These days, the generation aspect of the power sector is starting to lose some of the attention to the grid itself. While those outside the industry may often picture power plants or newfound distributed generation as the heart of the utility sector, the grid itself has clearly become both the lifeline (when done right) and the bottleneck (when there are issues). Finding ways to optimize the grid, ensure a constant meeting of supply and demand, and integrating new technologies and innovations is the top priority for utility leaders, and after many years of inertia, grid experts are now making more progress than ever.

At Energy Central, we strive to always ensure our Community Members are kept in the know about the latest developments and connect with the right experts across the sector who can answer questions, collaborate on solutions, and ensure a communal experience where each actor isn’t needing to reinvent the wheel. Among the key ways we do that is via our Network of Experts, and so we’re excited to welcome to that network someone who is greatly plugged into the latest developments on the grid. Sergio Rodriguez is a Senior System Operator at a New York State utility and he was also recently installed as the latest expert in our Grid Professionals Group.

And to start that process, we welcomed Sergio to our Energy Central Power Perspective ‘Welcome New Expert Interview Series.”

Keep reading to learn more about the work Sergio is doing!

Matt Chester: Sergio, we’re very excited to welcome you to our Network of Experts. We always kick that process off with an interview like this one so our community knows what they can expect you to bring as an expert, so let’s start with the basics. What is your role in the energy world, and how did you find yourself there?

Sergio Rodriguez: Hi Matt, and thank you for the invitation. I’m excited to be part of the community. I have the privilege of being a Senior System Operator for New York City’s and Westchester’s Electric Utility. Together with my on-watch team, we oversee New York City’s and Westchester’s Electric grid. Ultimately, I am tasked with ensuring the grid’s overall safe, reliable, and efficient operation.

Before my current role, I led the technical team that approves all low and medium voltage Distributed Energy Resource (DERs) interconnections for the Utility. I started as an entry-level designer in the engineering department and worked my way up. I was fortunate enough to have a couple of exceptional mentors who allowed me to learn and be bold. And over the last 16 years, I’ve had the opportunity to work in design engineering, planning, operations, construction, and project management for distribution and transmission systems. I have led projects ranging from traditional capital infrastructure expansion to unique resiliency, smart grid, IT, network intermesh, and scaled data analytics projects. It sounds like a lot, but there are still plenty of things on my professional “to-do” list, so I’m always looking for collaboration opportunities.

MC: Having a role to play in the power sector for New York City is an exciting place to be. How do you think this role differs from what it would look like if you were in a less urban environment? What unique challenges does being in a big city bring?

SR: Millions of people depend on electricity to live and power their lives in population centers. In places like New York City, you also don’t go too far or too long without bumping into something unique or something millions of people need, like communication or transportation hubs, traffic systems, hospitals, universities, and the like. New York City is the financial capital of the world. Safety, operational excellence, and our customer’s experience are the most significant differences here. This city lives up to its reputation, it’s fast-paced, and our customers expect performance. But we rise to the challenge.

I’ve had the opportunity to speak with many utilities around the country and the world. While we are lucky not to have some obstacles other utilities face, New York City’s and Westchester’s power grid is one of the world’s most complex and reliable power delivery systems. New York City’s underground electric system is one of the largest in the world. That means we must work without a line of sight most of the time. The city’s mesh low voltage networks are incredibly unique and reliable, and there’s so much combined technology packed into making underground networks work. It’s impressive. We share very tight, dense public space with other services like water, sewer, gas, steam, telecom, multiple rail systems, and other third-party providers and private facilities. Hence, building and maintaining the systems on the street and underground takes a lot of coordination and planning. Operating with and around traffic is like an art form in New York City. And there’s always some creative solution designed to deliver power to those beautiful skyscrapers. There’s so much more, but you get the idea.

MC: You have a front row seat to all the changes coming to the utility sector and to the grid these days. Is there anything taking place that you think is flying under the radar and that the industry isn’t talking about or addressing enough?

SR: There’s a lot of focus and smart people highlighting and working on the immediate challenges to get the grid ready for the energy transition. But to meet the carbon goals that have been set, we’ll eventually need more focus on digitalizing the grid. The customer, for example, will need to move out of the “end user” role to make the energy transition work. I’m not just talking about more energy efficiency, solar cells, or batteries to reduce consumption or export energy. As IoT infrastructure becomes standard and large population segments become like microgrids and virtual energy plants, optimizing and balancing this relationship to the grid in real-time rather than as an estimate or last resort will become necessary. We saw shades of this in Texas and California this summer. The concept of the energy consumer, the connectedness, control, coordination, place, and value in the energy chain, will need to evolve further. Security, privacy, and spot transaction mechanisms to support it will be critical areas to explore.

MC: How optimistic are you about the path we’re on towards a clean energy future? Are we moving at the speed we need to and will the grid transformation happen as planned?

SR: A year ago, my opinion would have been, “Not very optimistic. We need to do more, faster.” You can read through the various online papers that outline just how much investment we need in the United States versus our projects in the pipeline. But now, I’m beginning to see synergy out of actions and a lot more alignment. There’s a lot more work and funding necessary, but I am hopeful that technology and a snowball effect will help us catch up. Building out the new grid in the U.S. with the existing policy framework is challenging. Still, we’re seeing more state and federal policies shifting in the right direction to enable it. Ultimately, policy adjustments will need to accelerate as we experience pressure points during the energy transition.  

MC: Why did you feel compelled to get more involved in the Energy Central Community? And what value do you hope to bring to your peers on the platform?  

SR: It’s an important time of transition for the utility industry. We have many challenges ahead of us, but the collective knowledge of an active interest community can be a vital resource to help create awareness around solutions and share information. I hope my voice and diverse experience will help other professionals find solutions and add to that synergy I spoke about earlier. Likewise, I’m looking forward to raising questions and tapping into the community’s insight to push my thinking.

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Thanks to Sergio Rodriguez for joining me for this interview and for providing a wealth of insights an expertise to the Energy Central Community. You can trust that Sergio will be available for you to reach out and connect, ask questions, and more as an Energy Central member, so be sure to make him feel welcome when you see her across the platform.