Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), held its 2020 Market Symposium on October 20, 21 and 23. The Market Symposium covered a wide range of topics that were significant to the energy industry. These topics included addressing uncertainty, variability, and risk associated with power markets and operations. Other areas of key focus were infrastructures as an enabler, and data analytics to support decision-making.
MISO started the conference by inviting Commissioner Richard Glick from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), to share his thoughts on uncertainty and risk. When asked what he thought the state of the industry would be in 10-15 years, Glick answered confidently that we would see an increase in renewable resource options since many companies are moving in that direction. With so much unpredictability in climate change and natural disasters, Glick has noticed many companies moving towards renewable resources. Glick advised utilities to invest in clean energy and provide customers with options. In the next 10-15 years, the industry is looking to dramatically change the use of non-renewable resources.
Regarding the topic of uncertainty with supply and demand, Dr. Andy Sun expressed the need to have individuals looking ahead and planning for this problem. He says that with less uncertainty, we can have a better balance of supply and demand.
Lisa Barton, the Executive Vice President of Utilities American Electric Power addressed attendees with answers about needs and opportunities in the energy industry. When asked how to show people outside of the industry the importance of infrastructure, Barton explained that with so much being expected out of the grid, we can also anticipate the need for larger infrastructures. When it comes to supply and demand, we should not worry about building too much, but rather not having enough.
The panel that day also addressed grids and mentioned the probability of a mixture of macro and microgrids in the future. Dr. Anjan Bose advised taking that into consideration when planning. He also discussed the need for synthetic data and the desire for the industry to be more transparent with regional data.
Another trending topic addressed how we should plan for expanding wind energy in MISO. James McCalley advised looking into an expansion planning tool.
Elliot Mainzer, President and Chief Executive Officer at California ISO spoke about the importance of simplifying what is required of employees in the energy markets. He mentions the difficulty of needing people to do multiple things. He expressed the desire to have one system that flows well to take the weight off employees.
For our clients, Adapt2 is that system. Adapt2 Solutions operates on a single cloud platform that is enabled by the latest technologies. These technologies include big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities. From trade management to the complexities of your renewable portfolio, our system is configured to meet and simplify your needs.
The final panel covered the importance of data analytics to help support decision making. When asked, what major challenges and opportunities for data analytics are there in the technology sector, Antoine Marot spoke of the need for AI to be focused on assistance. David Edelson mentioned that since the control room does not have a lot of time to make decisions based on the data, better visualization tools would be a benefit.
Edelson also stated that giving operators the rights tools would help data analytics succeed in the next 10-15 years. Adapt2’s Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence uses machine and deep learning algorithms. Adapt2 harvests knowledge in the big data lake to help support better and more optimized decision making.
The symposium ended with a Q&A panel that discussed the approaches that might be used to make sure operators trust the AI tools they are given, as well as the best ways for growth. Edelson answered by suggesting that developers included the operators in the creation of AI tools to ensure their needs are being met. He also suggested automated decision making so that the market would be able to operate more leanly.
The MISO 2020 Market Symposium addressed concerns and topics important to the energy industry. These topics covered many of the risks and opportunities this business faces. Each day allowed guest speakers and panelists to unpack the subjects for the audience. These professionals offered knowledge from experience and advice for the future. While the outlook of this ever-evolving industry is unknown, listeners can be better prepared for changes by studying data, preparing for potential natural disasters and investing in ways to create and store energy.
Considering the guidance from the experts invited to participate in the MISO 2020 Market Symposium, Adapt2 is ready and equipped to provide clients with state-of-the-art energy software solutions that span all parts of the energy organization. From Front Office to Back Office and from Plants/Assets to IT departments, Adapt2’s mission is to adapt to change around and within, including anticipating and innovating around market trends and changes.