電機資訊學院
演講公告
Future of the Intelligent Grid Dr. Atif Debs President, Decision Systems International, Inc. 日期：2014 年 11 月 3 日
時間：10：00
～
12:00
地點：電機工程學系二樓階梯教室
Biography of Dr. Atif Debs
Profession:
International consultant, educator
Years of Experience:
44
Nationality:
USA/Lebanon
Education:
B.S., M.S., and Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), Cambridge, MA
Current Position:
President of DSI
Career Highlights:
Dr. Debs’ career has combined an initial industrial experience specializing in systems and control applications
to power systems control centers, operations, and planning; a major responsibility in the early development and
founding of the Georgia Tech Power Program in both curriculum and research arenas; an assignment to the
Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research as part of an international cooperative agreement with Georgia Tech to
use these program development skills and experiences in jointly developing and implementing an Energy
Research and Development Program; development of Kuwait’s Energy Conservation Code; Renewable Energy
Program (Solar, Wind and Photovoltaic); initiation of the Gulf Power System Interconnection Study; a high
profile of professional activity in IEEE Power and Control Societies, and a strong involvement in continuing
education both nationally and internationally.
As President and co-founder of Decision Systems International, he developed DSI into a full-service company
combining consulting, software services, and advanced training in the areas of power system control centers,
strategic/integrated resource planning, power market development and design, advanced power system
methodologies, and electric utility restructuring from the technical and financial perspectives. In developing
control center software, DSI pioneered in the areas advanced applications: Operator Training Simulator, State
Estimation, Optimal Power Flow, and neural-network based short-term load forecasting. Several of these
products were developed in cooperation with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) , the National
Science Foundation, as well as using internal funding.
Project Interests:

Development of the roadmap for technology development for major grid companies

Development of full specifications of SCADA/EMS systems for regulated and restructured electric
power companies

Project management and administration of SCADA/EMS systems

Development of market simulators based on the EPRI Operator Training Simulator (EPRI OTS) and the
versatile structure of emerging markets,

Innovative development and implementations of advanced short-term load forecasting systems

Extension of short-term load forecasting methods based on artificial neural networks to the area of price
forecasting,

Power System planning and operations with emphasis of renewable energy resources, distributed
generation, environmental impacts and green energy markets.

Innovative methodologies for risk analysis and management for electric utilities merger, acquisition, and
long-term planning under deregulation,

Extension of the utilization of traditional control center application packages to market-based
application. This involves both short-term resource scheduling and optimal power flow applications,
Employment History:

Senior Research Engineer, Systems Control, Inc., Palo Alto, CA. for three years (1/69-12/71).

Assistant Professor, School of Electrical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, for three years
(l/72- 6/75).

Associate Professor, School of Electrical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, for five years
(7/75- 6/80).

Director of Engineering (Research) Division of the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research on
assignment through an international agreement with Georgia Tech/KISR for the period(10/79- 6/83).

Professor, School of Electrical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, (1980-1994)

President, Decision Systems International, Inc. (1988-present), with full-time commitment since April 1,
1994.
Languages:
Speaking
Reading
Writing
Native
English
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
No
Arabic
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Yes
French
Good
Good
Good
No
Membership of professional bodies:

Lifetime Senior Member of IEEE

Member of several local trade organizations

Past member of CIGRE, US National Committee
Publications:
Books
 Modern Power Systems Control and Operation, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, MA
(1988). Currently available as a revised edition through DSI, Atlanta, Georgia.
 Development of an Electric Energy Market Simulator, by A. Debs, C. Hansen and Y.-C. Wu,
[Contribution to book entitled, “The Next Generation of Electric Power Unit Commitment
Models,” B. F. Hobbs, et al (Editors), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, MA (2001)]
Other Publications
Dr. Debs has published over 100 journal articles and major conference papers, together with
numerous research reports. This information is available upon request.
Future of the Intelligent Grid
Keynote Speech by Professor Atif Debs
“Energy politics” has involved a tension between regulation and deregulation. Proponents of
regulation point to the benefits of coordinated and centralized planning, control and operation
of power grids. Proponents of deregulation point to the advantages of market mechanisms in
using competition to lower prices and in involving the private sector in the electric energy
business. As electric power systems started to transition from purely regulated entities into
deregulated ones, there were tensions that centered on: (a) Potential abuses of so-called
“market power,” (b) Adjusting market designs to unforeseen problems, (c) Fast technology
growth as exhibited in “smart grids,” and (d) Fast pace of the growth of Distributed Energy
Resources.
In this speech, Dr. Debs will analyze the tensions involved and proposes a new paradigm based
on “generalized balancing mechanisms.” This paradigm starts by relating the normal balancing
mechanisms in realtime control of the grid, to a more generalized balancing mechanism based
on market operation through supply and demand balancing. Using this paradigm, he will relate
it to the four tension areas listed above and attempt to relate those to the developments in
Taiwan in particular.