Rules for Entertaining

by Mark Knight (GWAC Emeritus Chair), Ron Ambrosio (GWAC Emeritus Chair, David Forfia (GWAC Chair)

Henry David Thoreau once wrote?[Walden pub. 1854, an account of two years spent in a tiny cabin by Walden Pond outside Concord, MA] that “I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society. When visitors came in larger and unexpected numbers there was but the third chair for them all, but they generally economized the room by standing up.” The GWAC has had a full dining table of Chairs over the years, but in this blog three of us have combined our musings for a shared blog. The question is: who is sitting in each of Thoreau’s chairs?

GWAC has been a part of our combined lives since 2004. For two of us our positions as Chair expired many years ago, yet we continue to stay involved. Why is that? The answer is simple, and it is related to one of Mark’s earlier blogs. It is a combination of the people, the topics being addressed, and the hope that the work being performed will benefit the industry and society.

Since its formation in 2004, the Council has been focused first on interoperability and later on transactive energy. We have published important conceptual frameworks on both topics, and in turn they have been published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) as technical reports. The GWAC has also been responsible for the Grid-Interop conferences and the Transactive Energy Systems Conferences and Workshops, and has been identified as a key resource in federal legislation (Energy Information and Security Act [EISA] 2007). The Thoreau’s society chair probably relates to these conferences as they have always been fun and thought-provoking events with diverse attendees. The effort behind the scenes was taxing, but the reward was seeing attendees enjoy the panel sessions, meet new people, and provide valuable feedback afterward. At one event in Portland, OR we had a lunchtime exercise where people had to organize a stack of pennies into two columns representing how much they knew before coming to the conference and how much they learned during the conference. Afterward, while cleaning up the tables, we came across what we feel is the greatest feedback we’ve ever received.

The friendship chair relates to almost everything the three of us have been involved in with the GWAC. Some of the people we have met through the Council will be lifelong friends. And the solitude chair? As much as we tried to come up with a convoluted example to illustrate solitude, we couldn’t find one: this seems fitting, since GWAC meetings are all open to the public and the journey we’re on as an industry to find sustainable energy solutions for our planet can’t be accomplished alone.??

GWAC meetings are open to the public, and meeting dates are published on the GWAC website (https://www.gridwiseac.org/) so check it out, get involved (we always have more attendees than Council members), and even apply to join. GWAC members are recognized, respected practitioners and leaders with broad-based knowledge and expertise in power systems, information technology, telecommunications, markets and financial systems, buildings, industrial controls, security, and other related sectors.?

The GWAC has a broad, balanced representation among its 13 members, selected to represent the full spectrum of industry and academia with complementary experience. Still, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) encourages new thinking, so GWAC membership is required to be refreshed by adding new members every year. Members serve two-year terms, with roughly half the members’ terms expiring each year. Some stay on, but new members are required. The next call for members should open around October.

Finally, we would like to thank the DoE, which has continued to support the Council all these years.

Mark, Ron, David.