Joint Action Agencies play a critical role in helping their member utilities plan for the energy transition. However, delivering planning and consulting services one member at a time can be resource-intensive, and the process and outcomes may vary across engagements.
In this session, Beacon Climate Innovations will introduce the CEERUM Sandbox: a 90-minute, facilitated, participatory planning workshop that brings municipal, utility, and community stakeholders together to explore local energy pathways; no technical expertise required. The workshop methodology was developed in collaboration with Northeastern University’s Director of Participatory Modeling.
Participants take on real-world community roles, identify and weigh local priorities, and use CEERUM: BCI’s web-based scenario-planning platform for public power, to build and compare energy pathways. The group explores how measures such as energy-efficiency retrofits, solar, heat pumps, electric vehicles, energy storage, and demand response affect emissions, investment requirements, and grid impacts.
For JAAs, the CEERUM Sandbox offers a standardized and repeatable way to deliver locally grounded planning engagements across multiple member utilities. This can improve consistency, incorporate local data and community priorities, and reduce the cost and effort required for each engagement.
During the webinar, we will walk through the Sandbox format, share results and lessons from recent sessions, and discuss how JAAs can bring this approach to their members.
What You'll Learn:
- How the CEERUM Sandbox’s four-phase process--priority setting, CEERUM demonstration, scenario building, and group reflection--works without requiring technical expertise from participants.
- How role-based scenario building surfaces stakeholder priorities, makes tradeoffs (such as electrification versus winter peak risk) more visible, and moves groups from broad goals to concrete choices.
- How JAAs can use the Sandbox as a uniform, repeatable energy-roadmapping process across their members, improving consistency while resources costs of planning and consulting services.
Speakers:
- Rohit Nayak, Co-Founder & Product Lead (Beacon Climate Innovations, rnayak@beaconclimate.com)
- Rohit is a product leader with more than a decade of experience building technology solutions at the intersection of business, data, and education. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, he has led product development with organizations ranging from global corporations to start-ups. At BCI, Rohit has translated insights and feedback from municipal and utility leaders into CEERUM’s data-driven and participatory approach to community energy planning. APPA members may also have met Rohit at recent APPA events, including the Operations & Safety Conference, Customer Connections Conference, Joint Action Conference, and National Conference.
- Moneer Azzam, Principal (Beacon Climate Innovations, mazzam@beaconclimate.com)
- Moneer is a recognized leader in sustainable infrastructure with more than 30 years of experience in clean-energy project development and product innovation. He previously founded and led SolarOne Solutions, growing it into one of the largest solar-lighting companies serving public applications in the United States. He also teaches at the Tufts Derby Entrepreneurship Center. At BCI, Moneer leads strategy and partnerships, drawing on deep expertise in clean-energy deployment, community-driven innovation, and equitable decarbonization pathways.
- Moneer Azzam, Data & Product Specialist (Beacon Climate Innovations, datascience1@beaconclimate.com)
- Aidan is a Data & Product Specialist at BCI and a graduate of Tufts University. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Energy and Climate Policy at Johns Hopkins University.
His work focuses on the data, modeling, technology, and policy considerations involved in community energy planning and distributed-energy-resource deployment. Rohit will lead and facilitate the webinar, with Moneer and Aidan contributing subject-matter expertise during the CEERUM demonstration, discussion, and audience Q&A.
- Aidan is a Data & Product Specialist at BCI and a graduate of Tufts University. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Energy and Climate Policy at Johns Hopkins University.
Technology Requirements:
- Zoom Platform: You’ll need a strong Internet connection to run the Zoom platform. Visit Zoom.us/test to ensure you can join a meeting.
- Audio: We recommend using your computer mic/audio to listen to the webinars (alternatively a call-in number will be provided).
Log-In Credentials and Recordings:
- Zoom Links: Zoom log-in credentials will be sent 24 hours before the start of the webinar and a reminder will go out one hour before the event.
- Recordings: The webinars will be recorded and will automatically be emailed to attendees within a week after the event.
Can't participate in the live webinar? Register anyway to access the recording!
Following the webinar, we’ll email you a link to the presentation and webinar recording to view at your convenience.
Questions?
This is a sponsored educational opportunity.
Accreditation
Earn While You Learn!
Participate in virtual programs to earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs).
Requirements for Successful Completion: Virtual
- Registration is for individual access, so each person participating must register. If you have multiple people interested in attending, group discounts are available.
- Individuals are required to attend and actively participate in 90% of each live webinar and complete an online evaluation after the last session in a course.
- Attendance: Individuals must attend at least 90% of each live session (based on electronic timestamps in Zoom).
- Participation: Active participation in class will include engagement activities such as polling/check-in questions. There will also be a Q&A session.
- Activities vary by class: Information on participation will be provided the day before (and during) class. Participation is tracked electronically.
- Online evaluation: Each person must complete an online evaluation after the course concludes
- Partial credit cannot be given for partial attendance.
- Attendance is monitored by an APPA staff member during the event, through an online report log, and upon review of the post-event evaluation data.
- Completion certificates will be available within two weeks of the last session in a live event (for those who meet the requirements) through your APPA member portal (access instructions will be provided).
- Virtual sessions are recorded (attendees automatically receive access to recordings within a week of the last session), though continuing education credits can only be given for attending live events. Recordings will be accessible for 90 days after the last session.
Guidelines for Group Participation in Virtual Events
- If a group is participating in a conference room together, we recommend each person still logs in individually from a laptop to ensure attendance and participation requirements are met (as noted above).
- If individual log in is not possible, the organization must designate one person as the main point of contact. Email Membership@PublicPower.org in advance of the virtual event noting this information
- This person will record attendance in the room (we can provide a sample attendance tracker) and ensure attendance and participation from the group throughout.
- Submit the attendance record to APPA within 2 business days of the conclusion of a virtual event.
- Ensure each person fills out the required online evaluation.
What educational credits are available?
You can earn the following kinds of continuing education credits for attending live sessions — provided the following requirements are met:
Continuing Education Units (CEUs): The American Public Power Association is accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and is authorized to issue the IACET CEU. For information regarding certification status, attendance requirements, and obtaining attendee transcripts, contact Academy@PublicPower.org. Verify our IACET Accreditation.
