CU Engineering COVID-19 Webinar: How is COVID-19 Affecting the Electric Power Grid?

Increased residential electricity consumption and decreased commercial electricity consumption due to stay-at-home orders and social distancing is dramatically changing the way the grid operates. Not only do weekdays now appear as weekends to the grid, but changes in demand patterns are changing which power plants are generating electricity, how much renewable energy is being utilized within the grid, and more. In this talk, we will discuss how COVID-19 is affecting the electric power grid, from exploring the impacts within neighborhoods all the way up to electricity markets.

Dr. Kyri Baker is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering and Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering (by courtesy) at the University of Colorado Boulder. Previously, she was at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in both the power systems and buildings centers. She received her B.S., M.S., and PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 2009, 2010, and 2014, respectively. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on developing techniques to improve renewable energy integration within the electric power grid, with an emphasis on optimization, machine learning, and intelligent building control.