2021 Agenda
Wednesday, October 13
8:00 am – 5:00 pm Training
NIST Cybersecurity Framework Redbird E
Casey W. O’Brien, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
8:00 am – 5:00 pm TrainingSolar DG Interconnection and Installation Deep Dive Redbird G
Moderator: Sean Middleton, Finley Engineering Company
Shannon Fulton & Josh Hill, StraightUp Solar
Bill Brooks, Brooks Engineering
Thursday, October 14
8:00 am – 8:30 am Registration & Continental Breakfast Prefunction Area
8:30 am – 10:00 am Welcome & Keynote Redbird D
Turning the Tables in the Battle Against Ransomware
Adam Flatley, [redacted], Inc.
10:00 am – 10:40 am Exhibitor Show Opens Redbird ABC
10:40 am – 11:30 am Breakout Sessions
What’s Your Vulnerability Level? Redbird E
Chris Franzen, MJM Electric Cooperative
Michael Coumerilh, National Information Solutions Cooperative
EV Charging and Utility Programs for Cooperatives Redbird G
Justin Breden & Paul Price, United Utility Supply
11:30 am – 12:00 pm Exhibitor Show Redbird ABC
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Lunch Redbird D
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Breakout Sessions
Effective Incident Response Planning for Small & Medium Businesses Redbird E
Alex Janas, [redacted], Inc.
Battery Storage: An Adventure in Peak Demand Management Redbird G
Jim Eitsert, Northeastern REMC
2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Sponsor Breakout Sessions
All Electric 2.0 Redbird E
Connor Co. & Climate Master Geothermal Systems
How EMCs Are Staying Resilient Redbird G
New Cyber Source & Scale Computing
2:30 pm – 3:00 pm Sponsor Breakout Sessions
Tales from the Trenches: The Importance of Planning for When, Not If Redbird E
Meridian Cooperative
3:00 pm – 3:10 pm Break
3:10 pm – 4:00 pm General Session
Legal & Government Relations Update Redbird D
Nick Reitz & Craig Sondgeroth, Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Exhibitor Reception Redbird ABC
Friday, October 15
8:00 am – 9:00 am Breakout Sessions
Demystifying MDR Redbird E
Ron Pelletier, Pondurance
System Reliability Through Wildlife Mitigation & How Robotic Installations are Changing the Game Redbird G
Jason Jones, Power Line Sentry
9:00 am – 9:50 am Breakout Sessions
Vulnerabilities on Industrial Control Networks & OT Access from Remote Sites Redbird E
Tisha Hayes, 4RF
Electric Vehicles: Market Forecast and Real World Charging Behavior Redbird G
Kevin Cox, CDG Engineers
9:50 am – 10:00 am Break/Checkout
10:00 am – 10:50 am Breakout Sessions
Broadband RFPs: Tales from the Trenches Redbird E
Carmen O’Neill, Vantage Point Solutions
AMI Changeout Redbird G
Chris Kelmel, Anixter
10:50 am – 11:40 am Breakout Sessions
Well, That Happened Redbird E
Moderator: Dan Gerard, Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives
Mike Wilson, Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative
Adam McKnight, Clay Electric Co-operative, Inc.
Standing on the Sidelines of a Smart Grid Enabled World Redbird G
Sean Middleton, Finley Engineering Company
11:40 pm – 1:00 pm Lunch & Keynote Redbird D
Timeline of the Smart Grid: From AMR to the Active Grid
Edward Kobeszka, Power Engineers