6th Annual Workshop on the Economics of Electricity Policy and Markets

Moderator:
Adam Fremeth, Ivey Business School at Western University

Speakers:
Paul Hibbard, Analysis Group

Nicole LeBlanc, AESO

Emma Coyle, Capital Power

Moderator:
Guy Holburn, Ivey business School at Western University

Speakers:

John Tsoukalis, The Brattle Group

Sanjiv Karunakaran, Hydro One

Theodore Paradise, Hexicon

Moderator:
Sarah Griffiths, Enel North America

Speakers:
Kristen van de Biezenbos, University of Calgary

Katherine Sparkes, IESO

David Robinson, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies

Moderator:
Karen Taylor, Inquisitive Energy

Speakers:
Derek Olmstead, Alberta Market Surveillance Administrator

Ahmad Faruqui, Economist at Large

Lenore Robson, Ontario Energy Board

Cocktail reception and dinner at Georges

Adam Fremeth

Adam Fremeth is the E.J. Kernaghan Professor in Energy Policy and Associate Professor of Business, Economics, and Public Policy at the Ivey Business School. His research focus is on how firms engage and respond to public policy, with particular attention to regulated utilities and the upstream oil and gas sector. Ongoing research projects include how firms engage with First Nations communities through the application of Impact and Benefit Agreements, the role of activist groups on regulatory rulings in the electric utility sector, and the patterns of personal campaign contributions by Chief Executive Officers. His work has been published in top tier economics and management journals. This research agenda has been awarded numerous national grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and he was named a Fulbright Scholar for 2018/19. He received his HBA from the Ivey Business School, his MA from Carleton University and his Ph.D from the University of Minnesota.

Ahmad Faruqui

Dr. Faruqui has 45 years of consulting, teaching and research experience in rate design, load flexibility, energy efficiency, demand response, distributed energy resources, demand forecasting, decarbonization, and electrification. He has worked for over 150 clients on five continents and testified or appeared nearly 100 times before regulatory bodies, governments, and legislative councils on 6 continents.

He has authored or coauthored more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed and trade journals and co-edited books on industrial structural change, customer choice, and electricity pricing. His work has been cited in Bloomberg, Business Week, The Economist, and Forbes, and in Los Angeles Times, Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Times and the Washington Post. He has appeared on NPR and Fox Business News.

Dr. Faruqui has taught economics at San Jose State, UC Davis and the University of Karachi and delivered guest lectures at Carnegie Mellon, Harvard, Idaho, MIT, New York, Northwestern, Rutgers, San Francisco, Stanford, and UC Berkeley. He holds an MA in Agriculture Economics and a PhD in Economics from UC Davis, and a BA and an MA in Economics from the University of Karachi, Pakistan.

Brandon Schaufele

Brian Rivard

David Brown

David Robinson

David Robinson is an economist who advises on public policy and corporate strategy, especially in relation to energy and climate change. His recent research includes analysis of the following issues, among others: responding to the European energy crisis following the Russian invasion of Ukraine; market design for the decarbonized electricity system of the future; efficient prices behind the consumer meter to support demand side flexibility; economic assessment of energy communities in Spain; policies to support electromobility in Peru; policies to replace coal with decarbonized energy resources and to develop demand side flexibility in China; and new business ventures to promote decarbonization. David runs his own consulting company, is an academic adviser to The Brattle Group, and was previously a director of NERA, where he was the co-chair of European Operations and of the Global Energy and Telecom Practices. He is a Member of the Climate Strategies network of researchers who work at the interface between science and policy to advance climate policy. He also worked at the International Energy Agency (IEA), and wrote his doctoral dissertation at the University of Oxford on the vertical disintegration of the international petroleum industry.

Derek Olmstead

Derek Olmstead is the Administrator & CEO at Alberta's Market Surveillance Administrator (MSA). The MSA is mandated to conduct surveillance and enforcement in Alberta's electricity and retail natural gas markets. Prior to being appointed to this position, he was responsible for the MSA's enforcement and surveillance functions, including as Principal Economist. He has also worked at the Alberta Electric System Operator, the Australian Energy Regulator / Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator.

Derek holds a Ph.D. in economics and maintains an active research agenda in energy and environmental economics, applied industrial organization, and applied econometrics, with a particular focus on the competitive and regulated aspects of electricity markets. His research related to electricity markets has been published in, among other places, the Canadian Journal of Economics, The Energy Journal, and The Electricity Journal.

Emma Coyle

Emma Coyle is the Director of Regulatory & Environmental Policy at Capital Power Corporation where she is responsible for leading Capital Power's regulatory and environmental policy advocacy and engagement activities in Ontario. Before joining Capital Power Ms. Coyle was Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel at Goreway Station Partnership, a joint venture between JERA Corp. and Toyota Tsusho. Prior to this she has held legal and compliance roles at TransAlta Corporation where she also began her career in electricity markets as a summer student on the west power scheduling desk in 2005. Ms. Coyle is a member of the Law Society of Alberta and the Law Society of Ontario.

Guy Holburn

Guy Holburn is a Professor of Business, Economics and Public Policy at the Ivey Business School. Holburn is the founder of the Ivey Energy Policy and Management Centre, and served as Director from 2010-2022. He is currently the faculty lead for the Centre’s Electrification Research Program. His areas of expertise are regulation, governance, and business strategy, with a focus on the energy and utilities sectors. He has published widely in top peer-reviewed academic journals and has authored more than a dozen reports on provincial and federal energy policies. He is a Director of London Hydro, a board member of the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability, and on the Council for Clean and Reliable Energy. Holburn has served as a consultant and advisor to corporations and governments in Canada and the U.S. He has provided advice on economic impact assessments, corporate governance, merger/acquisition strategy, regional economic development strategy, electricity pricing policy, pipeline regulation, and corporate performance improvement. He testified as an expert witness on utility regulation and Crown corporation governance issues at the Muskrat Falls Inquiry in 2018 and 2019. He has also testified in court as an expert witness on business strategy issues in commercial litigation. He holds a PhD and MA from the University of California, Berkeley, and a BA Hons. (First Class) from Cambridge University. Previously he worked for several years as a management consultant for Bain and Company in the U.K. and in South Africa.

John Tsoukalis

Mr. Tsoukalis has broad experience helping clients respond to a range of issues related to transmission infrastructure and wholesale power markets. He is an expert in electric market modeling, benefit-cost analysis of transmission assets, regional market participation, transmission rate design, wholesale market design, detection of market manipulation and damages analyses, and strategic utility planning. He has provided expert testimony in front of FERC, in U.S. District Court, and in front of the Alberta Utilities Commission.

Katherine Sparkes

Katherine Sparkes is the Director of Innovation, Research & Development at the IESO where she is responsible for driving initiatives in support of grid modernization to enhance the reliability, affordability and sustainability of Ontario’s electricity supply. Katherine has held leadership positions in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. She currently teaches in the Energy & Infrastructure Program at Osgoode Hall Law School. An urban planner by training, Katherine’s volunteer efforts focus on improving the safety of Toronto’s streets in support of active transportation. Katherine and her family live in Toronto’s west end.

Karen Taylor

Karen Taylor has over 25 years of relevant senior executive financial and energy experience. She was a top-ranked equity analyst for 16 years with TD Securities and BMO Capital Markets covering the pipeline, energy utility and power generation sectors. Karen also served as the Executive Advisor to the Chair of the Ontario Energy Board and was a Member of the Ontario Energy Board. In addition, she served as Special Advisor to the Chair of the Ontario Securities Commission. Currently, she is the Vice Chair of the Council for Clean & Reliable Energy, a non-profit organization that provides a platform for public dialogue and analysis on subjects related to energy policy and governance. She is also an independent energy consultant to industry and investors, with deep experience in capital markets, regulatory policy and infrastructure investing. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Macaulay Child Development Centre, where she serves on the finance, IT, and performance review committees and is chair of the strategy committee. Karen has a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a Major in Finance with Distinction from the University of Alberta, and an MBA from Ivey Business School, Western University. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Kristen van de Biezenbos

Kristen van de Biezenbos is an associate professor at the University of Calgary's Department of Law where she is the Academic Director for the Centre for Corporate Sustainability. Kristen is a member of the Board of Advisory Editors for the Tulane Law Review and the Loyola Maritime Law Journal, and is a former trustee of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation. She currently serves as chair of the Admiralty & Maritime Law section of the American Association of Law Schools.

Kristen’s research explores energy law and its local impacts, especially the problems of externalized costs and regulatory gaps. She also writes about energy in context with water law and land use issues, global energy initiatives, international energy transactions, and comparative energy policy. Currently, she is looking into the efficacy of methane regulations, the community-level impacts of geoengineering projects, and the environmental impacts of corporate law.

Lenore Robson

Nicole LeBlanc

Nicole LeBlanc is Director, Markets & Tariff with the AESO. With the electricity industry on the cusp of transformational change, Nicole is accountable for leading a team of experts at the AESO responsible for market design and the ISO Tariff who are focused on shaping the Alberta electricity framework for the transformation of Alberta’s electricity future to deliver reliability and enhance the quality of life for Albertans. Nicole has nearly two decades of experience evaluating and designing various aspects of Alberta’s power industry, including policy development, technology evaluation, system modelling, market design, demand-side and supply-side forecasting as well as strategic planning. Nicole is routinely asked to sit as AUC witness for the AESO and is a frequent presenter and panelist on Alberta’s electricity market. Nicole holds a Master’s degree in Economics and a Bachelor of Applied Mathematics, both from the University of Calgary.

Paul Hibbard

Mr. Hibbard is an expert on economics, strategy, regulation, and policy in the electric and natural gas industries. He has a comprehensive background merging business development, technical analysis, resource planning and development modeling, economics, and public policy in the energy and environmental fields. He has provided technical and strategic advice to government, industry, business, public interest groups, and trade organizations.

Prior to joining Analysis Group, he was chairman of the MA Department of Public Utilities. He has also provided testimony on resource planning, competitive electricity markets, and transmission pricing in hearings before committees of the MA legislature and the US House of Representatives, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and state and regional planning councils. He has also served on many energy-related boards and committees

Sanjiv (Sonny) Karunakaran

Experienced in the development and management of teams to deliver projects across the globe within the Power and Infrastructure sectors. A proven track record of working effectively with diverse groups of people to resolve issues quickly and deliver projects aligned with their value proposition. A qualified electrical engineer, Sonny has been with Hydro One since late 2019 as the Director of Strategic Project Delivery. Prior to joining Hydro One, Sonny worked for companies such as SNC-Lavalin, United Group, Barclay Mowlem, Kier International, in diverse roles across, engineering, business development and operations. Sonny lives in Oakville, Ontario, with his wife and two sons and enjoys playing golf and coaching rugby.

Sarah Griffiths

Sarah is Head of Regulatory Affairs (Canada, Northeast, Mid-West) at Enel North America, and assists all business lines drive toward a decarbonized future. Her primary responsibilities include market and regulatory affairs in Ontario and Alberta, New England and New York, and the MISO region. Sarah has 20 years’ experience in both Canada and the United States and has worked in the private and public sector. Sarah earned a BA with honours in politics at Queen’s University and a Master’s of Public Policy from the London School of Economics, specializing in Network Regulation.

Through Enel Green Power and Enel X, Enel provides a full spectrum of energy services to businesses, utilities, municipalities, C&I customers as well as private and public EV charging. In North America, Enel operates 70 renewable energy power plants for a total of 6 GW and manages 4.7 GW of demand response, including 70 behind-the-meter battery energy storage systems.

Tabatha Bull

Tabatha is Anishinaabe, a proud member of Nipissing First Nation. As CCAB’s president and CEO she is committed to help rebuild and strengthen the path towards reconciliation and a prosperous Indigenous economy to benefit all Canadians. Serving the Indigenous community through CCAB’s commitment to support the Indigenous economy, Tabatha works with government, notably through her role with the federal government’s recent COVID19 Supply Council, and through her work with various organizations, committees, and boards onIndigenous economic development. An electrical engineer, Tabatha informs Canada’s energy sector by participating on many boards including Ontario’s electricity system operator IESO, the Positive Energy Advisory Council, the MARS Energy Advisory Council, and the C.D. Howe Institute’s Energy Policy program. As an appointee of the Catalyst CEO advisory board in Canada, Tabatha collaborates with some of the world's most powerful CEOs and leading companies to help build workplaces that work for women.

Also, a member of Queen’s University Circle of Advisors, Centennial College’s Indigenous Circle, and a member of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce board, Tabatha is dedicated to diversity and removing systematic barriers to improve opportunities and business competitiveness across all industry sectors. Tabatha is also an appointee of CN’s inaugural Indigenous Advisory Council. The Council is comprised of accomplished and respected representatives of Canada’s First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities of every province and territory. Their mandate is to advise CN’s Board and company President and Chief Executive Officer on issues relevant to CN’s relationship with the more than 200 Indigenous communities in which CN operates. Tabatha has appeared on numerous occasions in the Senate and House of the Parliament of Canada, discussing, advocating, and advising on various Indigenous business issues. She was recommended to the Deputy Minister of International Trade at Global Affairs Canada to join the Trade Advisory Council where she is one of a 12-member panel. The Council’s overarching mandate is to advise on issues related to export promotion, investment attraction, trade policy and negotiations, and international science, technology and innovation.

Theodore Paradise

Theodore J. Paradise is the Chief Policy and Legal Officer for Hexicon, a global developer of floating offshore wind, with 5 GWs of projects under development, and floating wind technology innovator and provider. Theodore has over twenty years of experience in the energy industry regarding regulatory, planning, policy, and project development matters. In recent years, Theodore has been a leading voice regarding the benefits of coordinated, shared transmission for offshore wind as a cost saving and enabling approach, and the need for, and benefits of, offshore wind technology innovation beyond increases to turbine size. Prior to Hexicon, Theodore was EVP of Transmission Strategy and Counsel at Anbaric, a transmission developer. Theodore spent 15 years at ISO New England, the Regional Transmission Organization in the northeastern US where he was assistant general counsel with oversight of planning and operating regulatory issues. Theodore began his career in private practice in Washington, DC representing utilities across the and Canada.