Principal Power Systems Engineer
Academic Background
- B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, 1987
- Electrical Engineering, California State University, Sacramento, 1985
- Electrical Engineering, Sierra Junior College, Rocklin, California, 1983
- A.S., Electronics Technology, Sierra Junior College, Rocklin, California 1981
Professional Experience
Don DeBerry is an accomplished engineering professional with a strong technical background and a deep understanding of the electrical utility industry. Mr. DeBerry has over 30 years of power system experience with expertise in transmission planning, system operations, energy management system applications, NERC/operational/market compliance, and distribution engineering. Mr. DeBerry joined Utility System Efficiencies, Inc. (USE) in 2008 and is a Principal Power Systems Engineer. At USE, Mr. DeBerry has performed power flow, stability, post-transient, and short circuit analysis throughout the Western Interconnect. He has completed a wide range of projects that include: seasonal operational planning studies, generator interconnection studies, path rating studies, and power system model development. Don has participated in various Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) Subcommittees and has been developing expertise on the new NERC TPL-007 Standard to evaluate Geomagnetic Disturbances (GMD).
While employed at Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) from 2004-2008 as a Principal Transmission Planning Engineer, Mr. DeBerry was a member of the WECC Reliability Subcommittee and assisted with the development of SMUD’s transmission planning policy. He collaborated with various departments to evaluate the newly mandated NERC TPL requirements and expanded the SMUD Ten Year Transmission Plan to better meet these requirements. Don also developed the annual FERC 715 filing, evaluated future generation additions/retirements, evaluated various transmission projects, and performed seasonal operating studies.
While employed at the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) from 2002-2004 in the Contract and Compliance department as a Senior Contracts and Compliance Engineer, Mr. DeBerry resolved technical issues related to operational performance standards and compliance enforcement procedures from CAISO staff and market participants. Mr. DeBerry acted as the Contracts and Compliance liaison to Grid Operations to identify and resolve operational compliance concerns. In this role, Mr. DeBerry developed procedures, technical criteria, and program applications to evaluate market participant compliance with the CAISO Tariff, contractual agreements, and operating protocols. Mr. DeBerry also assisted with the design and implementation of Uninstructed Deviation Penalties, No Pay charges for Ancillary Service provision, resource testing for Ancillary Service certification, and Unannounced Compliance Testing.
While employed at CAISO from 1997-2002, Don was the lead operations engineer for the Northern PG&E area and back-up operations engineer for the bulk 500 kV system and the Southern California Edison systems. In this position, Mr. DeBerry coordinated the workload of other CAISO operations engineers and provided technical assistance and training. He provided 24/7 on-call technical support, developed operating procedures, evaluated system reliability for scheduled transmission outages, investigated system disturbances, and assisted with the evaluation of transmission and generation projects. He also co-managed the implementation and maintenance of the PI data historian that was used by various departments at the CAISO. In this role, Mr. DeBerry interacted heavily with Real-time Dispatch, Outage Coordination, EMS/IT, Scheduling, Market Operations, Market Compliance, Transmission Planning, and Client Services.
While at Northern California Power Agency (NCPA) from 1987-1997, Mr. DeBerry (Engineer III) represented NCPA in various WECC committees and study groups. He participated in the WECC Technical Studies Subcommittee, August 10 and July 2, 1996 WECC System Disturbance Groups, Desert Southwest Transmission Project, Alturas Transmission Project, Summit Transfer Capability Studies, Sacramento Valley Study Group, WAPA Control Area Assessment, WECC margin criteria development, Rancho Seco-Collierville Interconnection studies, WECC Program Evaluation Work Group, WECC GE MAPS Evaluation, and the GE PSLF Users Group. Don also evaluated various transmission and generation projects for NCPA members.
