CIGRE NGN: Discussion with Kurtis Martin-Sturmey
CIGRE would like to introduce a new section in Life of the Association: Interviews from Women in Engineering and Next Generation Network. A lot of focus is given to senior CIGRE members and these interviews will present younger members and let them explain what CIGRE means to them. These Q&A interviews are short but allow us to have a new, younger perspective on CIGRE membership; they tell us what interests them in their work, as well as what their projects and goals are. These are the voices of our industry’s future. Please share with young people on your teams and encourage their membership in CIGRE!
BASc in Engineering Science – Energy Systems Engineering, 2014, 11 years
Current position: Manager, Asset Management & Performance at BBA ; Member of NGN CIGRE Canada;
CIGRE WG B3.61 : Risk and asset health based decision making in existing substations
What lead you to your present career or job?
Kurtis: I’ve been interested in the energy industry since high school since our entire economy and quality of life is dependent on affordable and reliable access to power. There are always interesting new problems to solve in the industry.
What are you working on now that would interest ELECTRA readers?
K.: My main focus has been forecasting the impacts of electrification on transmission and distribution networks. Some of the biggest impacts will occur on the last mile of the distribution system including single-phase laterals, distribution transformers, and secondary services.
What has been the biggest challenge with your work?
K.: When trying to forecast impacts of electric vehicles and heating electrification, there’s lots of unknowns with respect to how these technologies can be deployed at scale, how regulatory and government incentives will affect the growth profile, and what the diversity factors will look like at different levels of the electricity network. More studies are needed.
What has been your biggest challenge balancing work and personal life?
K.: As someone coming up in the next generation, I don’t mind putting in the extra work now to succeed in the future. The most important things are not to compromise sleep and to make time for physical activity on a regular basis.
How did you get involved in CIGRE?
K.: I started out in CIGRE as an NGN member of the C1.38 Working Group. I then learned that Canada didn’t officially have its own NGN group and teamed up with some colleagues to found it. That was 6 years ago, and we’ve grown quite a lot since then. I’m really proud of the team.
What do you feel is CIGRE’s ‘added value’?
K.: It’s easy to get stuck in a bubble, whether it’s your own department, company, or even your own country. Collaborating with people internationally through organizations like CIGRE allows one to continually test and refine their own ideas and likewise benefit from others’ ideas.
Why would you recommend CIGRE membership to others?
K.: CIGRE membership provides a portal to cutting-edge development across the industry, whether you are participating directly in the Working Groups with colleagues across the globe or benefitting from the publications once they’re available.
Where do you see yourself in 15 years?
K.: Who can say where the path of life will take us; for me, it’s hard to imagine a future where I’m not engaged in solving tough problems.
Do you have one major goal or do you have a bucket list? Are you willing to share this information?
K.: There’s a lot to experience on this beautiful planet. Patagonia is a place I definitely want to visit.
What would you like to see change in our industry in the future?
K.: It’s hard to generalize the industry as a whole, but one common thread I could attribute to our industry is that we’ve focused on expanding the grid, while putting both R&D and asset renewal on back burners. We need more R&D to achieve the grid of the future and we need a more pragmatic approach to asset renewal to keep the grid reliable.
If you are a WiE or NGN member and wish to be featured in an upcoming ELECTRA edition, please contact ELECTRA Editorial Team. If you are reading these and wish to join CIGRE, please visit this page.
Suggested content
