The rules of commerce certainly have changed in this era where smartphones allow the consumer to have worldwide connectivity, abundance of information and the capacity to get anything anywhere in the world. It seemed just a matter of time when the power and energy system had to adjust as well, not only to the needs but to the requirements of the consumers. The smart grid has introduced a change of paradigm, from a bulk system to a more flexible and complex system, where the consumer shifts his role of passive agent to an active one (prosumer).
The challenge is pressing, while large-scale technologies are advancing significantly, smaller-scale technologies are also evolving fast. The inclusion of hybrid and/or electric vehicles, distributed generation and distributed storage devices will make network operators adapt to an even more dynamic scenario than the one they were used to. The role of the prosumer should be taken for granted as the feeling of environmental protection and discussions regarding sustainability issues is increasing and the cost of smaller-scale technologies is decreasing.
In this forum we would like to address what smart grids requires to empower the consumer; topics such as regulations and policies, business problems and emerging needs (some of which have been activated or appeared by the technological developments) need to be discussed. Experiences on how different countries are tackling these evolving challenges, will be discussed.

Jennifer Mejía
Project Manager, ENEL Green Power

Colombian Professional in electrical engineering, with experience in international power system project management. Solid knowledge in analysis of Electrical Power Systems, Transmission Lines & Generation systems. Currently, she is the LATAM project manager for substations and interconnections in ENEL. She’s been project manager in H-MV, Abengoa, among others in Peru, Colombia, Chile & Spain.
She is highly committed on creating effective solutions, in order to meet challenging targets, always driven by high efficiency and superior quality. She also has worked in control and automation systems in Indra Colombia and she has worked in international large-scale power transmission projects in Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Spain, Germany, Argelia and Chile.

Cynthia Perez
Digital Grid Team, Siemens S.A.C.

Cynthia Perez is an Electronic Engineer with mention in Process Automation, PMP and MBA. She has over 12 years of experience in Project Management for Mining, Oil & Gas and Utilities sectors in Peru, Chile and Ecuador. In Rockwell Automation, she led process automation projects in a new software solution with focus in digital processing, in order to monitor “on the cloud” their plants in real time. For the last three years, she’s been part of Digital Grid team in Siemens, leading the PM team for substation automation projects (including Control, Protection & Telecommunications scope for utilities, mining and industry) and taking part in the execution of developments such as Smart Metering for distribution utility, Reclosers remote control with satelital communication, etc.

Leontina Pinto
Director, Engenho

Dr. Leontina Pinto is an Electrical Engineer (1979), holds an M.Sc. in Systems and Optimization (1981) and a D.Sc. in applied mathematics (1990), all from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Her experience include around fourty years of services for the electrical sector in Brazil and abroad, ranging from Planning and Operation to Trade and Risk Management, including Reliability, Markets, Tariffs, Strategies, Scenarios, Climate and Geomagnetism.

Guadalupe Gonzalez
Assistant Professor, Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá
(MODERATOR)Graduated from the Technological University of Panama where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in Electromechanical Engineering and has a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Texas A & M University. Her areas of interest include: energy planning, smart cities, sustainable engineering, design and control of electrical machines, power electronics, renewable energy systems and modeling of energy systems. Currently, she also realizes studies on modeling of physical properties of biological materials. Dr. Gonzalez has published multiple articles in indexed journals and conference proceedings at the national and regional levels.