Bob is Principal, Grid Reliability Specialist at ZGlobal and is an internationally recognized expert in electric utility system operations and system protection design for generation, transmission, and distribution systems. He is responsible for providing detailed engineering support for a wide range of generation and transmission and distribution projects.
Bob retired from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) as Manager of Operations Engineering, where he led major initiatives in system protection, transmission operations, system control, and disturbance analysis. During his tenure at PG&E, he championed the application of microprocessor-based technology for system protection and advanced the use of fault-tolerant remedial action schemes. He played a key role in power system reliability efforts, including the design and review of protection standards, and led the development and implementation of special protection and remedial action schemes to prevent widespread outages. Bob also developed unique operating procedures utilizing generation dispatch to ensure San Francisco Bay Area reliability and contributed to the development of PG&E’s three-stage electric emergency plan.
Bob served as the transmission team lead for the North American Electric Reliability Council investigation into the August 14, 2003 Northeast blackout. He also chaired an operating capability study group that developed methodologies and procedures to restore reliable operation of the Western U.S. electrical grid, for which he received the Western Electricity Coordinating Council Outstanding Contributor Award. In addition, Bob served as Principal Investigator for Phase I and Phase II projects for NASA’s Manned Mission to Mars program, focusing on modeling spacecraft DC microgrids and autonomous control systems for long-duration missions.