John Ku, Energy & Utilities Consultant
What do you actually do all day?
I used to work at Pacific Gas & Electric in Strategic Planning. Our team focused on working with various business units to identify and plan for the needed technology initiatives that would enable the company to evolve with the changing energy landscape – driven by the increased adoption of distributed renewable energy resources. Currently, I’m living in Singapore and continuing to work in the energy industry, advising utilities on technology trends.
One of the biggest issues utilities are working on these days is the addition of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) to the grid such as solar and wind power. Energy distribution used to be simply one big push downward from a central energy source, but now you have customers that can consume as well as produce electricity (we call them prosumers) which creates a complexity from an engineering standpoint in terms of how the grid is designed. These DERs are great opportunities, you can use them as a virtual power plant for example, but incorporating them into the grid requires changes to how the grid is physically engineered and changes in the laws and regulations that govern it.
My job is focused on looking for new technologies and business models that can help utilities improve reliability and safety or take advantage of new opportunities that come with renewables. Companies around the world are creating new technology and software that address these challenges. I spend a lot of time researching online, reading articles, and attending conferences. Once I’ve identified a technology that could benefit energy customers, I share it with various stakeholders. If the technology is a good fit, then we set up a pilot project. If the pilot project goes well, then it’s incorporated into the way my clients do business.
What are some of the key skills for success in this role?
You’ve got to be very passionate about energy to work in the utility space. The industry typically moves very slowly either culturally or due to regulations. But if you are really passionate about the problems you are solving, it is immensely rewarding. You also need some level of domain knowledge, or at least a strong sense of intellectual curiosity. For example, not everyone is going to come to this industry knowing something like regulatory accounting, but you will need to have the patience to take the time to look it up and learn it well. Foundational skill sets such as writing and critical thinking are also important as you have to be comfortable making well-structured qualitative and quantitative arguments. Policy isn’t purely quantitatively driven, sometimes in policy driven environments you get a lot of qualitative aspects you need to consider, so you need to have a good gut feeling for the right direction. Working knowledge of IT can be helpful too as everything is digital these days and you need to understand how systems work. The way the energy industry is moving you have this convergence and intersection of policy, technology, and business so having a solid understanding of how those three interact is useful.
What is your favorite part of your job?
The people. All throughout my career I’ve met a lot of people who are passionate about sustainable societies. It’s very encouraging to see how many people care about their city, state, or country and want it to move in a positive direction.
What is the hardest part of your job?
It’s difficult to work in such a heavily regulated environment, which can move slowly at times. Also, sometimes projects are done for policy reasons and may not always make economic sense from an ROI/ROE standpoint, which can be hard to get used to if you’re coming from a traditional business/finance driven background.
What is your proudest professional achievement?
When I worked at PG&E in California I helped my former boss setup a new department. It was a true privilege to work with such bright people and to help to build a team from the ground up in such a forward-thinking organization.
What are the game changers in your world?
Significant price drops in solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, energy storage systems (ESS), or any other form of distributed generation has the potential to be very disruptive. Significant improvements in panel efficiency would help too, right now the most efficient panels on the market are about 20% efficient, so if the efficiency continues to improve and prices continue to drop, it’ll continue to disrupt the industry.
What was your path to this role?
After getting my MBA at NYU’s Stern School of Business, I worked in strategic planning and sales operations for Vestas, a wind turbine company in southeast Asia. When I came back to the US I worked for SunEdison while they were trying to launch a residential business unit. Then I moved to PG&E to help set up various programs in energy efficiency and grid technology demonstrations. My wife and I decided to return to Singapore to be closer to family in Asia. Given my past experience at PG&E, I sought out opportunities to continue my career in energy.
What’s your advice to someone interested in a role like this?
Read the news and understand what’s going on in the space, become well versed in the big topics. Renewables have been around for awhile now, so you can’t just “like solar”, you have to know about things like energy metering and the debate around it, and why that’s important. The industry is heavily regulated, but that means there’s a lot of transparency and great information and articles available. Show you’ve got the patience and tenacity to work in the space and get familiar with the important policy changes in your area.
What are your favorite resources?
I’m always scanning the media for startups proposing new ideas that challenge the space. I often read Utility Dive, Greentech Media, and POWER (powermag.com). I also go to conferences such as DistribuTECH, which is a conference that focuses on the distribution infrastructure side of utilities. It’s interesting because now it’s all about software that enables utilities to manage, monitor, and control distributed resources. A lot of great institutions like the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) all publish some great white papers.
Who (or what) is your sustainability hero?
I’ve always really liked Method. I like that it’s a good product that does what it’s supposed to do in a responsible way without being pretentious about it.
