APIC Forum 2024

Mahdi Hajian is Principal Engineer, System Resiliency in the AESO’s Grid Planning & Operations Engineering team, and has over 5 years of combined experience with the organization. Previously, he worked as a senior technical leader at EPRI and a senior engineer at AltaLink.

His experience includes system restoration, IBRs integration, event analysis, EMT studies, and HVDC integration. Mahdi holds a Ph.D. degree from the University of Calgary and is a professional engineer in Alberta.

Kirsten Eeuwes graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering from The University of Western Ontario. She started her career in reliability engineering in the oil & gas sector and then moved to electric utilities to gain further project and asset management experience.

Kirsten joined EPCOR in 2021 and is currently the Manager of Transmission Asset Management. In her free time she likes hanging out with her family, teaching crochet classes, and volunteering as a mentor for various organizations.

Valeria Vecchio was born and raised in Panama City, Panama, where she obtained a degree in Civil Engineering. She moved to Canada in August 2021 after receiving a scholarship to pursue a Master of Science in Construction Engineering and Management at the University of Alberta.

Valeria is currently in the final stages of her Master's program, where she is working on her thesis titled “An Environmental and Financial Tradeoff Analysis of Industrialized Construction Methods in Cold Climate Regions.” Valeria joined EPCOR after being chosen to participate in the Adaptation Resilience Training Program, and is now a part of the Integrated Planning & Analytics team as a climate adaptation intern.

In her free time, Valeria enjoys running, weightlifting training, and hanging out with friends.

Raison Ni is a senior engineer with 12 years of experience at ATCO. After earning a Master of Science degree in Power Electronics from U of A in 2012, Raison joined ATCO as an engineer-in-training and rotated through various departments. His experience spans metering, operations planning, distribution design, and transmission planning.

Over the past six years, he has supported the System Operations Center (SOC) in transmission operations, playing key roles in projects including the energization of APL West Fort McMurray 500kV AC lines, the ARS FAC-008 compliance monitor program, and the development of the ATCO fire weather alert system and fire response procedures.

Currently, Raison focuses on mitigating wildfire risks associated with ATCO facilities with the climate adaptation and reliability team. He will be leading implementation of new programs and protocols such as Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) and Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings (EPSS).

Truman Seto is the Manager of Operations Planning, Distribution Automation and Protection and Controls at ENMAX Power. He has over 15 years of experience in the Transmission and Distribution utility focusing on real time operations. His main areas of expertise are transmission and distribution reliability analysis and simulation. Truman works alongside a highly technical team that delivers core utility analytics to improve decision making and business investments.

Busayo Akinloye is a seasoned professional engineer with over a decade of experience in the energy sector. With a background as a Transmission and Operations Planning Engineer in a prominent urban utility and as a Power Systems Studies Engineer in the consulting industry, he built a team of seasoned engineers to improve system reliability and asset performance.

In his current role as Tetra Tech’s global lead for grid reliability and asset analytics, he has built solutions driving positive change in the energy industry. He is a respected thought leader and often invited speaker, sharing his insights at conferences and with clients around the globe.

Cory Akins is a professional engineer who has worked his entire 24-year career in the electrical power industry. He has held roles as an Electrical Plant Engineer, Systems Operations Engineer, Conceptual Engineer, Substation Design Engineer, and Engineering Manager, Substation Design.

Cory’s current role as Principal Engineer, Substations at AltaLink draws on these experiences, where he is responsible for new technology, standards, and technical oversight for substation design. Cory is also an Electrical Group B Safety Codes Officer.

Mike Simone is the Manager of Operations Engineering at FortisAlberta, bringing over 17 years of expertise in electrical engineering. He oversees the Power Quality and Protection and Control groups, ensuring compliance with interconnection standards while emphasizing advancement of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) interconnections.

Additionally, Mike is leading efforts in wildfire mitigation, leveraging advanced technologies such as Early Fault Detection (EFD) to enhance protective measures and mitigate wildfire risks effectively.

Beyond his professional responsibilities, Mike is passionate about electric vehicles (EVs), sustainable energy, and the integration of artificial intelligence into energy systems—reflecting his commitment to technological innovation and environmental stewardship within the energy sector.