SPEAKER:
Marc Lacroix, eMcREY
ABSTRACT:
During the next years, the utilities will face huge changes at the edge of their power system. Residential customers now have access to affordable domestic generation and energy storage, and intelligent appliances enabling them to shape their energy use. To minimize impacts on the control and operation of power systems, the industry will need to develop a new infrastructure and develop a new partnership with their customer to manage energy consumption in the interest of both. The key to develop such partnership comes from the implementation of a more customer-centric business based on connected homes, loyalty programs, data analytics and cybersecurity.
Real-time analytics, based on probabilistic modeling and machine learning, will increase business intelligence by processing disparate data for a clearer view of the customer experience. This information varies from qualitative and quantitative data about the customer, from IoT devices inside the house or from external databases such as Google traffic or weather. In creating a baseline of customer behavior, it will be possible to forecast precisely the load for the coming hours and identify usage patterns. Furthermore, this analysis allows the classification of customers in different clusters depending on the energy use patterns. The customers are also grouped in different tiers according to their contribution to load control. It will be possible to have tailored marketing strategies to approach the different tiers in order to reward or educate them.
SPEAKER’s BIO:
Marc Lacroix is responsible for the energy sector development at eMcREY. He worked at Hydro-Québec from 1980 to 2013. He has developed a unique expertise related to transmission, generation and smart grid automation and operation. From this expertise and his participation to international standards, he has developed a visionary viewpoint of the future of power systems. Marc received his Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering (1995) from École Polytechnique de Montréal and an Executive Development Program Certificate from HEC Montreal. He is an IEEE Senior Member and is active in IEC Smart Grid SyC and TC58 Working Groups 10, 15 and 17.