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Summary
Power generation resources are facing yearslong wait times to connect to the US grid amid the accelerating clean energy transition.
The nation’s interconnection queue is now more than double the amount of generation capacity in operation today. But a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rule, known as Order 2023, aims to ease the logjam.
Key implementation challenges remain. The backlog of roughly 2,600 GW of proposed generation and energy storage projects must still navigate supply chain, financing, and local siting challenges, which are also contributing to project delays and cancellations.
S&P Global will convene a panel of experts to explore the US interconnection landscape, with a special focus on grid reform efforts in the PJM Interconnection — the Mid-Atlantic's 13-state regional grid operator. Topics will include:
- Challenges and opportunities for developers, transmission providers, and regional grid operators
- PJM's recent efforts to clear 40,000 MW of generation projects that have yet to proceed to construction
- Reliability concerns as generator retirements threaten to outpace new generation additions
- FERC's Order 2023: What's next for compliance
Speakers
Donnie Bielak
PJM Interconnection
Director of Interconnection Planning
Donnie Bielak is responsible for the entire interconnection process, including project management, engineering and analytical studies, and construction implementation.
Donnie Bielak is responsible for the entire interconnection process, including project management, engineering and analytical studies, and construction implementation. This process ensures the reliable and coordinated addition of new generation and merchant transmission projects to the PJM grid in accordance with PJM Planning principles and standards and all applicable NERC and Regional Reliability Standards. Responsibility for the process requires careful coordination with several other divisions in PJM and knowledge of external policies that shape new generation development.
Bielak originally joined PJM in 2004 as a college co-op in the Engineering Support Department. He was later hired as an engineer in the same department, focusing on EMS network modeling and advanced application support. He then moved to the Markets Coordination Department where he achieved the position of Senior Engineer while working on multiple marketsbased applications including market-to-market (M2M) and security constrained economic dispatch (SCED).
Bielak then worked as an on-shift Reliability Engineer performing day-ahead and real-time analysis of the transmission system while operating in the Control Room, including coordination with neighboring entities. He then served as Manager, Reliability Engineering and as Sr. Manager/Director, Dispatch where he was responsible for the oversight and operation of the Valley Forge and Milford Control Centers.
Bielak has earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering and a Master of Science in both electrical engineering and engineering management, all from Drexel University.
Manuel Esquivel
Enel North America
Manager, Regulatory Affairs
Manuel Esquivel has 14 years of experience developing sustainable solutions in different industries and sectors, including biofuels, mining, transportation, and energy.
Manuel Esquivel has 14 years of experience developing sustainable solutions in different industries and sectors, including biofuels, mining, transportation, and energy. At Enel North America, he is Manager of Regulatory Affairs for the Eastern RTOs/ISOs in the US and Canada. He is also the co-chair of the LatinX Employee Resource Group.
Prior to joining Enel, Manuel worked as Sr. Infrastructure and Energy Planner at the Boston Planning and Development Agency, where he managed the City’s microgrid and district energy programs and collaborated on other municipal programs, including Boston's carbon-free goals, EV charging plan, energy resilience, and utility planning. Manuel holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from MIT and an MS in Environmental Science and Policy from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.
Stacey Burbure
American Electric Power Co.
VP of FERC & RTO Strategy and Policy
Stacey Burbure, AEP's Vice President of FERC and RTO Strategy, leads AEP's regulatory and policy efforts at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Regional Transmission Organizations as the company develops the electric system of the future to best serve its customers.
Stacey Burbure, AEP's Vice President of FERC and RTO Strategy, leads AEP's regulatory and policy efforts at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Regional Transmission Organizations as the company develops the electric system of the future to best serve its customers.
Burbure was previously AEP's senior counsel for transmission policy and rates. Prior to joining AEP in 2019, Burbure served as senior counsel, focusing on transmission issues, for FirstEnergy Corp. Previously, she was senior counsel to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation where she acted as lead counsel to NERC's Reliability Standards Committee. Stacey began her career in the energy field in 2003 in private practice.
Burbure earned her bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College and her law degree from George Washington University Law School. She is a board member of the Charitable Foundation of the Energy Bar Association.
S&P Global Energy
Zack Hale
Senior Reporter, Power Policy
Zack Hale is a senior reporter covering federal energy policy for S&P Global Energy. He joined the news organization in 2018.
Zack primarily covers US wholesale power markets and electric transmission policy, with a special focus on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the regional grid operators the agency oversees. He also reports on power-sector rules and regulations issued by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency, as well as related legislative action in Congress.
Zack previously covered energy project development for The Daily News in Longview, Wash., a Pulitzer-Prize winning local newspaper serving Washington state’s Lower Columbia Basin region. He got his start in journalism as a web producer for POLITICO after serving as editor-in-chief of his student newspaper.
Zack holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Western Washington University and a master’s degree in energy policy and climate from Johns Hopkins University.
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