About
Dr. Sanem Sergici is a Principal in Brattle’s Boston office and specializes in the…
Activity
3K followers
-
Sanem Sergici reposted thisSanem Sergici reposted this🚨🚨Big opportunity for experienced clean energy leaders🚨🚨 We are hiring a Demand Response Section Manager, and this is not just another program management role. This is a chance to lead at the intersection of grid reliability, customer programs, distributed energy resources, regulatory strategy, technology, and team development. The right candidate will bring breadth. We need someone who can think strategically, execute operationally, communicate clearly, lead people, work across functions, and help advance demand response as a core resource for the electric grid. This is an exciting time to be in demand response. The work is increasingly important, highly visible, and directly connected to the future of grid flexibility. If you know an experienced professional who is ready for a meaningful leadership role in the clean energy space, please send them this opportunity. #Hiring #DemandResponse #CleanEnergyJobs #GridReliability #DERs #EnergyLeadership #GridFlexibility
-
Sanem Sergici shared thisIf you are attending NARUC Summer Policy Summit in Minneapolis, please join us as we discuss the role of DERs in high-growth, high-cost future over an interactive breakfast. Lively discussion is guaranteed! RSVP at events@brattle.com.Sanem Sergici shared thisWe are pleased to invite attendees of the NARUC Summer Policy Summit to join Brattle for an interactive breakfast discussion on Tuesday, July 21, in Minneapolis, MN. Join regulators, utility leaders, and industry stakeholders in a discussion on the evolving role of distributed energy resources (DERs) in the electricity sector. Learn more >> https://bit.ly/4yn6g9j Brattle presenters will include Sanem Sergici, Ryan Hledik, and Akhilesh Ramakrishnan, with opening remarks by Peter Fox Penner. Interested in attending? Please email events@brattle.com to RSVP.
-
Sanem Sergici shared thisNow, this is a great way to bring all the moving pieces together in one place, giving us a clearer framework for thinking about the rate impacts of large loads.Sanem Sergici shared this"Data centers are going to increase electricity rates for everyone!" "Actually, data centers are going to lower rates for everyone!" Discussions around the rate impacts of large loads on everyone else often and quickly veer toward the extremes, but the reality is far more complicated. A large load that lowers rates for customers in one region may increase rates in another. The outcome depends on system conditions (e.g., whether there's enough headroom to serve the new large customer and spread the system sunk costs), market design (whether existing customers are exposed to higher market prices due to the additional demand), accuracy of load forecast and many other factors. In a new primer, Ryan Hledik, Natalie Northrup, and I explain what rate outcomes can be expected when these different factors interact. I am particularly proud of the flowchart that we put together (kudos to our lead designer Brenda Fitzgerald)! Special thanks to the ESIG team Trieu Mai, Debra Lew, and Erik Ela for their helpful feedback on the primer. Next up, we will put together some quantitative analysis to illustrate these dynamics and develop recommendations for interventions that policymakers can consider to protect existing customers. https://lnkd.in/eufiYYJE
-
Sanem Sergici shared thisDER adoption in Ontario has been growing steadily, with resources primarily being used to provide wholesale energy and capacity services. While Ontario has several programs and participation mechanisms that allow DERs to deliver wholesale services, there are far fewer options that use and compensate them for distribution grid services. Ontario Energy Board has recently taken steps to incorporate cost-effective non-wires solutions (NWS) into distribution planning, but the progress has been slow partly because the distribution-level value of DERs is still not well understood. Last week, we issued a new study “The Value of Using DERs for Distribution System Services in Ontario”, commissioned by Clean Energy Canada, to address this gap by quantifying the potential distribution investment deferral value of DERs in Ontario. We used data from the Essex Powerlines system to illustrate this DER use case and estimate the potential value at the province level if/when NWS can be deployed at a wider scale. We found that scaling DERs across the Province could lower distribution capital costs by 5% to 11% over the next 20 years, by delaying infrastructure investments up to 8 years. These delayed infrastructure costs can help keep rising electricity costs in check as Ontario meets increasing demand. A few other highlights from the study: ✔️ In nearly all scenarios, $1 spent on NWS delivers ≥ $2 in benefits. ✔️ Deferability depends on the growth rate, magnitude, frequency, and duration of the overload, so locations with the most favorable conditions for DER-based deferral should be prioritized to maximize value at lower cost. ✔️ Value stacking is critical to ensure cost-effectiveness. Avoided bulk system costs form an important part of the overall value stack of NWS and compensation mechanisms and programs that enable value stacking are key. ✔️ New regulatory models are needed to enable LDCs to utilize DERs for distribution services and share savings with customers ✔️ New LDC investments in distributed energy resource management solutions (DERMs) and/or aggregator participation are needed to fully utilize DERs as illustrated in this study ✔️ Roles and responsibilities for coordination of DERs for bulk grid and distribution system needs should be clarified to maximize the value of NWS and ensure a seamless customer experience Turning this potential into real value will require action. With the right rules, incentives, and utility capabilities, Ontario can scale non-wires solutions to reduce costs, defer infrastructure, and make the electricity system more flexible, affordable, and resilient. My team and I are grateful to Evan Pivnick and Catherine Jeffery at Clean Energy Canada for their thought partnership and Essex Powerlines for enabling the study by providing us with distribution system data. Akhilesh Ramakrishnan Kailin Graham Ryan Hledik Oliver Grocott Carly McAdamSanem Sergici shared thisIn a new report commissioned by Clean Energy Canada, Brattle experts find that scaling “non-wires” solutions – like battery storage, smart thermostats, and two-way EV charging – could reduce Ontario’s grid upgrade costs by 5–11% over the next 20 years. The analysis shows these distributed energy resources (#DERs) can lower costs, manage peak demand, and delay infrastructure investments by up to eight years. Learn more >> https://bit.ly/4vNeSoz Sanem Sergici Ryan Hledik Akhilesh Ramakrishnan Kailin Graham Oliver Grocott Carly McAdam
-
Sanem Sergici shared thisLooking forward to discussing how to advance energy affordability and highlighting our data driven assessment of energy affordability in New Jersey.Sanem Sergici shared this🐤 📢 EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION ENDS TOMORROW! 📢 🐦 Join us in Tucson, AZ, from March 16 - 19, 2026, for the 2026 Spring Technical Workshop. Take advantage of those early bird registration rates by tomorrow - we can wait to see you in just over a month 🤯 🤯 Learn more and register 👉 https://lnkd.in/g3fpUbtr We're especially looking forward to hearing from our stellar opening plenary panel - moderated by Deborah Reynolds and featuring Galen Barbose, Sanem Sergici, Geoffrey Blanford, Chair J. Andrew McAllister, Cynthia Zwick and Laurie Williams
-
Sanem Sergici shared thisIf you’ve been wondering how to better enable, compensate and leverage DERs in Canada, you might want to tune into this conversation on March 10, at 2 pm ET! Register here 👇: https://lnkd.in/gq9axGYYSanem Sergici shared this📌🗓️ NEW WEBINAR: Distributed energy resources aren’t just consumer tech—they’re a grid planning opportunity. As more Canadians adopt EVs, heat pumps, smart thermostats, and electric water heaters, these distributed energy resources can help shift demand, reduce peak loads, and avoid costly infrastructure expansion. But only if energy planning and policy keep pace. On March 10 at 11am PT / 2pm ET, join Clean Energy Canada's Evan Pivnick (moderator) and Catherine Jeffery, alongside experts from The Brattle Group, Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors, and Blunomy to explore: • How Canada compares to other jurisdictions • Where DER leadership is emerging in North America • How grid planners can better account for DER potential in their forecasts The session will open with insights from Clean Energy Canada’s latest work, followed by an expert panel and audience Q&A. Register now to stay updated 🖥️ 👉 https://lnkd.in/gq9axGYY
-
Sanem Sergici posted thisDistribution grid needs are becoming increasingly local, time and location-specific. Traditional wires investments can be expensive and potentially underutilized (at least for a while) if load forecasts, DER adoption, or electrification trends are uncertain. ➡️ Enter Non-Wires Solutions (NWS). Typically a portfolio of targeted EE, DR, managed EV charging, distributed storage, and local generation, coordinated to defer or avoid capital upgrades by shaving peak load or increasing hosting capacity at the constrained location. Done well, NWS can also improve reliability and resilience; reduce rate impacts by lowering the revenue requirement tied to large capital projects, and create a more flexible grid that can effectively integrate DERs. Although the concept has existed for a while now, it’s finally gaining real traction. In a recent review of NWS processes across California, New York, Hawaii, Colorado, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, we identified the factors that most often determine whether an opportunity is well suited to a NWS: the certainty of the forecast, the size and expected duration of the constraint, and the pace of load growth, to name a few. We also found that utility processes for analyzing NWS generally followed similar steps: 1) Grid Needs Assessment: Identifies where and when asset ratings are projected to be violated and proposes traditional wired solutions to mitigate these violations 2) Initial Screening: High-level initial screen which usually includes: ✔️ Time horizon of the grid need (to ensure adequate time to source NWS) ✔️ Type of grid need (with load reduction or reliability needs being suitable for NWS) ✔️ Estimated cost of the traditional wired solution (to ensure only high-value opportunities are considered for NWS). 3) NWS Sourcing: All states we reviewed source NWS via competitive procurement process, but new utility-led models are emerging. 4) Final Evaluation of NWS: Most states evaluate the cost-effectiveness of NWS through BCA frameworks that range between the utility cost test and the societal cost test. It is common for utilities to “piece together” an NWS from several proposals. I would love to hear from you if you have a good NWS success story! Akhilesh Ramakrishnan Kailin Graham
-
Sanem Sergici shared thisI’d be remiss not to share our new study for Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) and Ontario Energy Board on modernizing compensation for distributed energy resources before the year closes. In collaboration with the IESO and OEB teams, we developed a DER compensation assessment framework and recommendations to help Ontario better leverage cost-effective DERs to meet system needs, keeping reliability strong and prices affordable for all customers. Here are some of the key recommendations from the report: ✔️ Sharpen retail price signals. Moving beyond time-invariant recovery of Global Adjustment for non-RPP Class B and offering more dynamic options for RPP Class B is essential so customers can see and respond to true system conditions. ✔️ Open wholesale/procurement doors wider. Enabling smaller and aggregated DERs (<1 MW) to compete where they can meet performance requirements, and aligning participation rules across procurements, capacity auctions, and markets will lead to a more robust DER participation ✔️ Pay for attributes. Calibrating compensation to visibility, availability/performance, and flexibility ensure resources that are more dispatchable and dependable earn more, and consistently across mechanisms. ✔️ Use programs to bridge gaps. Streamlined DER programs can “stack” value streams and simplify the customer/aggregator experience where rates and markets don’t fully do the job. ✔️ Scale non-wires solutions. Integrating NWS into distribution and regional planning to defer wires where it’s cheaper and faster is going to lead to more affordable outcomes for customers. Together, these recommendations would advance Ontario’s goals for planning electrification and the energy transition cost-effectively, while maintaining safety and reliability for all customers. And here is the encouraging part: many of these changes are already underway or in early rollout across the Province. Onward and upward! Long Lam Noah Rauschkolb
-
Sanem Sergici shared thisThrilled to join the Wisconsin Public Utility Institute's program on Load Growth. We will connect the dots between large loads, transmission bottlenecks, interconnection timelines, winter/summer risk, and what all of that means for customer bills.Sanem Sergici shared thisExcellent speaker line-up for Sept 9 Load Growth program with ⚡ Marcus Hawkins Public Service Commission of Wisconsin ⚡ Andy Koors Deloitte ⚡ Abigail Anthony PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION, RHODE ISLAND ⚡ Thomas Gleeson Public Utility Commission of Texas ⚡ Hwikwon Ham Minnesota Public Utilities Commission ⚡ Doug Scott Illinois Commerce Commission ⚡ Sanem Sergici The Brattle Group ⚡ DL Oates Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) ⚡ Corey Singletary Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin ⚡ Kevin Steinberger Energy and Environmental Economics, Inc. ⚡ Tyrel Zich Xcel Energy ⚡ Orrie Walsvik Michael Best & Friedrich LLP ⚡ Joseph Bowring Monitoring Analytics ⚡ Andrew Gledhill PJM Interconnection ⚡ Jesse Jenkins Princeton University ⚡ Coleman Peiffer, AICP Alliant Energy https://lnkd.in/gmUv7vqp
-
Sanem Sergici reacted on thisSanem Sergici reacted on thisOur With Great Power podcast passed one million downloads! Thanks to our guest this week, Sanem Sergici, for getting us over the hump. It's a pretty cool milestone for such a targeted show. When we launched in 2022, the goal was simple: have real conversations with the people shaping the energy industry. A million downloads later, I'm grateful to the nearly 80 guests who sat down with us and every listener who gave it a try and kept coming back. At the end of every episode, I ask my guests the same question: what superpower do you bring to the energy transition? It’s been a great way to understand what drives people and has led to some very human responses. It occurred to me that I've never answered it myself. So to mark the milestone, here's mine: I'm a storyteller. I started my career in PR, where telling a story well wasn't a nice-to-have. It was the job. You learn quickly that facts on their own rarely move anyone. What moves people is understanding why something matters and what it means for them. That lesson followed me into marketing, and I've never seen it matter more than it does in the energy industry. A few years ago we wrote about a utility that rolled out new time-of-use rates with demand charges for small businesses, based on analysis of sample customers. The sample missed one group entirely: churches, whose energy use spikes during weekend services. Their bills could double or triple, and the utility suddenly faced the perception that it was "taxing God." It was an honest mistake, but that one story made the case for analyzing every customer before implementing a rate better than any spreadsheet could. That's part of the special sauce we mix up here at GridX, Inc. And that's the power of a good story. It turns complex topics like rate design, load forecasting, and grid modernization into something people can follow. And once people understand a problem, they can start imagining how to solve it. Every episode of With Great Power is a chance to do exactly that, hearing hard challenges explained by the people living them, in their own words. While I have the privilege of being behind the mic, so many people make this show a success. The team at Latitude Media is tremendous - Mary Catherine O'Connor, Stephen Lacey, Anne Bailey, Jenna Herzog and Tripp O'Mara (plus a shoutout to our original producer, Erin Hardick). The GridX team of Jenni Barber, Samantha McCabe and Kyle Read help get the word out in such a thoughtful way. And thanks to Chris Black and Scott Engstrom for not looking at me like I was crazy when we came up with this idea (at least no more than they usually do). Now I'm curious: what's your superpower? Feel free to tell me in the comments. Or if you have an interesting story to tell, let me know and we will see about getting you on the show.
-
Sanem Sergici liked thisSanem Sergici liked thisReally great to spend time with ESIG (Energy Systems Integration Group) last week in Arlington, Virginia. What a great group and a nice few days discussing how a modern electricity system **should** work, without all the normal day-to-day constraints. The title of the workshop tells you everything you need to know: "The Flexibility-First Grid: From Household Devices to Data Centers" 😎 Thanks Michael Lee, Erik Ela and Debra Lew for the invite and organising a great event. Look forward to reading the outcomes!
-
Sanem Sergici liked thisSanem Sergici liked thisBack in the early 2000s, Sanem Sergici met some researchers from The Brattle Group at an energy industry conference. She was pursuing a doctorate in applied economics at the time, and decided that a Brattle Group internship would be the perfect way to spend that summer. If one existed... It took some work, but Sanem convinced the firm that it needed an internship program. Twenty years on, that effort paid off. She’s now a partner at the firm — and she’s one of the power sector's leading experts on rate design and grid economics. This week on With Great Power, Sanem shares what recent Brattle research shows about how utilities can use technology, markets, and smarter rate design to address rising costs without leaving customers behind. 🎧 New episode in the comments
-
Sanem Sergici liked thisSanem Sergici liked thisI’m excited to share that I'll be serving as a Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP Bay Area Campus Ambassador this academic year! If you’re a 1L at University of California, Berkeley - School of Law interested in Simpson Thacher, please don't hesitate to reach out. I'm happy to discuss my experience this summer in the Palo Alto and San Francisco offices and answer any questions you might have.
-
Sanem Sergici liked thisSanem Sergici liked thisWhat a fantastic workshop on demand flexibility! How do you design a future utility, wholesale market framework and retail construct to enable flexibility to be a dependable, daily asset on the grid rather than an emergency response that the grid operator hopes will show up? ESIG (Energy Systems Integration Group) convened RTOs, utilities, wholesale and retail market experts, aggregators, large loads, state and federal regulators over two days. We sequestered into breakout discussions to hammer out the nuances to allow demand flexibility to provide energy, capacity and ancillary services and to defer or avoid new T&D infrastructure. We'll have a report out in early 2027 on our findings. Huge thanks to Michael Lee and Erik Ela for leading the work and to our session leads Chase Patrick Dowling, Jo-Jo Hubbard FEI, Sanem Sergici, Miles Farmer, Beth Garza, Anja Gilbert, Emma Rodvien, Christopher Ercoli!
-
Sanem Sergici reacted on thisSanem Sergici reacted on thisLots to say about an action-packed #ClimateWeekNYC, but the real highlight for me was having my son, Axel Eschholz, with me. He and his sister have grown up surrounded by this work and these topics. To have him in the audience this week was beyond great. Like so many of us, I navigated work travel around my kids' schedules. As a parent, as a mom, I spent decades racing to get home: taking the red eye back for a school field trip or crossing the Atlantic and back in 48 hours so I wouldn't miss a middle school concert. It was a lot. It was worth it. Now to have my adult son take time from his own life and work to come to NYC was a full-circle moment. And Climate Week delivered, perfectly aligning with the themes that have defined my career: - Rethinking the grid to be more sustainable and more resilient - Energy literacy - Working with communities to secure their own energy future These themes are all complementary and interwoven. Jim Coulter 's keynote at #ClimateCapitalSummit talked about transforming the physical economy and fragmented grid governance. At Dynamo Energy Hub, Amanda Peterson Corio of Google discussed the challenges and successes of community engagement, a topic we covered at the #AntennaHouse panel on shaping the data center narrative that I did with Marcus Krembs and Keith Zakheimh. Technology innovation and grid modernization were everywhere, including a panel Merge4 Energy did with Alan Neuhauser from Axios, Morgan M. Scott from EPRI, Tim Heidel from VEIR and Derrick Kemph from Splight. It is never about just the technology. It is also about the policy, the economics, the community engagement and adoption needed to make transformational change. To see these topics come together as a primary focus of Climate Week was surreal and deeply gratifying. Sharing it with Axel made it even more so.
-
Sanem Sergici liked thisSanem Sergici liked thisThree take aways coming out of the whirlwind that was New York Climate Week: Grid technologies can meet this moment. I book-ended my week with chats at Goldman Sachs and Tapestry x Dynamo Energy Hub with a stop at the AI Energy Management Alliance (AEMA) flex launch in the middle which affirmed my confidence here. But policy has to get more granular to facilitate hardware and software integration quicker than a multi-year timeline. The emission story is making a needed comeback. Separate conversations hosted by The Pew Charitable Trusts as well as World Resources Institute and ACORE gave me this hope. Yes, this NYCW week was dominated with AI and data centers, but as the clean energy sector catches its breath and starts thinking through the policy implications, the analyses are beginning to form. Looking forward to emerging baseline studies for how we manage generation emissions—BTM, bridging, back-up and grid connections. People were my highlight. On a more personal note, traveling with my new colleague Annika Barth and getting to moderate a panel with Gov. Mikie Sherrill and NJ energy companies was an honor. Running into old friends—some of whom I haven’t seen for 5+ years—who have spent their entire careers finding workable, affordable solutions to the climate challenge—filled my cup. Once you have a chance to catch your breath, I am curious to hear your takeaways. Drop your NYCW reactions in the comments!
Experience & Education
Other similar profiles
Explore more posts
Explore top content on LinkedIn
Find curated posts and insights for relevant topics all in one place.
View top content