Press Room
October 15, 2024
The Global Power System Transformation Consortium (G-PST) is undergoing organizational and governance changes, as recommended by the Core Team and both governing boards during the in-person strategy meeting in September 2023, in Washington, DC. A key outcome of this process is the establishment of a streamlined Governing Board, which will replace the previous structure that included a separate CEOs group and the “Founding System Operators” designation.
The new Governing Board will oversee the operation of all five G-PST Pillars and related initiatives. The transition to this governance structure, along with other organizational changes, will be completed by the end of 2024.
The six original system operators have technical staff that are engaged in ongoing GPST initiatives, and they will still be involved in topics relevant for them, as well as bilaterally in research projects. Additionally, G-PST will continue expanding its network of participating system operators, which currently represent approximately 30% of global electricity generation.
Global transmission system operators 50Hertz and Energinet led the launch of G-PST’s Control Room of the Future Implementation Council, driving collaboration to accelerate power system transformation.
- Read the full write-up to learn about the new Implementation Council and its goals.
Although women make up half of the worldwide workforce potential, they are often underrepresented in the power sector—especially in technical and leadership roles, such as utility management, power system operations, and engineering. To support these efforts, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Partnership, Imperial College London, and the broader Global Power System Transformation (G-PST) Consortium community joined together to launch the Women in Power System Transformation initiative.
Three pairs of engineering staff from three system operators partnered with G-PST: the National Load Dispatch Centre (NLDC) in Vietnam, Compañía Expertos en Mercados (XM) in Colombia, and UkrEnergo in Ukraine, participated in a 10-day, two-part U.S. study tour planned and hosted by the G-PST Consortium.
To achieve a global and inclusive response to climate change, its critical to support system operators worldwide with managing the challenges related to integrating high levels of renewable energy. In the latest installment of NREL’s Tell Me Something Grid series, NREL senior grid researcher Amy Rose discusses her role with the Global Power System Transformation Consortium leading a team that works directly with system operators in developing countries to implement the technical solutions needed to operate reliable, low-carbon grids.
Professor Mark O’Malley, co-lead for G-PST’s Pillar 1 (System Operator Research and Peer-Learning), has joined Imperial College London as the Leverhulme International Professor of Power Systems. He joins the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering to lead a research team of 13 working to decarbonize the electricity grid, supported by £4million in funding from The Leverhulme Trust. The research will be done in collaboration with the G-PST Consortium.
In an article published by T&D World, the G-PST’s Karin Wadsack and IEEE’s Mark Siira shared relevant standards and recommendations from IEEE to integrate renewable energy technologies onto the electric grid. G-PST is supporting the development of these standards and advocating for universal system-wide requirements, while fostering power system research, technology pilots, workforce development, and the deployment of open-source tools and technical assistance to system operators around the globe.
As part of G-PST’s Women in Power System Transformation Initiative, Imperial College London’s Energy Futures Lab wrote a piece featuring stories from women leaders in power system operations.
In a thought leadership piece for the Irish Times, EirGrid Chief Executive Mark Foley outlines why he believes a decade of global collaboration is the key to successfully addressing climate change and how the G-PST Consortium is strengthening that effort.
The Women in Power System Transformation initiative, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the G-PST, addresses educational and professional barriers to women’s entry and advancement in power system operation organizations. The program will create internships and fellowships at G-PST’s partner organizations for women and individuals in underrepresented communities. It will also create a university-level engineering training curriculum covering gender equality and empowerment topics as well as cutting-edge power system technical topics aligned with the G-PST Consortium’s teaching agenda.
The G-PST Consortium hosted its formal launch event on April 21st at 8 a.m. US EDT, convened in association with US Climate Action Week. U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and U.K. BEIS Secretary of State Kwasi Kwarteng, together with several executives of power system operators and institutions from around the world, officially launched the G-PST Consortium. The event also showcased the G-PST Consortium’s inaugural research and teaching agendas.
Earlier today during the Bloomberg NEF Summit, Audrey Zibelman, CEO of the Australia Energy Market Operator (AEMO) announced the launch of the Global Power System Transformation Consortium. Speaking during the European Energy Infrastructure in Transition Session, Zibelman highlighted the need for a major global collaborative effort in overcoming technical barriers related to the integration of clean energy into power systems at an unprecedented scope and scale.
