Find out what ABB's Tom O'Meara will discuss in the Asian Power Utility Forum

Tom O’Meara manages the Energy Portfolio Management (EPM) Business Line for ABB. EPM is a market leader supporting ISOs, utilities, power companies, and other energy market participants with critical decision tools for infrastructure investments (Power Stations, Power and Gas Lines) and applications that support daily power operations including trading, asset optimization, forecasting, market communication and settlements.

EPM 200 employees include software developers, data / business analyst, economist, and business consultants. EPM provides software, energy data service, and market advisory services to over 400 customers. EPM supports 80% of the largest power generators across Western Europe and North America. He manages the global EPM operations with offices in the London, Atlanta, Boulder, Houston, and Sacramento.

His background includes over thirty years of industry experience including sixteen years in utility operations across electric distribution operations, environmental compliance, and power generation operations, as well as mergers and acquisitions. He has spent the last sixteen years in leadership positions providing advisory, software, and data services to power companies around the world. He is a deep subject matter expert in the areas of wholesale market operations, smart grid technology, and portfolio optimization.

O'Meara will be among the speakers at the 2017 Asian Power Utility Forum, Singapore leg. The event will be happening tomorrow April 25 at The Shangri-La Hotel Singapore.

What are your previous experiences and positions held that contributed to who you are as an expert in the power industry today?

I have extensive experience from working in the electric power sector for over 30 years and participated in the evolution of the business across global markets. I have managed engineering service in electric distribution, overseen pollution control technologies applied to coal units, worked on technology development with Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), US EPA, and Gas Research Institute.

Prior, a as a consultant for ABB’s Enterprise Software product group, I helped streamline and implementtrading, forecasting, optimization, and scheduling systems. Today, I lead a specialty of 210 professionals in energy portfolio management solution within ABB’s Enterprise Software product group, providing energy insight, leading software for investment and portfolio operation decisions, as well as advisory services, for power generation and transmission investments.

What are your key business philosophies?

Cascade ABB’s Values in Action – to bring the Value Pairs to life.
1. Safety & Integrity - I don’t look the other way
2. Customer Focus & Quality - The customer drives my actions; I am passionate about quality
3. Innovation & Speed – I seek better ways; Getting faster is a way of life
4. Ownership & Performance – I own, I deliver
5. Collaboration & Trust – I drive the “us” in trust

Can you give us a glimpse of what you will talk about at the Asian Power Utility Forum in Singapore?

Grid Evolution and Balancing Complex Energy Portfolios. Power Markets continue to evolve and our infrastructure and our operations systems are not adequate for a changing supply portfolio. Transmission and Distribution power grids need to be updated to manage intermittent renewable energy and new market designs. Sensor technology is now available for many devices but our information systems need to be able to support real-time data and be able to optimize and balance the grid. These challenges will be discussed as well as new ways to think about the new paradigm of a greener more resilient grid.