685dc0d6fc8c306396625230 Industries Investment Stakeholders

Grid-Edge Flexibility and Distributed Capacity Procurement Barriers

Traditional grid planning can’t meet the demands of a distributed energy future. Explore how grid-edge flexibility and smarter DER deployment are reshaping resilience, operations, and innovation across the power sector.

Date: Thursday, July 24, 2025
Time: 2:00 PM ET / 1:00 PM CT / 11:00 AM PT
Duration: 1 Hour

Already registered? Click here to log in.

Summary

As the energy transition accelerates, the limitations of traditional grid planning and operations are becoming increasingly apparent. This webinar will explore how utilities, policymakers, and market participants can unlock the full potential of distributed energy resources (DERs) and demand-side flexibility by aligning them with locational and geospatial grid needs. We will discuss the urgent shift required—from legacy customer programs aimed at energy reduction to modern strategies focused on dynamic grid management and resiliency.

In this session, speakers will explore how to operationalize flexibility at scale, including the modernization of utility infrastructure to enable real-time coordination with DERs. We will also examine how integrated planning can guide DER deployment to the most impactful locations, and how bridging the perspectives of engineers, economists, scientists, and entrepreneurs can spark innovation. Through real-world insights and personal stories, the panel will highlight key lessons and breakthroughs from their work at the grid edge—offering both practical strategies and human-centered inspiration for those working to shape the future of energy.

Speakers

Marissa Hummon
Chief Technology Officer
Utilidata

As Chief Technology Officer, Marissa is responsible for the company’s technology research, product development, deployment, and engineering teams. She is an expert in developing products that change the way the consumers and utility executives think about procuring, dispatching, and pricing distributed energy resources. Marissa joined Utilidata in 2018, bringing 20 years of expertise in energy systems and grid optimization, having previously overseen product development for Tendril and managed grid modernization research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Marissa is a graduate of Colorado College with a PhD in Applied Physics from Harvard University and serves on the board of Grid Forward. She lives with her family in Golden, Colorado where she is a Colorado Governor's Fellow.

Pier LaFarge
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Sparkfund

Pier is the co-founder and CEO of Sparkfund, a deployment services company that helps utilities accelerate distributed energy resources (DER) deployment in their territories, making the grid more affordable, reliable, and resilient while supporting economic growth. Where DERs were once peripheral, Sparkfund is working to make them indispensable, taking them from the edge of the grid to its core.

Beyond Sparkfund, Pier serves as a Trustee at The Nature Conservancy's Maryland and DC chapter, and as a Next Gen Strategy Committee member supporting the board of Fidelity Charitable, and a founding member of the Abundance Project. Previously, while at ICF International, he co-founded a service offering focused on energy efficiency finance strategy. In 2010, he founded Race to Replace, a statewide clean energy-focused voter registration campaign in Vermont in partnership with the League of Conservation Voters.

Santosh Veda
Manager - Grid Solutions (DERMS)
Dominion Energy

Santosh Veda is the Manager of DER Management & Technologies Group at Dominion Energy Virginia, one of the largest investor-owned utilities (IOUs) in the country. His team is implementing and operationalizing a full-scale enterprise Distributed Energy Resources Management System (DERMS). He also leads the Company’s technology strategy for implementing FERC O2222 and virtual power plants (VPPs) for the distribution company, while exploring new operational models for the electric distribution grid. Dr. Veda is also the Principal Investigator for the DOE-funded GRID-FLEXER project that will demonstrate distribution grid operations with high levels of DERs at scale. DOE awarded $17M to support this project through the Clean Energy Demonstrations program.

Julieta Giraldez | Moderator
Director, Integrated Grid Planning
EPE

Sponsored By:

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of T&D World, create an account today!