Advanced Grid Solutions
Co-Chair: Congcong Wang, Director Markets and Grid Research, MISO
Co-Chair: Michael McAmis, Sr. Manager Innovation and Research, TVA
Co-Chair: Jake Gentle, Senior Technical Manager, Idaho National Laboratory
ESIG, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and Idaho National Laboratory, launched the Advanced Grid Solutions Users Group (AGS-UG) in January 2026. The AGS-UG establishes a forum of advanced users of cutting-edge grid technologies that can improve reliability and resilience, enable efficiency gains, improve processes and timeliness, and take advantage of the evolving power grid.
The group will share experiences and lessons learned from practical experiences using advanced software and hardware solutions that are focused on the operation and planning of the power grid. Discussions will include only users and potential users of the technology type, with invited guests to present or co-present when applicable, with an open (Chatham House Rule) dialogue about the benefits and drawbacks of using different technologies for different applications. The set of technologies will be prioritized by the user’s group, but initial focus includes grid enhancing technologies, alternative transmission technologies, advanced operational and planning software tools such as probabilistic scheduling and AC OPF, and various AI applications for operations, planning, and markets. The solutions considered can be expanded based on UG input; however, supply-side technologies, and mature grid solutions, without potential application gains are considered out of scope within this group.
User Group Leadership:
Congcong Wang, Director Markets and Grid Research, MISO, AGS-UG Co-Chair
Michael McAmis, Sr. Manager Innovation and Research, TVA, AGS-UG Co-Chair
Jaren Lutenegger, Director, Operational Performance, Training, and Integration, ISO-New England, AGS-UG Co-Chair
Erik Ela, Director Operation and Market Design, ESIG
James Okullo, Director, System Planning, ESIG
Completed Work
REPORT: Utility Perspectives on Making Grid-Enhancing Technologies Work: Use Cases, Barriers, and Recommendations for Scalable Deployment
This report discusses the ability of these flexible, scalable technologies to quickly improve system performance today, as major transmission expansion proceeds.
