Principal Power Systems Engineer
Academic Background
- M.S., Electrical Engineering, California State University, Sacramento 2008
- B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of California, Davis 2003
Professional Experience
Joseph Gillette is a seasoned electrical engineer with over 18 years of experience in power system studies within the electric utility industry. Mr. Gillette has extensive expertise in steady-state, voltage stability, and transient stability analyses for a range of entities across the Western Interconnection. He also has substantial experience demonstrating compliance with various NERC reliability standards and serves as a subject matter expert for Transmission Planner (TP) and Planning Coordinator (PC) requirements.
Mr. Gillette’s tenure at Utility System Efficiencies, Inc. (USE) spans from 2010 to 2013 and 2019 to the present. During his time at USE, he has played a pivotal role in numerous power system studies throughout the Western Interconnection, including a system impact study for a proposed 500-kV project, annual planning assessments, interconnection studies, operating nomogram studies, and a major WECC three-phase rating process. These studies encompassed steady-state, post-transient, transient stability, and reactive power margin analyses, showcasing his breadth of knowledge in the field.
Prior to his current role at USE, Joseph held positions at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) from 2009 to 2010 and from 2013 to 2019. In his last role at SMUD, he served as the Manager of the Grid Planning Department, leading a team of six planning engineers in the development of long-term, safe, reliable, and cost-effective transmission plans. Mr. Gillette was a subject matter expert for fourteen TP and PC standards, representing SMUD at various industry meetings and conferences, including WECC, BANC, NATF, and WestConnect. Before his promotion to manager, Joseph conducted numerous power system studies in support of regulatory and enterprise goals, such as the first CIP-014 study, which later received a positive observation from WECC, along with minimum generation, and interconnection studies for both generation and load.
At the Turlock Irrigation District, Mr. Gillette worked as an Assistant and Associate Electrical Engineer, where he conducted steady-state, voltage stability, and transient stability studies for the Transmission Planning Department and the Operations Department. He also demonstrated compliance with then-new reliability standards, including TP, TOP, FAC, and EOP standards, underscoring his adaptability and expertise in compliance.
As an Energy Specialist in the Electricity Analysis Office at the California Energy Commission, Mr. Gillette contributed to production cost modeling of the Western Interconnection, analyzing the impact of various scenarios and policies. He also developed numerous computer programs and spreadsheets to facilitate the collection and analysis of generation, transmission, and load data sets.
