Senior Power Systems Engineer
Senior Power Systems Engineer

Biography

Alex Anderson is a senior power systems research engineer in the Energy Systems Engineering Group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Their research focuses on data integration using the Common Information Model (CIM), agentic AI tools and infrastructure, and human factors in control-center environments.

Anderson has coordinated software integration, testing, and training for multiple power system simulators and applications, serving as principial investigator (PI)/co-PI for several multilab projects. They have also worked with numerous transmission and distribution utilities in the United States and worldwide to offer real-time, large-scale power system simulation and training of power system operators, including the analysis of historical events and the creation of realistic scenarios on both grid Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition and hypothetical models to demonstrate the impact of deregulated markets, severe weather, customer-owned generation, and actions of power system operators and dispatchers.

Anderson is model manager for the North American CIM Profile task force and Vice Chair (2025–2026) of the IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) Richland Chapter. Anderson is a globally recognized participant in the microgrid electrification and sustainable development realm and was technical vice chair of the IEEE PES Humanitarian Activities Committee for 2023 and 2024.

Disciplines and Skills

  • Artificial intelligence
  • Energy management
  • Energy systems management
  • Human factors engineering
  • Large language models
  • Power distribution
  • Systems engineering and integration
  • Power systems and electrical engineering

Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy in systems engineering, Colorado State University
  • Master’s in power systems engineering, Washington State University
  • Bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, Saint Martin's University

Affiliations and Professional Service

  • Model Manager, UCAiug North American CIM Profile Task Force, 2026–2027
  • Vice Chair, IEEE Power & Energy Society Richland Chapter, 2025–2026
  • Vice Chair, IEEE Power & Energy Society Humanitarian Activities Committee, 2023–2024
  • Chair, IEEE Region 6 Humanitarian Activities Committee, 2022
  • Chair, IEEE Smart Village Partner Engagement Committee, 2017–2020

Awards and Recognitions

Best Paper Prize, 2025 IEEE PES General Meeting

Publications

2024

  • Appiah-Kubi J., A. A. Anderson, and H. M. Reeve. 2024. "A Survey of Open-Source Tools for Transmission and Distribution Systems Research." IEEE Access 13: 4966–4983. PNNL-SA-191882. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3520878.
  • Anderson A. A., S. Datta, T. Vu, T. Ahmad, Y. Chen, C. H. Allwardt, P. Sharma, A. R. Fisher, J. Carrara, M. Romano, D. Kopin, M. Casella, and E. Collins. 2024. "Cloud-Based Testbed for Adaptive Under-Frequency Load Shedding with High DER Penetration." In IEEE PES General Meeting 2024. Seattle, WA, July 21–25, 2024. PNNL-SA-192145. https://doi.org/10.1109/PESGM51994.2024.10688844.
  • Anderson A. A., A. R. Fisher, S. Poudel, A. P. Reiman, L. T. Wall, and S. V. Vadari. 2024. "SMARTER Rules-Based Distributed Deconfliction of ADMS Applications." In IEEE Power & Energy Society Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Conference (ISGT 2024). Washington, DC, February 19–22, 2024. PNNL-SA-187266. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISGT59692.2024.10454194.
  • Anderson A. A., S. Kincic, C. K. Fallon, and B. A. Jefferson. 2024. Transmission Operator Workflows for Real-Time Reliability Studies. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PNNL-36516.
  • Sharma P., A. P. Reiman, A. A. Anderson, S. Poudel, C. H. Allwardt, A. R. Fisher, T. E. Slay, M. Mukherjee, A. Dubey, J. P. Ogle, and R. B. Melton. 2024. "GridAPPS-D Distributed App Architecture and API for Modular and Distributed Grid Operations." IEEE Access 12: 39862–39875. PNNL-SA-193951. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3374331.

2023

  • Anderson A. A., C. H. Allwardt, and E. G. Stephan. 2023. "Introducing CIMantic Graphs for the Common Information Model." Abstract submitted to PNNL TechFest, Richland, WA. PNNL-SA-183512.
  • Anderson A. A., B. A. Jefferson, S. Kincic, J. E. Wenskovitch, C. Fallon, J. A. Baweja, and Y. Chen. 2023. "Human-Centric Contingency Analysis Metrics for Evaluating Operator Performance and Trust." IEEE Access 11: 109689–109707. PNNL-SA-177705. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3322133.
  • Reiman A. P., S. Poudel, M. Mukherjee, A. A. Anderson, O. Vasios, T. E. Slay, G. D. Black, A. Dubey, and J. P. Ogle. 2023. "App Deconfliction: Orchestrating Distributed, Multi-Agent, Multi-Objective Operations for Power Systems." IEEE Access 11: 40314–40327. PNNL-SA-183068. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3269422.
  • Anderson A. A., A. Bretas, D. Wang, O. Vasios, J. Carrara, and J. Pew. 2023. "Distributed Load Shedding Application Architecture and Bi-Level Predictive Estimator Algorithm." In 2023 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting (PESGM). Orlando, FL, July 16–20, 2023. PNNL-SA-179692. https://doi.org/10.1109/PESGM52003.2023.10252895.
  • Sharma P., C. H. Allwardt, A. A. Anderson, and A. P. Reiman. 2023. GridAPPS-D: Accelerating the Development of Portable Distributed Applications for Grid-Edge Operations. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PNNL-SA-187259.
  • Anderson A. A., T. E. McDermott, and E. G. Stephan. 2023. A Power Application Developer’s Guide to the Common Information Model: An Introduction for Power Systems Engineers and Application Developers – CIM17v40. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PNNL-34946.
  • Reiman A. P., A. A. Anderson, G. D. Black, A. R. Fisher, M. Mukherjee, S. Poudel, T. E. Slay, O. Vasios, and J. P. Ogle. 2023. Application Deconfliction Characterization and Alternatives Analysis. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PNNL-35109.
  • Anderson A. A., S. V. Vadari, L. T. Wall, P. Sharma, and A. P. Reiman. 2023. Distributed Rules-Based Deconfliction of ADMS Applications: Part 2: Conceptual Implementation. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PNNL-34605-2.
  • Anderson A. A., L. T. Wall, S. V. Vadari, and A. P. Reiman. 2023. Distributed Rules-Based Deconfliction of ADMS Applications: Part 1: Requirements & Decomposition. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PNNL-34604-1.

2022

  • Wenskovitch J. E., A. A. Anderson, S. Kincic, C. Fallon, D. K. Ciesielski, J. A. Baweja, M. C. Mersinger, and B. Jefferson. 2022. "Operator Insights and Usability Evaluation of Machine Learning Assistance for Power Grid Contingency Analysis." In 13th AHFE International Conference on Human Factors in Energy: Oil, Gas, Nuclear and Electric Power. New York, NY, July 24–28, 2022. PNNL-SA-170435. https://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1002219.
  • Wenskovitch J. E., B. A. Jefferson, A. A. Anderson, J. A. Baweja, D. K. Ciesielski, and C. Fallon. 2022. "A Methodology for Evaluating Operator Usage of Machine Learning Recommendations for Power Grid Contingency Analysis." Frontiers in Big Data 5: 897295. PNNL-SA-171158. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdata.2022.897295.
  • Anderson A. A., R. Podmore, P. Sharma, A. P. Reiman, R. Jinsiwale, C. H. Allwardt, and G. D. Black. 2022. "Distributed Application Architecture and LinkNet Topology Processor for Distribution Networks using the Common Information Model." IEEE Access 10: 120765–120780. PNNL-SA-178215. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3221132.
  • Anderson A. A., J. L. Barr, P. Sharma, C. H. Allwardt, S. V. Vadari, and A. Dubey. 2022. "Real-time Distribution Simulation and Application Development for Power Systems Education." In IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting (PESGM 2022), Denver, CO, July 17–21, 2022. PNNL-SA-168278. https://doi.org/10.1109/PESGM48719.2022.9917004.
  • Anderson A. A., E. G. Stephan, T. E. McDermott, and P. Sharma. 2022. "Data Integration, Co-Simulation, and ADMS Application Development Using the Common Information Model." In CIGRE Grid of the Future. Chicago, IL, November 7–10, 2022. PNNL-SA-175864.
  • Anderson A. A., S. Kincic, B. A. Jefferson, B. J. Mcgary, C. Fallon, D. K. Ciesielski, J. E. Wenskovitch, and Y. Chen. 2022. A Real-Time Operations Manual for the IEEE 118 Bus Transmission Model. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PNNL-33499.
  • Fallon C., T. Yin, and A. A. Anderson. 2022. Method for Generating Expert Derived Confidence Scores. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PNNL-33400.
  • Anderson A. A., S. V. Vadari, J. L. Barr, S. Poudel, A. Dubey, T. E. McDermott, and R. Podmore. 2022. Introducing the 9500 Node Distribution Test System to Support Advanced Power Applications. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PNNL-33471.
  • Anderson A. A., E. G. Stephan, and T. E. McDermott. 2022. Enabling Data Exchange and Data Integration with the Common Information Model. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PNNL-32679.

2021

  • Anderson A. A., J. L. Barr, C. H. Allwardt, P. Sharma, T. J. Martin, and S. Poudel. 2021. GridAPPS-D Online Training and Hackathon. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PNNL-31564.