2026 KEYNOTE SPEECH

Leveraging Protection, Control, and Automation Technologies for Reliable, Resilient, and Affordable Energy Delivery

     Thursday, October 29
     12:15–1:00 pm
     Centennial Ballroom AB

The electrical power and energy industry is changing rapidly to meet the increasing and diverse load demand (computational data centers and electrification) and high levels of renewable and storage integration. Recent grid events across the globe (blackouts and outages) emphasized the importance of taking comprehensive actions to better manage the electrical power systems. Preventing those events requires changes in planning, operations, protection, and maintenance, accompanied by investment in developing and deploying diverse technologies and improved processes and tools (including AI). As we build the grid of the future with high penetration of inverter-based resources (IBR) and inverter-based load (IBL), it is necessary to address dynamic changes through real-time situational awareness, protection, control, automation, and advanced analytics. This keynote will focus on the overall challenges and optimal strategies, including leveraging existing and new technologies, to prevent system outages and ensure reliable, resilient, and affordable delivery of electrical energy.

2026 Keynote Speaker:
 
     Damir Novosel
     CEO, Dash Power Partners

Damir Novosel is CEO and co-founder at Dash Power Partners. Previously he was President and founder of Danovo Energy Solutions (formerly Quanta Technology) and president of Quanta Energized Services. Damir was also president of KEMA T&D U.S. and vice president of ABB Global Automation Products. He holds 18 US and international patents, published over 200 articles and reports, and contributed to 8 books.

Dr. Novosel, recognized as a global business and technical leader in electrical power systems protection and control, is a member of the US National Academy of Engineers and IEEE Fellow and Life Fellow. Damir served on the IEEE Standards Board, several IEEE committees, and as IEEE Smart Cities Chair. He was IEEEE PES President, VP of Technical Activities, and Executive Advisory Council and Industry Technical Support Leadership Committee chair. For his leadership and technical contributions, he received the IEEE PES Leadership in Power and Pat Ryan Meritorious Service awards. Damir is CIGRE US National Committee VP of Nominations and received the CIGRE Distinguished Member, Philip Sporn, and Attwood Associate awards.

Damir is a member of the S&C advisory board and Argonne National Laboratory industry advisory board and served on various other boards Dr. Novosel is an adjunct professor at North Carolina State University ECE department where he was a commencement speaker in December 2025.

Dr. Novosel holds PhD, MSc, and BSc degrees in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University (where he was a Fulbright scholar), the University of Zagreb, Croatia, and the University of Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, respectively. Dr. Novosel was selected as Mississippi State University Distinguished Engineering Fellow and received the Distinguished Alumni Award.