Driving grid innovation under increased regulatory pressure, intense cybersecurity threat, and rapidly rising demand for renewables integration

Date: 18th-22nd March 2024

Format: In-Person

Venue: Noordwijk, The Netherlands

Very Early Bird – Save up to €800 on delegate places by booking before Friday 24th November 2023!

Group Booking Discount – 10% discount for 3+ delegates, 20% discount for 5+ delegates and 30% discount for 10+ delegates booked from the same organisation at the same time!

Conference Day One: Tuesday 19th March 2024

08:00

Registration &  Refreshments

08:20

Welcome Address from the Chair

08:30

Energy Security – Engaging to align governmental and societal decarbonisation goals with the operational realities of grid modernization 

Charles Esser

Secretary General

CEER

09:00

Renewables Integration – Speeding up grid modernisation through flexibility and storage to manage demand and capacity constraints 

Roberto Zangrandi

Secretary General

E.DSO 

 

Charles Esser

Secretary General

CEER 

 

Philippe Vangeel

Secretary General

AVERE

09:45

Workforce Development – Aligning organisational culture and capabilities to meet the needs of the future grid 

Cordi O’Hara

Divisional President

National Grid

10:15

Morning Refreshments, Exhibition & Networking 

10:45

Change Management – Mobilising teams and projects to meet transformation goals with a balanced approach to risk, finance, and compliance 

Christopher Hayton

Director of Corporate Affairs Electricity Distribution

National Grid 

11:15

Cybersecurity – Embedding an understanding of the threat landscape and adversarial capabilities to enable a proactive approach to cybersecurity 

Anjos Nijk

Managing Director

ENCS

11:45

Platinum Sponsor Session - During this session the event Platinum sponsor presents the results of recent applications of their solutions in the field and provides a clear roadmap for their grid product development 

12:30

Live Demo Introductions - During this session the Live Demo Labs sponsor provide an introduction to their solutions and invite participation for their 1:1 demonstrations 

13:00

Lunch, Exhibition & Networking 

Digital Substations Track

SCADA Systems Track

Utility Telecom Track

Smart Metering Track

Big Data

Track

OT Cyber Security Track

14:30

Energy Transition – Determining the role of substation virtualisation in driving technical and cost efficiency in the migration toward a flexible renewables driven grid 

Frans Campfens

Senior Energy Consultant

Qirion

Control Room of the Future – Exploring the potential of next generation SCADA systems to support the cybersecure management of high-volume data transmitting across the extended grid in real-time

Jan Vorrink

Manager National Control Centre, Systems Operations

TenneT

Dr Alex Stefanov

Director of Control Room of the Future (CRoF) Technology Centre

TuDelft

Influencing Regulation - Driving engagement to consolidate regulation and government policy with the rapid evolution of utilities and telecoms 

Julian Stafford

Secretary General

EUTC

Smart Metering Roadmap - Developing a enabling distributed grid intelligence as and real time consumer billing 

Brian Collins

Director, Digital Grid Consulting

Ernst and Young

Data Exchange Framework – Developing a framework to establish the preconditions for safe and interoperable data exchange between all parties in the grid ecosystem 

Klaas Hommes

Managing Director

MFF BAS

Regulation – Interworking NIS2 and local regulatory guidelines to create a clear and effective framework for cybersecurity regulatory compliance 

Gaetano Sanacore

Scientific Director of National Observatory for Cyber Security of Energy grid

TC57 WG10

15:15

Lifecycle Management – Establishing a maintenance regime that will maximise the lifecycle of digital substation systems built on a mix of new and legacy components 

Anders Karlsson

Power System Specialist

Ellevio

Advanced SCADA-EMS – Leveraging advanced system functionalities to support the effective transport management of multiple energy networks 

Erwin Van de Velde

Product Owner

Gasunie

Outsourcing – Aligning stakeholder capabilities, technical criteria, cost and criticality to establish the business case for the integration of outsourced and internal network services 

Amadou Louh

Telecom Strategist

Stedin

Grid Edge Intelligence - Examining the latest developments in grid edge computing and real time data analytics to enable smart, connected infrastructure at the edge to support grid optimisation

Big Data Project Governance – Implementing large-scale enabler projects within an agile organization 

Frans Campfens

Principal Consultant Energy Consulting

Qirion

ISO 27001 – Extending the use of ISO 27001 across IT and OT infrastructure and achieving certification in a time and cost-efficient manner 

Razvan Tudor

Director of Risk Management

Electrica

16:00

Afternoon Refreshments, Exhibition & Networking 

16:30

Large-Scale Roll-Out – Defining a roll-out plan and engaging Board support to secure long term investment for the complete deployment of digital substations 

Speaker to be confirmed

Advanced SCADA-ADMS - Developing a comprehensive ADMS roadmap to respond to the changing needs of the power grid, including the integration of renewable energy 

Rui Almeida

Project Manager

E-REDES

Hybrid MNO Strategy – Demonstrating the success criteria for orchestrating a multi-network environment with a core MVNO to increase control, build resilience and reduce risk 

Sergio Ramos

Deputy Director

E-REDES

AMI Roll-Out - Outlining Ellevio’s smart meter roll-out in Sweden

Henrik Hagberg

Rollout Manager

Ellevio

Optimising Asset Investment – Proactively leveraging asset health, demand forecasting, and operational data to simultaneously drive efficient investment and inform wider business change strategy 

Dan Wilson

Asset Analytics Manager

ENWL

IEC 62443 – Determining the opportunities and challenges of IEC 62443 to fully secure and certify power grid OT infrastructure on primary substations 

Damien Ploix

Cybersecurity Manager

Enedis

17:15

Process Bus – Evaluating the technical advantages and cost-benefit analysis of process bus architectures for transmission and distribution environments and determining a deployment timeline that will deliver ROI

Mohseen Mohammed

Protection and Control Engineering Manager

SSEN

Modular System Design – Developing a Modular System, next to the wide range of internal and external systems, as an effective multi-vendor Ecosystem for Control Centers that integrates capabilities such as SCADA functionality at the highest level of cyber-security 

Ralf Heisig

Product Manager MCCS

50Hertz

DMR - Overcoming regulatory and technical challenges when implementing a 10.5GHZ DMR system in the MV network to improve reliability and enable flexibility and scalability 

Stuart Boydell

Radio Planning Manager

ENWL

AMI - Outlining BKW's smart meter roll-out in Switzerland 

Tobias Kaiser

Head of Grid Connection Management & Metering Point Operation

BKW Energie

Grid Calculations – Implementing a big data cloud platform to create synergy between grid calculation use-cases  

Robin Hagemans

Managing Partner

Infiniot

Threat Management and ChatGPT – Mapping out the evolving OT threat landscape in the era of ChatGPT and exploring the use security-by-design and robust technical strategies to combat these 

Tahir Saleem

Senior Manager, OT Security

DEWA

18:00

Roundtable Discussions - During this session the audience breaks out into several smaller working groups, each focused on a specific theme that arose during the day’s presentations. Each working group will comprise of representatives of the entire smart grid technical community to ensure a well-rounded and holistic discussion

19:00

Roundtable Summaries - During this session each working group leader will provide a 5-min summary back to the wider group, highlighting the issues raised, solutions discussed, and the recommendations made to take the matter to the next level

20:00

Networking Reception - Time to relax after an intensive day of presentations and discussions! All participants are invited to join this networking reception where you will have the opportunity to enjoy the company of colleagues from across the European smart grid technical community, in a relaxed and informal setting

22:00

Close of Conference Day One

Conference Day Two: Wednesday 20th March 2024

08:00

Registration &  Refreshments

08:20

Welcome Address from the Chair

Digital Substations Track

SCADA Systems Track

Utility Telecom Track

Smart Metering Track

Big Data

Track

OT Cyber Security Track

08:30

Standards – Reviewing the latest developments with standards such as IEC 61850 and IEC 62351 among others to support substation digitisation and grid integration with renewables 

Christoph Brunner

Convenor

IEC TC57 WG10

Agile Development – Planning the cost-effective implementation of next generation SCADA systems taking into account information management and the IT/OT landscape 

Carsten Strunge

Business Architect Grid Control Systems

Energinet

Blackout Resilience – Acquiring the technical capability needed to develop resilient independent infrastructure for a wide-area emergency voice and remote blackout restoration solution 

Christian Freudenmann

Manager M2M Products

450 Connect

Smart Metering Communication - Making the case for using NB-IoT/LTE-M lower connectivity cellular networks for residential smart meters 

Brian Collins

Director, Digital Grid Consulting

Ernst and Young

Customer Sustainability – Training customer data models to reduce waste, drive engagement, and enable product uptake 

Kaustav Basu

Lead Data Scientist

Eneco

IT-OT Integration - Optimising the interworking of people, processes, policies and platforms to achieve seamless cybersecurity without adverse effects 

Salim Bouramman

Expert OT Cyber Resilience and Cyber Range

E.ON Stockholm

09:15

Gold Sponsor Session

Gold Sponsor Session

Gold Sponsor Session

Gold Sponsor Session

Gold Sponsor Session

Gold Sponsor Session

10:00

Morning Refreshments, Exhibition & Networking 

10:30

Substation Technology Innovation Panel 

SCADA Technology Innovation Panel

Utility Telecom Technology Innovation Panel

Smart Metering Technology Innovation Panel

Big Data Technology Innovation Panel

OT Cyber Security Technology Innovation Panel

12:00

Lunch, Exhibition & Networking 

13:30

DER Integration – Determining the impact of renewables integration on substation architectures and operations 

Speaker to be Confirmed

Elektrilevi

Change Management – Adopting a structured process of preparing for, implementing, and managing changes to systems and processes within the control room 

Walter Schaffer

Head of Load Distributor Center

Salzburg Netz

Smart Metering - Implementing a combination of Cellular Networks, BPL, LPWAN and Wireless Mesh Networks to improve the availability and reliability of smart meter data while reducing cost and complexity of installation 

Jacek Kozbial

Expert AMI and Smart Communication

Pomiary

NB-IoT/LTE - Outlining the SEV roll out and operation of AMI and their transition to NB-IoT/LTE for communications 

Thomas Thomsen

Team Manager Metering

SEV

Solar Forecasting – Optimising the use of satellite data and real-time PV measurements with AI to enable better utilization of solar generation  

Miha Grabner

Head of Energy Forecasting

Ubivivo

IEC 62443 – Determining the opportunities and challenges of IEC 62443 to fully secure and certify power grid OT infrastructure on primary substations  

Damien Ploix

Cybersecurity Manager

Enedis

14:15

Energy Storage – Reviewing the latest advances in grid-scale energy storage solutions and the implications for the deployment of next generation digital substations 

Timothy Okuneye

Electrical Project Engineer

UK Power Networks

Congestion Management – Leveraging new system functionalities to support cybersecure, cost-efficient, and fully automated congestion management in DER integrated networks  

François Gorlier

System Data Operations

Elia

DERMS - Developing a roadmap towards an intelligent approach to achieving real-time dynamic management of variable loads on the distribution network and enabling smart grid applications 

AMI Security - Building security into the AMI to reduce the potential of cyber-attacks and secure customer data 

Philip Steele

Future Technologies Evangelist

Octopus Energy

Data Democratisation – Implementing a datamesh approach to ensure availability and observability of high-quality versioned data from distinct datalakes across the business 

Matteo Masotti

Head of Data Competence Centre

Enel

Supply Chain Cybersecurity – Collaboratively developing a framework for driving security standards across the supply chain, to encourage a mutual commitment to cybersecurity and address shared responsibilities 

Tania Wallis

Research Associate

University of Glasgow

15:00

Afternoon Refreshments, Exhibition & Networking 

15:30

Data Deluge – Identifying the most useful sources of substation data and managing the storage, analysis and reporting of this data to help improve grid processes 

Jorge Solar Mulas

Lead Protection and Design Engineer

SP Energy Networks

Active Network Management – Optimising system functionality to support cost-efficient congestion management in DER integrated distribution networks 

Prof.dr. J.K. Koen Kok

Full Professor of Intelligent Energy Systems

Eindhoven University of Technology

LTE-M – Decomplexifying the application of cellular technologies to IoT use cases in smart metering, asset tracking, remote monitoring, and industrial automation 

Andy Haig

M2M - Smart Metering and Smart Grid Business Development Manager

Vodafone

Data - Outlining Elektro Celje’s methodology for big data analysis, cleaning and substitution of smart meter data anomalies, to ensure the data can be leveraged for dynamic pricing and demand-response programmes 

Leon Maruša

Data Scientist – AMI

Elektro Celje

Powerflow Management – Developing accurate powerflow calculation in both look-ahead study and real-time mode to meet DSO flexibility targets  

Ilija Atlagic

Manager Digital Grid Consulting

EY 

Edmund O’Carroll

Manager NNLC Programme

ESB Networks

Advanced Defence Strategies – Integrating EDR solutions with a range of other advanced defence strategies, such as unidirectional gateways, advanced firewalls, CCTV and HR records, to achieve a layered and comprehensive defence-in-depth approach 

Juha Malmivaara

CISO

Elenia

16:15

Cloud – Evaluating the suitability of cloud services for the secure and reliable management of substation data 

Speaker to be confirmed

Digital Twin and Fault Management – Using advanced hardware in the loop (HIL) simulation for a decentralized fault location and supply restoration (FLISR) 

Dr Moustafa Shahin

Manager of Distribution Grid Development

DEWA

Lifecycle Management – Overcoming the disparity in the lifecycle of OT assets and the rapid evolution of telecommunication technologies to drive long-term operability and reliability 

John Dorn

Digital Grid Chief Architect

Intelligent Grid Services 

Dale Taylor

Head of IoT Solution Specialists

Vodafone

Leveraging Smart Meter Data - Effectively leveraging AMI data to better plan, monitor and operate the smart grid 

Markku Kauppinen

Senior Specialist Smart Metering

Elenia

Skills Deployment - Establishing enterprise capability with a data-product driven approach to deploying data analytics and business expertise within the organisation 

Andrew Burns

Global Head of Data Strategy

National Grid

Advanced Offensive Strategies – Evaluating the suitability of penetration testing and other offensive strategies in the OT environment 

Adrian Ferguson

Transmission OT Manager

SSEN

17:00

Close of Conference Day Two

Conference Day Three: Thursday 21st March 2024

08:00

Registration &  Refreshments

08:20

Welcome Address from the Chair

Digital Substations Track

SCADA Systems Track

Utility Telecom Track

Smart Metering Track

Big Data

Track

OT Cyber Security Track

08:30

AI&ML – Leveraging AI&ML to advance grid monitoring, protection and control and ensure effective management of grid capacity and power intermittency in a renewables driven grid to enhance asset performance management 

Fouad Abou Chacra

Senior Specialist for Special Projects and Innovation

DEWA

Visualisation – Optimising the visual representation of grid operations to ensure effective customer care and communication through online portals 

Speaker to be confirmed 

IP/MPLS Teleprotection – Overcoming the complexity of testing and integrating packet-based protection and control in legacy infrastructure to achieve low latency, synchronisation, and security 

Amadou Louh

Telecom Strategist

Stedin

Outage Management - Using smart meter data to detect early, identify consumer vulnerability, and determine outages and faults on the network to improve reliability 

Tania Vázquez

Head of Dept, Data & Grid Intelligence, E-REDES

EDP Networks 

Flexibility Enablement - Applying AI to perform real-time analytics of forecasting data to provide actionable intelligence in support of flexibility markets 

Cedric Charlier

Group Head of Data and Integration

Elia 

Cyber-Physical Strategies - Developing a holistic approach to system resilience to strengthen utilities to effectively respond to the perfect storm of an evolving cyber threat landscape, power system complexity, geopolitical uncertainties, and climate events  

Salim Bouramman

Expert OT Cyber Resilience and Cyber Range

E.ON Stockholm

09:15

Predictive Maintenance – Establishing a framework for cost-effective condition based predictive maintenance for legacy and new substations to ensure asset health and maximise product lifecycle 

Stewart Flood

Lifecycle Management Specialist

ESB

Advanced Alarming – Balancing safety and effectiveness in the optimisation of alarming to accurately eliminate false positives and direct operator attention to the most crucial alarms  

Dr Fei Teng

Senior Lecturer

Imperial College London 

SIM – Building flexibility and control with a SIM solution combining remote switching platform and EUICC RSP technology to avoid MNO locking, enable secure connectivity, and reduce costs

João Galamba Oliveira

Project Manager

E-REDES

Demand Response - Optimizing smart meter infrastructure and data to provide accurate consumption models and facilitate demand side response and grid flexibility 

Jean-Philippe Poirrier

Assistant Director, Smart Grid Solutions Industrialization Program

Enedis 

Predictive Maintenance – Utilising innovative data acquisition techniques and advanced analytics to optimise asset maintenance and vegetation management 

Catarina Calhau

Manager of Data Management and Analytics

EDP

AI&ML – Maximising cybersecurity in the use of leading-edge tools, for simplifying and automating utility processes  

Speaker to be confirmed – Israel Electric Corporation 

10:00

Morning Refreshments, Exhibition & Networking 

10:30

Remote Management – Utilising advanced tools such as drones, satellite, and AI to drive effective remote monitoring and management of digital substations 

Maren Istad

Research Scientist

SINTEF 

Cloud – Exploring the benefits of public cloud whilst ensuring connectivity security and data privacy in the transmission process  

Speaker to be confirmed 

Upskilling – Understanding the skills gap and building competence to enable utilities to deploy and operate resilient networks based on disruptive technologies such as 5G and LTE 

Tim Godfrey

Technical Executive

EPRI 

Outlining 50 Hertz’s development of the MCCS NextGen modular control center system to integrate data from DSO infrastructure and respond rapidly and flexibly to complex and changing system needs  

Ralf Heisig

Product Manager MCCS NextGen

50 Hertz 

Machine Learning – Streamlining development operations to prioritise machine learning modelling, testing, and validation in line with business value generation

Per-Oddvar Osland

Department Lead, Analytics

Agder Energi Nett 

Patching of Devices – Establishing a patching regime that keeps OT infrastructure up to date whilst avoiding compatibility issues and minimising disruptions 

Michael Knuchel

Head of SAS Engineering

Swissgrid  

11:15

Cyber-Physical Security – Implementing a hybrid defensive-offensive cyber-physical security strategy to fully protect digital substations and fully comply with standardisation  

César Cazal

Research Associate, Aachen University

E.ON Energy Research Center 

IoT – Ensuring the effective collection and analysis of high volumes of IoT and sensor data being deployed across the grid to expand visibility of the LV network and the grid edge 

Dr Tareg Ghaoud

Head of Smart Grid Integration

DEWA 

5G Edge – Leading innovation and knowledge transfer to enable secure, resilient automation workloads with edge computing and 5G  

Marco Gonzalez Hierro

Head of ICT Department

Ikerlan 

EV Smart Charging - Examining the potential of the smart meter in developing EV smart charging systems to support the evolution of sustainable energy networks  

Arjan Wargers

Innovation Manager Electric Mobility

Enexis 

Data Interoperability – Developing an ontology of semantically equivalent objects across grid domains to contextualise data, drive data quality, and improve machine learning models 

Svein Olsen

Enterprise Information Architect

Statnett

Patching of Devices – Establishing a patching regime that keeps OT infrastructure up to date whilst avoiding compatibility issues and minimising disruptions 

Michael Knuchel

Head of SAS Engineering

Swissgrid  

12:00

Lunch, Exhibition & Networking 

13:30

New Technologies – Evaluating the opportunities and challenges of adopting new technologies and micro-services for more effective asset management in highly congested grid environments  

Silvio Alessandroni

Technology Innovation Manager

Areti 

Real-time Data – Facilitating the storage and analysis of high volumes of real-time data to support the operations and maintenance of a fully connected smart grid 

Benoit De Neuville

Senior Grid Expert

Sibelg

Network Operation – Overcoming skill shortages, procurement complexity, licensing and permit management, and technical challenges to deploy an operational private LTE network 

Joyce Van de Garde

Telecommunication Leader

Westenergia 

Standards - Outlining the latest developments in the IEC TC 13 standard for smart meters and addressing the latest challenges of support for monitoring and managing flexible loads 

Peter Jensen

Chair of IEC Technical Committee 13

EDF  

Right-sizing PV Assets – Leveraging a cloud-based data analytics platform to enable innovative business models 

Joao Machado

Senior Data Analytics and Automation Manager

EDP   

Edge Computing – Enhancing physical security and cybersecurity through the implementation of edge computing in digital substations 

Marco Enselmo

Digital Platform Architect

E-REDES 

14:15

Edge Computing – Leveraging the edge computing capabilities of IEDs and RTUs to build grid resilience in DER integrated infrastructures dependent on real-time traffic  

Marco Anselmo

Digital Platform Architect

E-REDES 

Cybersecurity – Applying advanced cybersecurity solutions to next generation SCADA systems to guard against a rapidly growing attack surface fuelled by IoT, sensors and data migration  

Fredi Belavić

Asset Management,

Austrian Power Grid 

Supplier Engagement - Engaging with the supply chain on a technical level to drive standardization, harmonization, and accountability in support of electric grid communication needs for flexibility and priority 

Spyridon Louvros

5G System Architect, 6G Researcher (ORAN WG4), 3GPP consultant

MCNS 

Home Energy Management - Integrating home energy management functionality with smart meters to maximise energy efficiency and deliver additional consumption data to the supplier 

Willem Strabbing

Managing Director

ESMIG 

Smart Meter Data – Developing real-time analytics capability and overcoming scalability and data reliability challenges to unlock the potential of smart meter data

Svein Olsen

Enterprise Information Architect

Statnett

Law Enforcement – Forming an advanced partnership with law enforcement to support the response, recovery, and resilience process after an attack 

Arjan Van der Lann

Program Manager, Energy Transition

RDI  

15:00

Afternoon Refreshments, Exhibition & Networking 

15:30

LPITs – Optimising the deployment of LPITs within the grid to benefit from increased data flows in the most cyber-secure and cost-effective way   

Mika Loukkalahti

Systems Manager

Helen Oy

Staff Training – Designing a training programme that reenforces new system and process best practice and enables rapid upskilling and operational self-sufficiency 

Brian Magee

Project Manager

ESB International 

Dr Kamal Radi

Senior Specialist, Power Systems Planning, SCADA and Energy Management Systems (EMS)

ESB International 

Cybersecurity – Addressing supply chain security and NIS 2 compliance to embed security by design into utility telecom network architecture  

Frank Borchardt

Senior Project Manager

VDE 

Data Privacy - Managing smart meter data privacy risks by balancing privacy with the benefits of data access 

Lisa Hjerrild

Department of Law, Assistant Professor, Public Law

Syddansk Universitet 

Advanced Business Intelligence – Empowering decision makers with advanced analytics, quantum computing, generative AI, deep learning, and natural language processing 

Martin Proctor

Specialist Leader, Director Artificial Intelligence & Data in Industry & Energy

Deloitte 

Building Cyber Resilience - Transforming Employees into Cybersecurity Champions through a comprehensive in-house cybersecurity training program 

Indrek Kunapuu

CISO

Elektrilevi 

16:15

Workforce – Developing a training and development framework that leverages internal and external expertise to upskill substation teams and ensure their confidence and competence with the new digital grid environment   

João Fonseca

Engineer and Coordinator of Digital Substations

Netze BW 

CIM – Demonstrating the latest developments in CIM standardisation and how these can be leveraged to fast track internal and external integration of systems and stakeholders  

Dr Kamal Radi

Senior Specialist, Power Systems Planning, SCADA and Energy Management Systems

ESB International 

Dr Mohammed Radi

Network Data Modelling Engineer (CIM)

UK Power Networks 

Spectrum – Working with regulators to ensure cost-effective long-term access to reliable connectivity for network operators’ critical communications 

Gösta Kallner

Executive Chairman

450 Alliance 

Standards for Data Management - Outlining the work of Project EDDIE (European Distributed Data Infrastructure for Energy) to create a secure, scalable, and sustainable infrastructure for energy data management and analysis in Europe 

Georg Hartner

Vice-Chair of EU DSO Entity’s Expert Group on Data Interoperability and Initiator/Technical Coordinator of Project

EDDIE 

Cloud Strategy - Defining a balanced approach to cloud and on-prem solutions to enable scalability and flexibility while embedding redundancy and ensuring cybersecurity of critical systems 

Sam Julian

Chief Cloud Engineer

E.ON 

Workforce Collaboration - Developing a collaborative security workshop to improve sector resilience whilst strengthening relationships between OT and IT teams and contribute to the professional development of employees  

Shawn McBurnie

Head of IT/OT Security & Compliance

Northland Power 

17:00

Close of Conference Day Three