Area of Focus
In his role, Vijay oversees initiatives, stakeholder engagement and public interest advocacy for wholesale energy market expansion in the West. He has over 15 years of experience that encompasses energy, transmission and regulatory policy analysis, the evaluation of renewable energy technologies, and regional bulk electric system grid planning.
Background
Vijay was previously a senior policy advisor at the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), where he advised WECC’s CEO, executive management and staff on energy policy and regulatory issues. Satyal played a critical role in helping WECC’s executive management develop strategic responses and served as a liaison between WECC and western states’ energy offices and utility regulators.
Prior to his time at WECC, he was a senior policy analyst at the Oregon Department of Energy, where he held several responsibilities, including advising the Governor’s Office on renewable energy and emerging grid technologies. He also served as the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s first policy economist, and was a senior consultant at Navigant, where he assisted utilities in developing risk assessments for compliance with North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) reliability standards.
In addition, for the past 12 years, Vijay has worked as an adjunct professor at Oregon State University’s School of Public Policy, where he teaches graduate level (master and doctorate) classes on renewable and international energy policy.
Education
- Master of Science in Resource Economics from Michigan State University
- Doctor in Philosophy in Environmental Sciences from Oregon State University
Favorite thing about the West
The diversity of the west – lakes, streams, rugged mountains, high to low elevated landscapes and the sage desert basin. The broad spectrum of people with a range of beliefs, backgrounds and cultural heritage that occupy and embody a western lifestyle that you just cannot experience out East. Finally, the uncertainty of weather changes that can show you a beautiful morning sunrise or sunset with snowfall or a rainstorm interspersed in between.
