The Interplay Between AI and Electric Power Systems

In this Energy Policy Seminar, Le Xie, Gordon McKay Professor of Electrical Engineering at Harvard John A. Paulson School Of Engineering and Applied Sciences, examined two primary dimensions of the evolving interplay between artificial intelligence (AI) and power systems. First, AI’s increasing electricity demand poses both short-run operational and long-run planning challenges, making it necessary to reform and modernize the existing electric grid. Second, new AI capabilities present an unprecedented opportunity to enhance the efficiency, reliability, and adaptability of power systems, from real-time grid control to long-term expansion planning.

Co-Sponsors: Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, Harvard University Center for Environment, Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability

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About the Speaker

Dr. Le Xie is the Gordon McKay Professor of Electrical Engineering at Harvard John A. Paulson School Of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He was on the faculty of Texas A&M Electrical and Computer Engineering Department from 2010 to 2024. He received B.E. in Electrical Engineering from Tsinghua University in 2004, S.M. in Engineering Sciences from Harvard in 2005, and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon in 2009. His industry experience includes work at ISO-New England and Edison Mission Energy Marketing and Trading. His research interest includes modeling and control in data-rich large-scale systems, grid integration of clean energy resources, and electricity markets.

Dr. Xie is a Fellow of IEEE, IEEE PES Distinguished Lecturer, and recipient of several prestigious awards, including the NSF CAREER Award, the 2021 IEEE Technical Committee on Cyber-Physical Systems Mid-Career Award, and the 2017 IEEE PES Outstanding Young Engineer Award. He was the recipient of Texas A&M Dean of Engineering Excellence Award, ECE Outstanding Professor Award, and TEES Select Young Fellow. He serves or have served on the Editorial Board of IEEE Transactions on Power Systems (Senior Editor), IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, and IET Transaction on Smart Grid. He is the lead author of the book on “Data Science and Applications for Modern Power Systems” (Springer 2023). He is the founding chair of IEEE PES Subcommittee on Big Data & Analytics for Grid Operations. His team received the IEEE PES Technical Committee Prize Paper award, and multiple Best Paper awards at North American Power Symposium 2012, IEEE SmartGridComm 2013, HICSS 2019 and 2021, IEEE Sustainable Power & Energy Conference 2019, and IEEE PES General Meeting 2020/2023.