WEBINAR

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Steve Rupp, SAIC

About the Webinar

Can the Smart Grid Maturity Model (SGMM) help utilities develop a perspective on the future smart grid? Can that future vision represent the diverse range of concerns from multiple utilities?

In this webinar, you’ll learn about how the California Energy Commission (CEC) is using the SGMM to answer just those questions.  The CEC, in partnership with an SEI-Certified SGMM Navigator, is using the SGMM to develop its roadmap to the 2020 smart grid for California’s publicly owned utilities. The 13 participating utilities offer a diverse set of perspectives, from the emerging visions of Alameda Municipal Power and the City of Palo Alto Utilities to the advanced visions of Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and Glendale Water and Power. 

The CEC selected SAIC (one of the initial licensees for the SGMM Navigation process) for this project, based in part on its proposed use of the SGMM to evaluate the utilities’ existing activities and future aspirations. After members of the utility participate in the SGMM Compass survey, SAIC can use the results to develop comprehensive assessments of current-state activities. The follow-up aspirations workshops will provide a view of the future-state visions. To bridge the gap between current state and aspirations, SAIC is developing implementation roadmaps driven by the actions and obstacles identified in the aspirations exercise. SAIC’s Steve Rupp, one of the first SEI-Certified SGMM Navigators, leads the project and is your presenter for this hour-long webinar.

Participating utilities are seeing an immediate benefit from the SGMM. The survey and aspirations workshops provide some of the utilities their first opportunity to formally review and plan their smart grid activities. For others, the results of the surveys have benchmarked tremendous progress in the advancement of their smart grid planning and deployment efforts—essential evidence needed to maintain financial support for their initiatives. For others, the survey is a benchmark to support their “go-slow” approach to smart grid deployment. Eight of the 13 participants have elected “go-slow” strategies, and using the SGMM is helping them articulate the purposeful nature of their nascent maturity levels.

This project has also illuminated areas to enhance the SGMM. For instance, expanding the scope of the model definition and survey to better accommodate the nature of publicly owned utilities (e.g., their locally elected boards and focus on customer-owners) would broaden SGMM appeal, especially to those utilities whose smart grid decisions must encompass the non-energy elements of their water and natural gas services. Future versions of the SGMM product suite will incorporate improvements based on the field experience of SAIC and other partners. 

About the Speaker

Steven S. Rupp, Vice President, SAIC

Mr. Rupp has 28 years of experience in the electric utility industry, including planning, engineering, construction, and operations and maintenance of electric transmission and distribution systems.  Mr. Rupp is an SEI Certified Navigator for the Smart Grid Maturity Model.  He has facilitated workshops for Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Pasadena Water and Power, Riverside Public Utilities and 11 other public power utilities. He is currently managing a research project for the California Energy Commission to develop a roadmap to the smart grid of 2020 for California’s publicly-owned utilities.   Mr. Rupp has served as client liaison/project manager and principal investigator on a wide range of electric system master planning projects, including the Electric System Master Plan for the City of Riverside, the Electric Distribution System Master Plan for Pasadena Water and Power; Electric System Master Plan for the City of Banning, the Electric System Master Plan for the City of Vernon and the Electric Distribution System Study for the City of Azusa.  Mr. Rupp holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electric Power System Engineering from California State University, Sacramento.  He has worked with Western Area Power Administration, San Diego Gas and Electric Company and in various power system construction, engineering and consulting roles including the past nine years with R. W. Beck/SAIC.