have been successful through internal corporate programs as well as many public-private partnerships with other organizations, community colleges and universities. Veterans in Power also seeks to offer a forum for veterans to meet, engage in mentoring, and offer career development support.

As part of the Veterans in Power initiative, ELECTRIC POWER will announce the recipients of the Faraday Awards at the annual conference in April 2015. The Faraday Awards will recognize and honor the employers, programs and partnerships that have successfully focused on elevating the careers of American veterans in the energy industry. Organizations are invited to share stories of success in hiring, training and retaining veterans through an online application. A distinguished review panel assembled by PReP Intl (Prequalified Ready Employees for Power International) and ELECTRIC POWER will judge applicants’ programs from across the country to highlight the “best of the best” and recognize and celebrate their efforts at the 2015 ELECTRIC POWER conference in Chicago.

Make sure to join us on the exhibit hall floor Tuesday, April 21 for the Veterans in Power & Faraday Award presentation!

Outage management, part of plant maintenance, is of key importance in today’s world of tightened pressure in energy Markets. Building a good program, sustaining it, and learning from each experience is vital. It is a journey you are never finished with.

This session will review current status of the ELG rule and delve into cost effective planning and complexity of compliance with other regulations like MATS, CCR and 316b.

As renewable energy technologies gain increasing market share in the US how can advancements ensure economic and reliable integration? This session will explore advancements in renewable energy technologies, including existing conventional technology and new energy market structures to support greater integration of the resources.

This session will include various applications of CHP to systems such as desalination and district heating. Presentations will also cover market and industry trends.

The use of coal as a base load fuel has been under attack for several years. This session will cover topics that show ways to win the war on coal by improvements in efficiency and performance.

Learn about new enhancements with combustion turbines/combined cycle machines. See what performance upgrades do for reliability, flexibility & improved machine performance.

This session touches on current challenges and issues the electric power workforce faces today, such as turnover in the workforce, impact of stress impeding safety and HR’s role in talent management.

This course will look at the collaborative efforts that should be employed by the utilities and the members of the law enforcement community. It will serve to dispel some of the myths and focus on what is plausible in terms of keeping the infrastructure safe through training, drill facility design and security initiatives.

This session will explore options and real world solutions for clean water act section 316(b) compliance for existing generating plant cooling water intakes and discharges.

Flexibility, environmental compliance and fuel costs are all major considerations to new gas turbine and combined cycle power plants. This session will highlight new technology features.

One of the building blocks of the proposed Clean Power Plan is a 6% heat rate improvement for coal-fired power plants. This session will explore potential efficiency improvements and the challenges in achieving this aggressive target.

This session will focus on improving boiler performance and longevity. The first paper will look at the effects of load cycling on boiler pressure parts. The second paper will look at methods to extend tube life in severe operating conditions. The following paper will address boiler improved MATS compliance by reducing boiler air in-leakage. The final paper will address at improving heat rate improvement using sootblower optimization.

This session will examine several key issues that developers must contend with in order to successfully take a CHP project from concept to commissioning. Topics covered will range from regulatory considerations and related permitting to barriers to market entry and project execution, among others.

The fact is that something will go wrong, sometime. It is often how you react that makes the difference. Emergencies happen…those who are prepared deal with it better and those who are not often contribute to the problem. This session is intended to familiarize all attendees with significant fire risks within a coal-fired power plant and provide valuable information how to safely mitigate the risks.

Join us for a panel discussion around the critical utility workforce needs relevant for both today’s and tomorrow’s utility professionals.

Hear from electric power professionals working to develop the next generation of utility professionals. This panel will feature professionals from different electric power companies with a wide range of knowledge and expertise on developing the electric power professional of tomorrow.


With new regulations, the ever increasing rate of business change based on new technologies, and an aging workforce the utility industry is facing a workforce transformation.


Hear from panelists on:

• Current critical employment needs
  
• Initiatives currently implemented to strengthen today’s professional
  
• Efforts to address the future employment needs

The new knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) required are far different from those of even a decade ago. The electric power industry understands it’s an important time to strengthen critical roles needed for the utility workforce. Each panelist will describe their vision around:

• Critical jobs/roles needed - succession planning
  
• Growing the number of young professionals
  
• Supporting career pathways for career advancement
  
  The format is designed to facilitate a discussion with panelists from the electric power industry as well as educators supporting the next generation of electric power professionals. Attendees are encouraged to ask questions, share ideas and thoughts.
  
  
  We encourage all attendees to attend, it is open to all registered attendees.