2026 Summer Workshops:  Large Load Modeling, Testing and Interconnection Requirements Workshop (joint with the National Laboratory of the Rockies)

Tuesday, June 16, 2026

7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.
Registration & Breakfast
Registration Location: Crystal Foyer
Breakfast Location: Silverton Ballroom (2nd Floor)

8:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Opening Session: Setting the Scene – Growing Loads, Why This Matters
Session Chair: Beibei (BeiLi) Li, Manager of Strategic Assessment, Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO)
Location: Crystal B/C

Power systems around the world are experiencing growing interest for large load interconnection. This session will set the scene and cover the importance of modeling, performance requirements and ongoing U.S. DOE initiatives in this area.

• Integrating Data Centers and Grid Technologies At Scale
  Murali Baggu, Laboratory Program Manager – Grid Integration, National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR)
• The Challenges of Ensuring Grid Reliability in the Era of Large Computational Loads
  Eric Meier, Supervisor of Planning Model Administration, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)
• ESIG Large Load Taskforce: Overview and Recommendations
  Julia Matevosyan, Associate Director, Chief Engineer, ESIG
• Developer Perspective: Challenges with Modeling Requirements and Validation
  Khundmir Syed, Director, Power and Grid Strategy, Diode Ventures

9:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Break
Location: Crystal Foyer

10:15 p.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Session 2L: Large Load Modeling – PSPD and EMT
Session Chair: Ashok Sunder Rajan, Principal Technologist, ZeroNode
Location: Crystal B/C

Large load PSPD and EMT modeling is of paramount importance for the reliable integration of large loads. This session will cover perspectives from labs, transmission owners/operators, and OEMs/developers on large load modeling.

• Data Center Power Systems: EMT Modeling for Evaluating Converter-Driven Stability Problems and Oscillations
  Shahil Shah, Principal Engineer, National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR)
• Using EMT Modeling to Understand Data Center Fault Response and Impacts to Electromechanical Generation
  Brett Ross, Electrical Engineer, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
• Generic Phasor-model Development for Data Centers
  Jin Tan, Principal Engineer, National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR)
• Modeling Needs for Bulk System Planning Studies and State-of-the-Art Models
  Parag Mitra, Senior Principal Technical Leader, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
• Data Center Modeling to Support Large Load Interconnection Requirements
  Rahul AnilKumar, Vice President, Integrated System Planning at Danovo Energy Solutions

12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Lunch
Location: Silverton Ballroom (2nd Floor)

1:15 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Session 3L: Hardware Testing / Model Quality Assessment and Validation
Session Chair: Jing Wang, Principal Engineer, National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR)
Location: Crystal B/C

While the industry heavily relies on simulation studies for grid reliability assessments, it is important to understand what is being done to test equipment capabilities for large load facilities as well as explore emerging requirements for large load model validation.

• Fingrid’s Perspective on Data Center Modelling Requirements and Model Quality
  Pauli Partinen, Manager, Grid Models, Fingrid (virtual)
• Data Center Power Systems: Megawatt-Scale Hardware Testing for Evaluating Grid-Side and Load-Side Performance
  Shahil Shah, Principal Engineer, National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR)
• Hardware in the Loop Testing for Data Centers with Energy Storage for AI Load Smoothing and Onsite Generators
  Arman Ghasaei, CTO, EdgeTune Power
• Large Load Interconnection Process: Current and Future Large Load Modeling Requirements
  Sun Wook Kang, Senior Manager of Grid Planning, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)
• EMT Testing of Large Load Power Fluctuation Mitigation
  Kasun Samarawickrama, Power System Studies Engineer, Electranix

3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Break
Location: Crystal Foyer

3:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Session 4L: Emerging Performance Requirements for Large Loads
Session Chair: Andy Hoke, Principal Engineer, National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR)
Location: Crystal B/C

Industry is rapidly developing performance requirements for large loads. What are the reliability criteria that the requirements are based on? What capabilities of the equipment are needed to comply with emerging requirements? This session will offer perspectives from large load developers, OEMs, and ISOs/utilities performance requirements for large loads.

• NERC Large Load Action Plan
  Hasala Dharmawardena, Senior Engineer, Power System Modeling Studies, North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)
• Emerging Performance Requirements from Utility Perspective
  Doug Fuller, Transmission Planning Supervisor, Southern Company (virtual)
• Now you tell us…
  Scott Heath, Principal Engineer, Microsoft
• Making Data Centers Grid Friendly
  Flemming Johansen, Senior Principal Architect, Schneider Electric (virtual)
• Enabling Large Load Interconnection Today: At-scale Validated Performance under Extreme Scenarios
  Mike Simpson, SVP of R&D, On.Energy

6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Networking Reception
Location: Silverton Ballroom (2nd Floor)