Conference Speaker Biographies

Jason Doering is the Vice President of Corporate Operational Services for ENMAX Corporation.  His team is responsible for supply chain management, safety and environment services, facilities operations and maintenance, physical security services, and enterprise business continuity management for ENMAX’s distribution, transmission, and generation operations.

Jason joined ENMAX in 2017 and held the roles of Director of Generation Engineering and Director of Engineering and Maintenance prior to his current role.

Prior to joining ENMAX, Jason spent nine years at the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) and held the roles of Director of Commercial Services, Director of Energy Strategy, Director of Transmission System Planning, and Director of Operations Planning & Engineering.

Before joining the AESO, Jason spent nine years in progressively senior roles with Manitoba Hydro. Jason’s diverse electricity industry experience spans 24 years, and includes turbine and rotating equipment engineering, control system engineering, maintenance management, market operations, integrated resource planning, transmission system planning, transmission system operations, safety management, environmental management, and supply chain management.

Jason is a registered Professional Engineer, and holds bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and psychology, both from the University of Manitoba.

As President and CEO of the URICA group of companies which provide independent commercial services for generators and consumers in the electricity industry, Jason has a wealth of knowledge in energy portfolio management, energy trading, facility dispatch, commercial optimization, and business development. Expertise in all forms of generation, from thermal through to renewable and now leading energy storage platforms, his complete end-to-end understanding of the unique aspects of the Alberta electricity market is reputed in the industry. Jason holds a B.Comm from the University of Alberta and a MBA from the University of Calgary.

James (Jim) B. Robb assumed the role of NERC’s president and chief executive officer (CEO) in April 2018. Robb oversees NERC’s mission of assuring the reliability and security of the North American bulk power system. As president and CEO, Robb leads the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) and is responsible for key programs, including those programs focused on development of mandatory NERC Reliability Standards, the Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program, situational awareness, event and risk analysis, reliability assessments and forecasting, and cyber and physical security, affecting approximately 1,400 bulk power system users, owners, and operators. He is also responsible for the performance of the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC) and key government partnerships.

As CEO, he is the chair of the ERO Enterprise Executive Committee, which oversees the operations of the six Regional Entities that support the reliability mission across North America. Robb joined the ERO Enterprise in 2013 when he was appointed the president and CEO of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), the Regional Entity serving the Western Interconnection.

Robb has more than 35 years of experience in the energy sector as an engineer, consultant, and senior executive. Prior to becoming WECC’s CEO, he held three major leadership roles in the industry: senior vice president at Northeast Utilities (now Eversource Energy); senior vice president at Reliant Energy (now part of NRG Energy); and partner at McKinsey & Company. During his 15-year career at McKinsey, he worked closely with prominent electric power companies in California, western Canada, the Pacific Northwest, and the Rocky Mountain states and served clients in Western Europe, South America, and New Zealand. He is a frequent speaker at industry events on the evolution of the electric power system, cyber security, integration of variable generation, and the increasing interdependency of electric and natural gas reliability.

Robb is a member of the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council and serves on the United States Energy Association Board as well as a NERC trustee. In 2020, he was appointed chair of the Group of Experts on Cleaner Energy Systems for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. He has served on the boards of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut, the Houston Symphony, the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, and as a policy advisor to the Bay Area Economic Forum in San Francisco.

Robb earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University in Indiana and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Grant leads BluEarth Renewable’s executive team and guides the company’s strategic growth. He joined BluEarth in 2011 as Vice President, Business Development and, subsequently, was promoted to the role of Chief Operating Officer. In 2015, Grant became BluEarth’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Grant has more than 25 years of commercial and technical experience in the energy sector including wind, hydro and solar development, construction and operations, natural gas E&P, natural gas operations, acquisitions, divestitures, and business development. He has worked in Canada, the US, and internationally.

Prior to joining BluEarth, Grant held several leadership roles in the renewable energy and natural gas business units at Suncor Energy. Grant was responsible for overseeing Suncor’s Canadian wind power portfolio including, at the time, joint venture interests for over 750 MW in development, under construction and in operation.

Grant received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master of Engineering degree from the University of Alberta. He also has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Calgary. Grant is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta and the Institute of Corporate Directors. In September 2021, Grant was named a 2022 Clean16 and Clean50 award honoree by Delta Management Group and the Clean50 organization in recognition of his work to advance the cause of sustainability and clean capitalism in Canada.

Elliot Mainzer is President and CEO of the California Independent System Operator (ISO) in Folsom, California. For the last 25 years, he has been a leader in helping to achieve a reliable and affordable clean energy transition by working to support innovation and creativity in renewable energy development, transmission planning, market design and regional collaboration.

Mainzer joined the ISO on September 30, 2020 after an 18-year career at the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), including seven years as Administrator and CEO. At BPA, he led efforts to unlock the wind-energy potential of the Pacific Northwest, managed the development of BPA’s open-season model for transmission subscription and queue management, and worked to balance the needs of the Federal Columbia River Power System with the welfare of tribal nations and salmon protection.

Under Mainzer’s leadership at the ISO, the organization has strengthened coordinated power and transmission planning with California’s regulatory agencies, integrated record-setting amounts of new power generation and the nation’s largest fleet of lithium-ion batteries, helped preserve overall system reliability during the record-setting Western heat wave of September 2022 and provided strategic leadership and direction for the ISO’s new extended day-ahead market proposal. Mainzer’s strong background and personal commitment to regional collaboration as an essential element of a reliable and affordable clean-energy transition have been a hallmark of his leadership at the ISO, where he has also brought renewed focus on control center modernization, stakeholder engagement and program management in support of the organization’s new 2022-2026 strategic plan.

A native of San Francisco, Mainzer has an undergraduate degree in geography from U.C. Berkeley and master’s degrees in Business Administration and Environmental Management from Yale University. He is a senior fellow of the Oregon Chapter of the American Leadership Forum, has served on the boards of the Electric Power Research Institute and the Energy Systems Integration Group, and currently serves as co-chair of the Western Electric Industry Leaders Group.

He and his wife Margaret have twin boys. Among his non-professional pursuits, Mainzer is an amateur jazz saxophonist and dedicated student of jazz theory and history.

Duane Reid-Carlson has 36 years’ experience working in the oil and gas, petrochemical and electric industries.  He is currently the President of EDC Associates Ltd—a company that he founded in 1992.  Since that time Mr. Reid-Carlson has led a team of energy economic analysts that have been responsible for providing electric energy supply, demand and price forecast information, energy procurement, risk management, generation development and regulatory analytical services.  These services and information is generally used by participants in the electric industry to help support short and long-term energy procurement and investment decisions.

Mr. Reid-Carlson holds a B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alberta, Canada. 

Mr. Reid-Carlson is a Director of the Independent Power Producers Society of Alberta (IPPSA).  

Doug is a dynamic leader with a diverse background in entrepreneurship, politics, philanthropy and executive leadership. Doug has held senior leadership positions in electricity, energy infrastructure, health care and technology.

He has established a reputation as a collaborative leader who brings people together to achieve positive outcomes. Throughout his career Doug has been involved in managing public affairs programs towards furthering of a wide variety of projects and campaigns.

Outside of his professional endeavors, Doug enjoys spending quality time with his family and his black lab, Charlie, and remains actively involved in his community.

Darin is President, Alta Solutions and provides strategic advice for those undertaking multi-billion dollar, complex and contentious projects. He has enjoyed over 30 years in the Capital Projects space on projects ranging from Gas Processing and Heavy Oil Production, though Combined Cycle Cogeneration and Renewable Energy Production, to large-scale Electric Transmission development and construction. Recently, Darin has engaged in the energy transition advising on energy storage and Small Nuclear Reactor deployment. Darin brings a unique and well-rounded perspective to each aspect of major project development, permitting, delivery and operations.

Cayla brings over 18 years of experience in the utilities industry. She began her career at AltaLink in 2005, and has held a number of increasingly senior customer service-based positions, including leadership roles spanning project execution, operational delivery, and regulatory engagement. As Vice President, Government Relations and Commercial, she is responsible for policy advocacy and engagement with all levels of government, and leading AltaLink’s commercial business including service contracts and execution of the Market Participant Choice process. Cayla holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Culture from the University of Calgary.

Bob Myles is currently the Chief Operating Officer, ATCO EnPower, a global organization part of Canadian Utilities Ltd. and the ATCO Group of Companies.

As Chief Operating Officer, Bob has operational, financial and strategic oversight of ATCO’s non-regulated energy businesses. At ATCO EnPower, Bob and his team are leading the energy transition with renewable energy solutions, energy storage and water facilities, hydrogen, ammonia and carbon capture sequestration projects to enpower a sustainable future.

For over 25 years, Bob’s career has focused on the Canadian industrial sector in oil and gas, power and midstream markets. Most recently, he was the Executive Vice President, Corporate Development for ATCO Ltd. where he was responsible for growing ATCO’s footprint in strategic global markets, and the ongoing operations of Canadian Utilities’ non-regulated businesses in Australia and the Americas. Bob has held a number of executive roles, including Chief Operating Officer of Stuart Olson Industrial Group; President and CEO of Tartan Canada Corporation; Managing Director of Energy at ATCO; Senior Vice President, Corporate Development at ATCO; President of ATCO Pipelines; and President of ATCO Energy Solutions.

Bob holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics.