PLMA Groups Overview

Click on the links below for member-only access to group communication. Any employee of a PLMA member organization may join any or all PLMA Interest and Planning Groups listed below by emailing a request to [email protected].

Affinity Groups

Women in Demand Management Interest Group
Co-chaired by Melissa Knous of Duke Energy, Lenore Zeuthen of Zeuthen Management Solutions, Jessie Mehrhoff of Enbala, and Sangeeta Ranade of New York Power Authority, this Group seeks to identify interest in networking, mentoring, and presentation opportunities that provide increased connection between demand response professionals and exposure to women in positions of leadership in member organizations.

Interest Groups

Connected Devices Interest Group
Co-chaired by Cindy Berry of Austin Energy, Kari Binley of ecobee, and J.T. Thompson of Enbala, this Group examines the costs and benefits of all types of utility-sponsored programs that leverage connected device technology to deliver the demand response, energy efficiency, or other system benefits.

Customer Engagement Interest Group
Co-chaired by Diana Sefcik of Orange and Rockland, Tracy Schmidt of Tennessee Valley Authority, and Vanessa Richter of Oracle Utilities, this Group addresses key areas of customer engagement for demand response programs.

Global Load Management Interest Group
Co-chaired by Jon Hilowitz of Orange and Rockland Utilities, Ross Malme of Bowen Capital Advisors, Michael Brown of Berkshire Hathaway NV Energy, and Scott Coe of GridOptimize, this group brings together members who are interested in developing new activities for PLMA members from outside of North America and to connect with international energy companies and technology providers interested in the work of PLMA.

Retail Pricing Interest Group
Co-chaired by Christopher Gallo, Consolidated Edison, Allison Hamilton, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Farrokh Albuyeh of OATI, Jordan Folks, Opinion Dynamics, this group addresses a wide variety of rates and program types, relative to continued AMI rollouts, Customers adopting distributed generation, Customers purchasing connected appliances (Internet of Things), and Regulators pushing for pricing reform.

Electric Transportation Interest Group
Co-chaired by Kessie Avseikova, Opinion Dynamics; Joyce Bodoh, Rappahannock Electric Co-op; Katie Parkinson, Apex Analytics; and Nick Bengtson, EnergyHub. This group addresses the growing popularity of electric transportation and its impacts on demand response, grid reliability, and beneficial electrification.

Utility Load Management Exchange

ULME is a gathering of utility representatives interested in open and frank discussion of the industry, opportunity to share real-world lessons learned, and honestly discuss what works and what doesn't in a private setting. ULME remains an informally organized utility-only group without member dues or revenue. Meetings and web presence are currently supported under agreement with PLMA. The ULME Steering Committee Member are Brian Doyle, Xcel Energy; Paul Wassink, National Grid; and Dana DeRemigis, Baltimore Gas and Electric.

Planning Groups:

Conference Planning Group
This Group selects the format, topics and presenters for PLMA's twice-annual conferences.

Education Planning Group
Co-chaired by Mark Martinez of Southern California Edison and Christine Riker of Energy Solutions, the group guides PLMA's Education efforts, including the Demand Response Training Series presented at least twice annually.

Thought Leadership Planning Group
Co-chaired by Michael Ohlsen of the City of Tallahassee Utilities and Jenny Roehm of Schneider Electric, this Group guides PLMA's facilitation of information through PLMA's DR Dialogue web series, Resource Directory, Speakers Bureau, and White Papers.

Award Program Planning Group
Co-chaired by Mike Smith of National Grid, Peter Bergeron of CPower, and Brett Feldman, Guidehouse, this Group oversees the nominations and judging process for PLMA's annual awards presentation.

Training Groups

The following groups are restricted to alumni of the in-person training courses presented by PLMA:

Evolution of Demand Response Alumni Group
DR Program Design and Implementation Alumni Group
Demand Response Markets Alumni Group
Introduction to Demand Response Alumni Group

Leadership Groups

The following groups are restricted to those individuals designated to serve in the respective leadership roles, and others delegated by the designees to receive group correspondence.

Officers Group Home Page
Executive Committee Group Home Page
Board of Directors Group Home Page
At-Large Representatives Home Page

Retired Groups

Distributed Energy Resources Integration Interest Group (retired 2021)
Co-chaired by Richard Barone of TRC, John Powers of Extensible Energy, and Jamie Coffell of Honeywell Smart Energy this Group addresses key economic, engineering, and customer program design aspects of Distributed Energy Resource Integration, including: Valuation of load management resources in “firming” non-dispatchable renewable resources; Program design and re-design issues for adapting DR programs; and Technology needs assessments for DER applications.