Crystal Hon – WECC Content Team
This year’s WECC Conference brings together industry leaders under the theme of Building the Bridge: Scaling Today’s Energy Systems for the Future. The keynote program features: Kiran Bhatraju, Founder & CEO of Arcadia; Jason Liu, CEO of Wood Mackenzie; Jim Robb, President & CEO of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC); and Dr. Kris Singh, President & CEO of Holtec International
The four speakers cover the whole bridge: the data that makes the grid legible, the analytics that guide capital, the reliability rules that keep the lights on, and the firm generation that has to be built to meet growing energy demand.
Dr. Kris Singh
Founder, President & CEO, Holtec International
Professional History:
Dr. Singh founded Holtec in 1986 and still leads it. He earned his Master’s Degree in Engineering Mechanics and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Penn, and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2013. His career has included nuclear equipment and used-fuel management, giving him a perspective on the obligations that extend throughout a plant’s life. He chairs the KPS Foundation, whose signature contribution is the Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology at Penn.
Overview of Holtec and its Focus Areas:
Holtec began as an engineering firm for the civilian nuclear industry and is widely considered a global leader in managing used nuclear fuel. It is now building a generation business on top of that base.
At Palisades in Michigan, Holtec is working to return a plant that shut down in 2022 to commercial service. Fuel loading began on August 30, 2026, but was paused after a fuel assembly tilted from its upright position. Holtec’s September update said that retrieval work, testing, modifications, and applicable regulatory approvals remained necessary before later startup stages. Associated Press reporting on October 16 continued to describe the fuel-loading pause and noted that the plant’s power purchase agreements require it to enter service by March 2027. Palisades therefore remains a restart project with important work ahead.
Alongside that effort, Holtec is advancing Pioneer Units 1 and 2, two proposed SMR-300 reactors at the Palisades site with a combined design capacity of 680 megawatts. On September 30, the company announced submission of its Preliminary Safety Analysis Report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as part of its phased construction permit application.
How does Holtec play a role in ‘Scaling Today’s Energy Systems for the Future’?
Holtec’s connection to the theme is the effort to turn nuclear engineering into dependable capacity. Palisades offers a test of how existing infrastructure can return to service; the SMR program raises questions about repeatable delivery of new plants. Both efforts depend on aligning technical work with regulatory milestones and capital. A useful question for Singh’s keynote is which lessons from restoring an existing plant can help a company deliver a new reactor, and which challenges require a different approach.
Who might be interested in hearing about Dr. Singh’s work?
- – Students following the economics and timelines of nuclear restarts and small modular reactors
- – Students pursuing project finance and energy infrastructure investment
- – Aspiring industrial entrepreneurs interested in building and scaling engineering businesses
- – Anyone interested in how nuclear power could serve growing demand for firm low-carbon electricity
Further reading:
Hear more from Kris at the WECC Conference Keynote – 9:30–10:00 AM
Jason Liu
CEO, Wood Mackenzie
Professional History:
Jason is a CEO with over 25 years of experience leading high-growth software, data, and services companies, including through IPOs. Wood Mackenzie announced his appointment in May 2024. He was previously CEO of insurance-data provider Zywave, and held CEO roles at SAVO Group, Allegro Development, UC4 and Univa UD. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School
Overview of Current Company & Key Focus Areas – Wood Mackenzie:
Wood Mackenzie provides data, analytics and insights for the energy and natural resources industries. In its September 2026 global power outlook, Wood Mackenzie forecasts annual US electricity sales growth of 3.2% through 2035, with data centers accounting for roughly two-thirds of that growth. The firm also notes that the data-center pipeline is slowing, a reminder that even a strong long-term outlook leaves uncertainty about when and where individual projects will materialize. Forecasts guide investment; they still depend on assumptions that can change.
Wood Mackenzie’s June 2026 acquisition of LandGate illustrates how it is responding. LandGate brings intelligence on the US transmission grid and more than 150 million land parcels, complementing Wood Mackenzie’s market forecasts and supply-chain analysis. The combination is intended to connect a broad view of power markets with the details of project siting. A promising regional demand forecast has more practical value when a developer can also assess the land and infrastructure needed to serve it.
Physical delivery constraints make that connection consequential. In a September 2026 discussion with GE Vernova, Wood Mackenzie examines how the availability of turbines, transformers, switchgear, and skilled workers affects the pace of new electricity supply. For an investor, equipment availability can change a project’s schedule and financing needs even when the demand case remains compelling.
How does Wood Mackenzie play a role in ‘Scaling Today’s Energy Systems for the Future’?
Wood Mackenzie’s connection to the theme is the discipline of deciding what to build, where, and when. Linking market forecasts to site conditions and equipment availability can help investors assess whether a proposed project can meet the demand it is intended to serve. A useful question for Liu’s keynote is how decision-makers should respond when a project’s demand forecast, equipment schedule, and financing assumptions move at different speeds.
Who might be interested in hearing about Jason’s work?
- – Students pursuing energy consulting, market research, and analytics
- – Students interested in corporate strategy and decisions under uncertainty
- – Students curious about leading and growing specialized data businesses
- – Future investors evaluating power projects and infrastructure opportunities
Further reading:
Hear more from Jason at the WECC Conference Keynote – 1:00–1:35 PM
Jim Robb
President & CEO, North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)
Professional History:
Jim has been NERC’s president and CEO since April 2018, after joining the ERO Enterprise in 2013 as CEO of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council. Before that he was a senior vice president at Northeast Utilities, a senior vice president at Reliant Energy, and a partner at McKinsey & Company. He brings nearly four decades of experience as an engineer, consultant, and energy executive where his responsibilities span reliability assessments, standards, and the security of the North American bulk power system. He earned a chemical engineering degree from Purdue and an MBA from Wharton.
Overview of NERC and its Focus Areas:
NERC oversees the reliability and security of the North American bulk power system, including mandatory reliability standards, compliance and enforcement, and cyber and physical security.
NERC’s 2025 Long-Term Reliability Assessment, covering 2026–2035, identifies resource adequacy challenges in 13 of 23 assessment areas over the decade. Its concern is that planned generation and transmission are struggling to keep pace with projected demand. Those findings describe risks under the system plans and assumptions used in the assessment. NERC explicitly cautions that the projections are not predictions of what will happen, and acknowledges that revised load forecasts and additional resources can change the outlook.
The behavior of new demand matters as well as its size. In May 2026, NERC issued a Level 3 Essential Action Alert on computational loads, following observations of abrupt load reductions and oscillations that can develop within seconds. The alert calls for actions involving modeling, studies, instrumentation, commissioning, operations, protection, and control. NERC also released voluntary guidance on mitigating the risks of emerging large loads while work on formal standards continues.
That distinction helps explain why a new data center is an engineering issue as well as a capacity requirement. Operators need to understand how a large facility will behave during disturbances and changes in operation. A project that looks manageable in an annual demand forecast can still pose challenges on the much shorter timescales relevant to grid stability.
How does NERC play a role in ‘Scaling Today’s Energy Systems for the Future’?
NERC contributes the assessments and reliability requirements needed to integrate growth into a functioning system. Its work helps the industry examine whether planned resources can meet future needs and how new facilities will affect grid operations. The central question for Robb’s keynote is how planning and operating requirements can keep pace with large new customers while giving developers a clearer path to dependable service.
Who might be interested in hearing about Jim’s work?
- – Students interested in grid operations, energy regulation and public policy
- – Students curious about how reliability standards shape what gets built
- – Students interested in grid security and extreme-weather preparedness
- – Future developers and investors deciding where to site new generation or load
Further reading:
Hear more from Jim at the WECC Conference Keynote – 1:00–1:35 PM
Kiran Bhatraju
Founder & CEO, Arcadia
Professional History:
Kiran began his career on Capitol Hill, as a legislative assistant to Congressman John Yarmuth from 2007 to 2009, working on energy and national security issues. He then co-founded American Efficient in 2009, a virtual power plant software platform and served as the Director of Business Development until its acquisition by Modern Energy. He started Arcadia in 2014, a utility data platform company that first started with consumer-facing community solar but has since evolved into an enterprise energy data and utility management platform. He also sits on the board of The Nuclear Company, Solar Holler and serves on the World Wildlife Fund National Council. He holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and wrote Mud Creek Medicines, a book about the life of Eula Hall and the fight for Appalachia.
Overview of Current Company & Key Focus Areas – Arcadia:
For companies operating across many utility territories, understanding electricity costs is a practical challenge. Rates vary by location, time of day, and peak demand. Arcadia makes that information usable for energy buyers and the developers building products around it.
Arcadia’s own evolution makes that story especially relevant this year. Its community solar business merged with Perch Energy in March 2025 and now operates separately. Arcadia today focuses on enterprise energy intelligence, combining utility data and tariff tools with bill management, procurement advice, and sustainability reporting. Its May 2026 announcement of an agreement to acquire ENGIE Impact’s energy management business described a combined platform serving more than 1,500 enterprise customers and processing over $30 billion in annual utility payments. The transaction connects Arcadia’s software with the operational work of buying energy and managing bills.
A useful example comes from EVgo’s work with Arcadia. The charging company uses Arcadia’s tariff intelligence to check utility bills and incorporate local electricity rates into decisions about potential charging sites. A charger’s economics depend on the rate structure it faces as well as how many drivers use it. According to Arcadia’s case study, automating those calculations has helped EVgo identify billing errors and make better-informed development decisions.
How does Arcadia play a role in ‘Scaling Today’s Energy Systems for the Future’?
Arcadia’s founding premise, in Kiran’s words, is that decarbonization will not happen fast enough unless meter-level data is easy to access. That makes it infrastructure for the demand side of the bridge: helping large customers understand their loads, manage costs, and make better decisions as utilities and markets change.
Who might be interested in hearing about Kiran’s work?
- – Aspiring founders interested in how an energy startup evolves its products and business model
- – Students exploring energy software, utility data, and applications of AI
- – Future corporate energy buyers managing electricity costs and sustainability goals
- – Students curious about careers that connect energy policy and entrepreneurship
Further reading:
Hear more from Kiran at the WECC Conference Keynote – 4:35-5:05 PM
Looking forward to seeing you all at the WECC Conference!
