State of Reliability in North America
The North American bulk power system is undergoing a profound transformation driven by the rapid integration of renewable resources, growing dependence on natural gas, and increasingly extreme weather events. These changes are creating a hyper-complex risk environment that challenges long-standing reliability paradigms. In this seminar, Mark Lauby, Senior Vice President and Chief Engineer at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), will discuss the evolving “state of reliability” across North America and the implications of the ongoing energy transition. The talk will explore trends in the generation mix, system interconnection queues, and reliability performance, while examining critical challenges such as renewable variability, inverter behavior, gas-electric interdependence, and the adequacy of current planning constructs. Mr. Lauby will also highlight NERC’s top priorities to ensure reliability and resilience during this transition—ranging from infrastructure development and balancing resource adequacy to energy supply chain robustness and policy coordination. Participants will gain an up-to-date understanding of reliability risks and the strategies needed to maintain a secure, dependable, and sustainable power system in the years ahead.
Mark G. Lauby, NERC
Mark G. Lauby is the senior vice president and chief engineer at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). Mr. Lauby joined NERC in January 2007 and has held several positions. Prior to joining NERC, Mr. Lauby worked for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) for 20 years. Mr. Lauby began his electric industry career in 1979 at the Mid-Continent Area Power Pool in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His responsibilities included transmission planning, power system reliability assessment and probabilistic evaluation. In 2012, Mr. Lauby was elected to the North American Energy Standards Board and was appointed to the Department of Energy’s Electric Advisory Committee by the Secretary of Energy in 2014. He has been recognized for his technical achievements including the 1992 IEEE Walter Fee Young Engineer of the Year Award. He was named a Fellow by IEEE in November 2011, and in 2014, Mr. Lauby was awarded the IEEE Power and Energy Society’s Roy Billinton Power System Reliability Award. In 2020, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) elected Mr. Lauby as a member, citing his development and application of techniques for electric grid reliability analysis. Mr. Lauby is the author of more than 150 technical papers about power system reliability, expert systems, transmission system planning, and power system numerical analysis techniques. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota. In addition, Mr. Lauby attended the London Business School Accelerated Development Program as well as the Executive Leadership Program at Harvard Business School.
Date/Time
Nov 21, 2025 @ 12pm-1pm Central Time
Event Online Link*:
* There is an in-person attendance option provided for this event: On-site access requests for US citizens can be sent to flueck@ieee.org with Subject: IEEE PES Chicago Nov 21 meeting at ANL. Body of email must include full name as shown on passport or REAL ID compliant driver’s license/state identification card. The deadline for requests is Nov. 12th at 5 PM Central Time.