APIC Forum 2023

Shane Fraser is the Manager of Grid Transformation at EPCOR Distribution & Transmission Inc. In this role, he works as part of a team to determine how to best adapt the electrical system in Edmonton to support a future where there is a greater reliance on electricity and de-carbonization of energy is well underway. In his previous role as Manager, Customer connections, Shane authored the 2022 EPCOR Customer Connection Guide which guides the connection of new services in EPCOR’s service territory. Shane is also a member of EPCOR’s Grid Modernization Committee, the City of Edmonton Energy Neutral Buildings Industry Advisory Group, the Alberta Innovates Smart Grid Consortium, and other industry advisory groups.

Ozair is the Senior Engineer of Grid Transformation at EPCOR Distribution & Transmission Inc. In this role, he works to support increasing electrification, by conducting research, and implementing projects and initiatives for EPCOR's electrical system in Edmonton. Ozair previously worked in System Planning where he determined and scoped projects for the continued resiliency and growth of EPCOR’s power grid including the growth of new technologies such as the kīsikāw pīsim solar farm at EPCOR’s EL Smith water treatment plant.

Alison Yarwood’s career has spanned over 25 years with roles in Operations, Sales, HR and Educational Services in the Energy, Telecommunications, Utilities and Public sectors. She currently works for ENMAX in Field Services leading the Field Human Performance team which includes Technical Training, Work Methods, Apprentice Development and Human & Organizational Performance (HOP). Outside work, she enjoys many outdoor activities with her family and friends including skiing, scuba diving, hiking and creating art.

Marco Ciofani received his BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan in 2009. He joined AltaLink in 2011 and has worked in the areas of power quality, transmission line design, and power system studies. He is currently a member of the system operations group with a focus on disturbance analysis.

Keaton Wheeler is a professional electrical engineer with an earned Ph.D. and 9+ years of experience in industry with expertise in developing and communicating solutions to complex issues arising in existing and emerging power system. He is currently the Senior Lead Engineer for the Protection and Control department at FortisAlberta where he has extensive experience in several fields that include microgrids, renewable energy and distributed energy resources.

Siavash Zoroofi is a Senior Engineer Specialist of Power System Transients & Dynamics in the AESO’s Operations Engineering team. He has over 20 years of experience with a focus on HVDC and FACTS devices. His main areas of expertise are in the development of controls for HVDC & FACTS, and various power system simulations – particularly time-domain EMT modelling. He joined the AESO in 2015. Siavash holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, is a senior member of IEEE, and is currently an active member of Cigre B4.71 and B4.94 working groups as a Canadian representative. Siavash will be speaking about Grid Forming Inverters and Applications.

In her 11 years at ATCO, Natalie has held a variety of roles in both Transmission and Distribution, and has spent several years in Distribution System Planning. Natalie is the Supervising Engineer of the Distribution System Planning team, a team which works to connect large loads and distributed energy resources. Natalie enjoys the technical challenges that come with new and exciting technologies such as inverter-based resources, and finds it very rewarding collaborating with industry peers to safely energize these projects.

Chad has eight years of electrical engineering experience in the utility sector. He has been involved in five separate engineering disciplines through the ATCO engineer-in-training rotation program, gaining a broad range of skills and expertise to bring to large industrial projects. Chad’s experience in both distribution and transmission projects affords unique understanding of interconnecting large-scale generation projects to electrical grids. He has worked directly with various Alberta electric utilities to ensure safe and efficient high– and low-voltage interconnections of both small and large scale PV and battery installations. He is also lead PV engineer on Canada’s largest urban solar systems in Calgary, Alberta.