C
Disclosure of Conflict(s) of Interest
The conflict-of-interest policy of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (www.nationalacademies.org/coi) prohibits the appointment of an individual to a committee like the one that authored this Consensus Study Report if the individual has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the task to be performed. An exception to this prohibition is permitted only if the National Academies determine that the conflict is unavoidable and the conflict is promptly and publicly disclosed.
When the committee that authored this report was established a determination of whether there was a conflict of interest was made for each committee member given the individual’s circumstances and the task being undertaken by the committee. A determination that an individual has a conflict of interest is not an assessment of that individual’s actual behavior or character or ability to act objectively despite the conflicting interest.
Susan Tierney has a conflict of interest in relation to her service on the Committee on the Future of Electric Power in the United States, because she is currently employed by a consulting company (Analysis Group) that provides planning, market, and regulatory analyses for a broad range of clients (including grid operators, utility and other energy companies, governments, nongovernmental organizations, and energy consumers) in the electric power sector.
Deepakraj Divan has a conflict of interest in relation to his service on the Committee on the Future of Electric Power in the United States, because he has founded multiple start-up companies involved in electric distribution technologies, including being the founder and chief scientist of Varentec, Inc., and holds numerous patents that are in commercial use.
Terry Boston has a conflict of interest in relation to his service on the Committee on the Future of Electric Power in the United States, because he provides consulting services on electric grid security and incorporation of generation and storage technologies for companies in the electric power sector.
The National Academies determined that the experience and expertise of the above individuals was needed for the committee to accomplish the task for which it was established. The National Academies could not find other available individuals with the equivalent experience and expertise who did not have a conflict of interest. Therefore, the National Academies concluded that the above conflicts were unavoidable and publicly disclosed them through the National Academies Projects and Activities Repository (NAPAR) (http://webapp.nationalacademies.org/napar/).
