Julia Hamm
PartnerAd Hoc GroupFor more than 25 years, Julia has been at the center of the energy transition. She has spent her career advising and collaborating with utilities, regulators and technology companies on business models, grid modernization, resilience, electrification and clean energy.
She is a partner at The Ad Hoc Group, a specialized consulting company that advises start-ups and innovative companies in the power sector. She also serves on the board of directors of Puget Sound Energy and Voltera.
From 2004 through 2022, Julia was the President and CEO of the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA). She led SEPA to re-envision its mission and rebrand from the Solar Electric Power Association to the Smart Electric Power Alliance in 2015. She also led SEPA’s mergers with the Association for Demand Response and Smart Grid in 2015 and Smart Grid Interoperability Panel in 2017. Julia is featured in the 2015 book "Transformational Governance: How Boards Achieve Extraordinary Change" as a case study on the work she did to transform the SEPA board into a high powered, high performing governing body.
Julia’s entrepreneurial spirit drove her to create RE+ (then Solar Power International) in 2004, which has grown to become North America's largest energy industry trade show. Julia is the Founder and former Chair of the Board for the LLC that now manages this trade show business that annually attracts more than 40,000 people from around the world.
Julia is a graduate of Cornell University, and currently lives in Marco Island, Florida.
The Next Era of the Power Sector: From Mitigation to Resilience
For more than two decades, the power sector has concentrated on decarbonization—building the policies, markets, and financial structures needed to sca…For more than two decades, the power sector has concentrated on decarbonization—building the policies, markets, and financial structures needed to scale clean energy and mitigate climate change. That focus was necessary when climate impacts were stil…For more than two decades, the power sector has concentrated on decarbonization—building the policies, markets, and financial structures needed to scale clean energy and mitigate climate change. That focus was necessary when climate impacts were still viewed as a future risk. Today, intensifying extreme weather, growing infrastructure exposure, and deteriorating reliability metrics have made resilience and adaptation immediate, systemic challenge…For more than two decades, the power sector has concentrated on decarbonization—building the policies, markets, and financial structures needed to scale clean energy and mitigate climate change. That focus was necessary when climate impacts were still viewed as a future risk. Today, intensifying extreme weather, growing infrastructure exposure, and deteriorating reliability metrics have made resilience and adaptation immediate, systemic challenges for the electric grid. This keynote examines why, despite mounting economic losses and increasingly weather-driven outages, resilience remains dramatically undercapitalized compared to mitigation. Drawing on industry data and firsthand experience, it explores the financial, regulatory, and institutional barriers that constrain resilience investment, and reframes grid resilience as a core reliability and economic imperative for the power sector’s next era.Show MoreClick the title to see all detailsShow More
