Michael S. Costa is a principal engineer with Eversource Energy. He has 35 years of experience in the protection and controls engineering department, with a strong focus on distribution automation using distribution supervisory control and data acquisition (DSCADA) operable overhead-line reclosers with loop-scheme technology. He has been instrumental in developing protection systems for arc-flash mitigation and incorporating distributed energy resources on Eversource’s distribution system. He earned his MSEE degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and his BSEE degree from University of Hartford.