Clarum Advisors
Gene Shlatz is an accomplished management consultant and electrical engineer specializing in power generation and delivery systems. As a Director and Executive Consultant of leading consulting firms over the past three decades, Gene earned a strong reputation as an industry expert, addressing industry challenges associated with the transition to renewable energy, system reliability, and market restructuring. He has led consulting engagements for electric utilities, energy commissions, and regulatory agencies in the U.S., Canada, South America, Middle East, and UK. Gene has testified before the U.S. Congress and appeared as an expert witness in dozens of filings before state regulators and FERC.
Jan Vrins is a Founding Partner of Clarum Advisors. With over 30 years of experience in the energy and utilities industry, Jan is a trusted advisor, board member, and strategic partner to executive leaders seeking to develop and execute their strategies and achieve sustainable excellence. Previously, Jan led the global Energy, Sustainability & Infrastructure business at Navigant and Guidehouse, driving significant growth and advising leading utilities and energy companies worldwide. In 2017, he served as Lead Partner for Navigant’s landmark “Build Back Better” report, providing a strategic roadmap for rebuilding and strengthening Puerto Rico’s electric grid following Hurricane Maria.
Puerto Rico is in the process of modernizing and hardening its grid — but that process faces significant challenges and delays. Edison Avilés-Deliz, President of the country’s Energy Bureau (PREB), described the country’s electric system as “structurally fragile” despite nearly a decade of recovery work, highlighting the importance of the next several years in determining whether the island succeeds at building a resilient, reliable grid.
Given that many of the problems facing the country’s system are common throughout the electric power sector, examining Puerto Rico’s grid modernization journey therefore yields insights relevant to mainland utilities as well as those serving islands.
Extreme Weather and Storms
The prevalence of increasingly severe weather events, impacting electric utility grids and leading to widespread, long-duration power outages, has been well documented in the media. Throughout North America the variability, frequency, and impact of extreme weather events have increased significantly over the past decade. Federal and state regulators, electric utilities, and their customers have focused their attention on grid resiliency and how to address the challenges facing grid operators.
Recent widespread outages caused by Derecho winds in Indiana, disruption of electric delivery systems across North Carolina and neighboring states by Hurricane Helene in 2024, and prolonged system outages caused in Texas by Ice Storm Uri in 2021 provide glaring examples of the economic and social consequences of major events. The cost of a single event can be staggering — Hurricane Harvey in 2017 cost the lives of over 65 people and caused $125 billion in damages.