I am an energy system strategist with 15 years of experience in utility energy planning. I provide technical expertise and stakeholder engagement to help utilities, enterprise energy consumers, and public agencies navigate complex energy decisions.
Dr. Ahlmahz Negash is an energy planner and principal consultant based in Tacoma, Washington. She is active in regional energy planning efforts and experienced in grid modeling, policy impact evaluation, public engagement and innovative demand-side solutions.
Ahlmahz leverages her years in the industry to build trust, sustain relationships and facilitate fair energy decisions that meet the needs of all parties involved. She is also a community leader and an advocate for AI literacy. She co-founded Sisters Who AI, a free learning community that introduces non-technical individuals to the potential to do good with AI.
I work with utilities, enterprise energy consumers, hyperscalers, and public entities locally and internationally.
For data center and industrial developers who need clean power on a workable timeline.
Structuring hourly carbon-free energy (CFE) matching strategies, evaluating green tariffs, and modeling clean portfolio options to meet corporate decarbonization targets.
Reviewing and structuring large-load tariffs, flexible/curtailable service offers, and ratepayer impact analyses that protect existing utility customers while meeting large load operational requirements.
Economic modeling and trade-off analysis for co-located storage, flexible generation, and demand-side load integration.
Modeling, portfolio analysis, and strategy for utility power supply plans.
IRP scoping, portfolio design, scenario and sensitivity structure, and independent review of existing resource plans.
Modeling in PLEXOS, AURORA, and RESOLVE, market price forecasting, and stress-testing under market or policy uncertainty.
Demand response strategy, load flexibility valuation, DER tariff design, and integrating customer-side assets into wholesale grid planning.
Facilitation, communication, and speaking that support community engagement in general.
Designing and running stakeholder advisory processes, including energy justice considerations and competing priorities between public and private partners.
Explaining modeling results, rate impacts, and system planning to executives, regulators, and non-technical audiences.
Keynotes, panels, expert testimony, and workshops on grid planning, energy justice metrics, and power system strategy.
Planning ultimately is about being prepared for any potential future outcome – not just the one for which we advocate.
Modeling platforms: PLEXOS, AURORA, RESOLVE.
A full list is on Google Scholar.
Quantifying energy justice goals in the power sector: developing and using metrics
R. O'Neil, J. Yoshimura, A. Negash, S. Awara. IEEE Power and Energy Magazine, 22(4), 85–93.
S. Westgaard, S.-E. Fleten, A. Negash, A. Botterud, K. Bogaard, T. Haugsvær Verling. Energy, Volume 214.
Evaluating cost-effectiveness of demand response in wholesale markets
A. Negash, S. Westgaard. IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting.
Selecting and evaluating representative days for generation expansion planning
A. Almaimouni, A. Ademola-Idowu, J. N. Kutz, A. Negash, D. Kirschen. Power Systems Computation Conference, Dublin.
Valuing distributed energy resources
A. Negash. Doctoral dissertation, University of Washington.
For consulting, speaking, research collaboration, or a question about a plan you are working on.