President Wired Group Paul Alvarez leads the Wired Group, a collection of experts who are the leading providers of grid modernization expertise to US consumer, business, and environmental advocates in state utility proceedings. He is the co-author of a recent GridLab whitepaper, "Modernizing the Grid in the Public Interest: A Guide for Virginia Stakeholders". Paul has testified in dozens of state utility proceedings on grid modernization, from California to Massachusetts. He has been active in the electric utility industry for almost 20 years, beginning as a developer of demand-side management and renewable energy programs for leading utility Xcel Energy. Paul is also the author of "Smart Grid Hype & Reality - A Systems Approach to Maximizing Customer Return on Utility Investment", and the developer of the Utility EvaluatorTM, an internet-based application for benchmarking investor-owned distribution utility performance and value creation. He graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor's degree in finance and marketing, and from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Business with a master's degree in management.