It’s my pleasure to introduce the 81st issue of PSC News. This publication features many interesting articles from my colleagues here in APAC and across the world.
We’ve gathered views from our UK team about the impact of EVs and Battery Energy Storage Systems on the future power system, the UK’s energy security strategy, and a look at international cooperation in the HVDC connector market.
From North America, we’ve got some great reads about synthetic inertia, hydrogen potential, and a joint article about the relationship between data quality and analytics from PSC CEO Alex Boyd and Harmonic Analytics CEO Phil Shepherd.
Here in Australia, we’ve been busy getting back to in-person events. We opened our new office in Sydney and participated in CIGRE Australia’s 4th Conference on Integration of Distributed Energy Resources (CIDER). We’re particularly proud of our webinar with Energy Magazine, where we talked about what our energy system might look like if we built it from scratch in today’s environment.
I’m also proud to announce that we’ve crossed another milestone in the history of PSC. May 22nd marked PSC’s 27th anniversary, but our history is incomplete without acknowledging the support and trust of our clients. From our humble beginnings in New Zealand to the global consultancy we are today, we have YOU to thank for it, so here’s a big THANK YOU!
There’s also been a change of federal government in Australia to one that believes in climate change so I expect an even bigger push into renewables across Australia.
And, as always, we are pleased to introduce you to our new hires as we continue to grow – seven in APAC over the last two months!
We hope you enjoy this issue of the PSC News and welcome any feedback you have.
Roger Riley, PSC Asia Pacific Managing Director
Data quality vs analytics
PSC CEO Alex Boyd and Harmonic Analytics CEO Phil Shepherd contemplate how utilities can maximize the value of their data by distinguishing the relationship between data quality and analytics.
EVs in UK’s future power system: A Net-zero strategy
Dr. Mahmoud Elkazaz, Dr. Carlos Ferrandon-Cervantes, Raj Hirani, Jonathan Cervantes and Andrew Eviston from PSC UK’s team have combined their efforts in this blog post about the UK’s net-zero strategy and how electric vehicles are expected to play a part in the future power system.
Our most recent special guest contributor is Dr. Mani Vadari, CEO of Modern Grid Solutions. In this post, he discusses the reality of hydrogen today and the potential it holds to help decarbonize in the future.
Phil Devine, PSC UK’s General Manager of HVDC, considers Europe’s growing demand for renewables and the corresponding availability of global vendors to help build the necessary infrastructure to support it.
More than two years into an unprecedented time for both our industry and the world, PSC Senior Global Marketing Manager Gayle Wooster ventured back into the world of in-person conferences. This is what she saw and heard at ETS22 and why she’s so optimistic about the future of the electricity industry.
Graeme Hutchison is PSC UK’s Team Leader of Regulation & Strategic Advisory in Studies & Planning. In this post, he offers his views on the UK’s recently announced energy security strategy, pointing out the lack of some important details about how to achieve the country’s clean energy ambitions.
Dr. Mahmoud Elkazaz, Dr. Carlos Ferrandon-Cervantes, Raj Hirani, Jonathan Cervantes and Andrew Eviston from PSC UK’s team have combined their efforts in this blog post about the importance of Battery Energy Storage System solutions to the UK’s clean energy future.
WEBINAR: If we designed the energy system today, how would it look?
PSC and Energy Magazine hosted a recent webinar with industry experts diving into the question, “if we could start from scratch, what would the energy system look like in 2022?” You can view the recorded session from the link in this post.
In Adelaide earlier during May, PSC’s Amir Mehrtash attended CIGRE Australia’s 4th CIDER22 (Conference on Integration of Distributed Energy Resources). He shares his thoughts about the event in this post.
Darren Waller PSC welcomes Darren Waller to the APAC Energy Applications team. Darren graduated from the University of Western Australia with a postgraduate degree in Electrical Engineering. He has industry experience across a variety of sectors including energy, construction, and IT. Darren is based in Perth, Australia.
Julius Bunyi PSC welcomes Julius Bunyi to the APAC Market Systems team. Julius is a Senior Market Systems Consultant with over 15 years of experience in electricity markets. He has a master’s degree in electrical engineering and his career spans various aspects of market operations, market systems development, market design, development, and planning. Julius is based in Perth, Australia.
Steven Howell PSC welcomes Steven Howell to the APAC team. Steven held previous roles in Transpower as a Lead Engineer in the System Operator Power Systems Group and Grid Owner System Planning. Steven is from Canada and previously worked for Hydro Manitoba in various roles including AC and DC system planning and generator connections. He has also worked in the Manitoba HVDC Research Centre developing PSCAD components and has instructed courses at the University of Manitoba whilst working on his Ph.D. research in VSC HVDC topologies. Steven is based in the Johnsonville office in New Zealand.
Verna Mangabang PSC welcomes Verna Mangabang to the APAC Power Networks Team. Verna joins us as a Power System Studies Engineer. She has been involved in a number of feasibility and limited dynamic studies in Australia’s National Energy Market (NEM). Verna’s most recent role was with ITP where she managed delivery of a range of sub-5 MW and larger renewable projects including grid connection studies in distribution networks. Together with Verna, we will be looking at extending our services and contributing to the integration of a higher penetration of renewable projects in the NEM. Verna is based in Sydney, Australia.
Mohammad Seidaliseifabad PSC welcomes Mohammad Seidaliseifabad to the APAC Power Networks Team. Mohammad joins us as a Power System Studies Principal Engineer. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney and has presented a number of journal and conference papers. Mohammad’s most recent role was with WSP where he managed the delivery of a range of projects including grid connection studies, due diligence studies and Owner’s Engineering roles. Mohammad is based in Sydney, Australia.
Leasle Hickey PSC welcomes Leasle Hickey to the APAC team as our Talent Acquisition Partner. Leasle has a Bachelor’s in Clinical Psychology, a Master’s in Neuro-Linguistic Psychology, Strategic Leadership and Coaching and a Post Graduate in Neuroscience, as well as experience in Senior HR and Talent Acquisition roles. Leasle is based in Brisbane, supporting all of our teams in the Asia Pacific region.
Stuart MacDougall PSC welcomes Stuart MacDougall to the APAC Market Systems team. Stuart is a Market Systems Specialist with 10 years of experience as both an analyst in electricity markets and an engineer in power systems. He has worked as an expert during both the regulatory design phase of the reform of Western Australia’s electricity markets (including the reform of its capacity, energy, and essential system services markets), and as a business analyst, tester and product owner developing market systems for the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). Stuart graduated with degrees in Engineering (Electrical and Electronic) and Commerce at the University of Western Australia. Stuart is based in Perth, Australia.
— PSC North America —
Dipika Poddar PSC welcomes Dipika Poddar to the Power Networks team. Dipika earned her B.Sc. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and her M.Eng in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Calgary. During her Master’s, she worked as an intern at AESO (Alberta Electric System Operator). She also has work experience with Suncor Energy and CNOOC International. Dipika is based in our Vancouver, BC office.
— PSC Europe —
Adam Harper PSC welcomes Adam Harper to the UK team. Adam is a highly motivated Electrical Engineer with over three years of experience in the engineering consultancy industry. Adam has his Master’s in Electronics and Power Systems and will be working in our Planning and Studies group in the UK. Adam is based in the Newcastle office.
Lawal Abdulganiyu PSC welcomes Lawal to the UK Power Networks team. Lawal is an Electric Power Engineer with over a decade of end–to–end experience in Power Project Development. He has his Master’s in Electrical Power Engineering and a BSc. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Lawal is based in Newcastle, UK.
We’ve gathered views from our UK team about the impact of EVs and Battery Energy Storage Systems on the future power system, the UK’s energy security strategy, and a look at international cooperation in the HVDC connector market.
PSC is a proud sponsor of Electra CIGRE’s digital magazine 
