Deane joins ZGlobal having over forty years of experience in the energy industry with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and the California Independent System Operator (CAISO). His twenty-plus years with PG&E include hands-on experience in real-time distribution, transmission, substation, and bulk interconnected system operations, with significant time in operations management and training. He managed PG&E’s Oakland, CA switching center, which was the clearing house for all distribution, transmission, and substation maintenance outages and trouble operations (i.e., storms, line, and equipment failure). His last seven years with PG&E and most of his twenty years with the CAISO were spent working in real-time bulk systems (60kV – 500kV) and interconnected Balancing Area operations. As Shift Supervisor in PG&E’s Energy Control Center, Deane managed a team responsible for all facets of near-horizon and real-time operation of PG&E’s portion of the grid. As Shift Manager with the CAISO, his responsibilities expanded to include real-time operation of the entire ISO Controlled Grid, which, in addition to PG&E, took in Southern California Edison’s (SCE), San Diego Gas and Electric’s (SDG&E) and Valley Electric Association’s (VEA) grids. Deane’s control room crew had the distinction of being on shift that night in 1998 when the CAISO assumed Balancing Area operations responsibility and the day-ahead and real-time energy and ancillary services markets went live.
While the majority of Deane’s experience and passion lie with real-time operations, it extends deeply into real-time operations support. This passion was symbolized by his time as Director of the CAISO’s Operations Support and Training department. Responsibilities included all aspects of real-time grid and market operations support and training, not the least important of which was representing the control room’s interests in helping to develop operations policies and practices affecting real-time operations that would be at once implementable, reliable, and sustainable.
Deane has represented the CAISO’s interests on various industry committees and work groups, most recently on the Western Electricity Coordinating Council’s (WECC) Unscheduled Flow Administrative Subcommittee (UFAS). Deane has maintained his status as a North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)–certified system operator credential since 2005.
Deane has been part of the ZGlobal operation team since 2015 and was instrumental in managing the Southwest Reserve Sharing Program.