IPPNY/NEPGA Webinar - Northeast Gas/Electric Reliability the View from NERC & NPCC

Thank you to everyone who tuned into our webinar with Jim Robb, President & CEO of NERC, and Charles Dickerson, President & CEO of NPCC. 

Our two guests discussed the challenges facing the Northeast regarding rising electricity demand in the years ahead and a changing generating resource mix. Generators and policymakers are coupling this with a refocus on reliability and affordability, creating the opportunity for creative solutions, but also real challenges for this region.

They detailed the findings of a recent NPCC report, which could not be more timely on the interrelationship of natural gas and electric reliability across New York and New England. NPCC’s analysis put a particular emphasis on meeting winter heating and electric demand over the next eight years. This comprehensive analysis found heightened reliability risks in the Northeast during extreme cold weather with stressed pipelines, depleted oil tanks, and limited amounts of new clean energy. 

The important findings here underscore the critical need to invest in reliable electric generation infrastructure, fuel procurements to support electric operations, and market designs that work to meet consumer needs. 

The presentation slides from the webinar can be found here.

Featured Speakers

Jim Robb
President & CEO
NERC

James (Jim) B. Robb assumed the role of NERC’s president and chief executive officer (CEO) in April 2018. Robb oversees NERC’s mission of assuring the reliability and security of the North American bulk power system. As president and CEO, Robb leads the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) and is responsible for key programs, including those programs focused on development of mandatory NERC Reliability Standards, the Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program, situational awareness, event and risk analysis, reliability assessments and forecasting, and cyber and physical security, affecting approximately 1,400 bulk power system users, owners, and operators. He is also responsible for the performance of the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC) and key government partnerships.

As CEO, he is the chair of the ERO Enterprise Executive Committee, which oversees the operations of the six Regional Entities that support the reliability mission across North America. Robb joined the ERO Enterprise in 2013 when he was appointed the president and CEO of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), the Regional Entity serving the Western Interconnection.

Robb has more than 35 years of experience in the energy sector as an engineer, consultant, and senior executive. Prior to becoming WECC’s CEO, he held three major leadership roles in the industry: senior vice president at Northeast Utilities (now Eversource Energy); senior vice president at Reliant Energy (now part of NRG Energy); and partner at McKinsey & Company. During his 15-year career at McKinsey, he worked closely with prominent electric power companies in California, western Canada, the Pacific Northwest, and the Rocky Mountain states and served clients in Western Europe, South America, and New Zealand. He is a frequent speaker at industry events on the evolution of the electric power system, cyber security, integration of variable generation, and the increasing interdependency of electric and natural gas reliability.

Robb is a member of the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council and serves on the United States Energy Association Board as well as a NERC trustee. In 2020, he was appointed chair of the Group of Experts on Cleaner Energy Systems for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. He has served on the boards of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut, the Houston Symphony, the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, and as a policy advisor to the Bay Area Economic Forum in San Francisco.

Charles Dickerson
President & CEO
NPCC

Charles Dickerson serves as President and CEO for NPCC. He is a recognized industry thought leader with 30 years of experience in the energy sector. Most recently, Mr. Dickerson served as President, Utility Division of SUEZ North America, where he led its regulated utilities across the United States. His previous positions include having served as Chief Operating Officer for Austin Energy where he led the generation, market operations, transmission, distribution, IT, technology, and strategic planning functions; and as President of National Grid - USA Business Services. Prior to National Grid, he worked for Exelon-Pepco Holdings Inc. for 27 years. In addition, Mr. Dickerson brings deep governance expertise as a past Board of Directors member for both the Seedling and RMEL organizations. Mr. Dickerson holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering and master’s in applied management from the University of Maryland.