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NextGrid Lead Facilitator Announced

Ameren Illinois Company (AIC) and Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) are pleased to announce that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department (“UIUC/ECE”) has been selected as lead facilitator for NextGrid, the Illinois Commerce Commission’s Utility of the Future Study.

 

The Power and Energy Systems Area of UIUC/ECE has a long history of leading education, research, and service to the State of Illinois.  The group is composed of internationally renowned faculty and research groups, and has been actively involved with national research projects with organizations including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and numerous electric power industries. As part of the initiative, UIUC/ECE will work with subject matter experts and sub-facilitators, and seek input from all members of the energy stakeholder community on goals and guiding principles for the collaborative study.

 

Faculty participants for the UIUC/ECE team include:

 

George Gross, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

William H. Sanders, Head of ECE

Peter W. Sauer, Grainger Chair Professor of ECE

Alejandro Dominguez-Garcia, Associate Professor of ECE

Subhonmesh Bose, Assistant Professor of ECE

Rizwan Uddin, Head (designate) of Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological Engineering

 

Managed by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), NextGrid is an approximately 18 month consumer-focused collaborative study. The study will result in a final report that outlines relevant issues, opportunities and challenges, identifies areas of consensus and disagreement, and educates policy makers.  In addition to identifying and exploring future technological advancements and utility and regulatory models, the report will provide a range of recommendations aimed at empowering customers and communities, driving economic development, optimizing the electric utility industry, and creating a 21st Century regulatory model that supports innovation.

 

About Ameren Illinois
Ameren Illinois delivers energy to 1.2 million electric and 816,000 natural gas customers in Illinois. Our mission is to power the quality of life. Our service territory covers more than 1,200 communities and 43,700 square miles. For more information, visit AmerenIllinois.com, find us on Twitter @AmerenIllinois or Facebook.

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