Lorenzo Kristov

Lorenzo Kristov is an independent consultant supporting diverse projects in the U.S. and internationally to decarbonize and democratize electricity systems through structural reforms and deployment of distributed energy resource (DER) technologies. He applies grid architecture principles to design policies, regulatory frameworks, market rules and business models to enable local electricity systems to be commercially viable while supporting bulk power system reliability, environmental sustainability, community climate resilience and energy justice. He has written extensively on the design of an open-access distribution system operator (DSO) — a distribution-system counterpart of the U.S. independent system operators (ISO) that provide open-access transmission service and operate wholesale power markets — as the platform provider for a customer-driven, transactional electric distribution network, and on coordination between transmission and distribution system markets, operations and planning with high-DER participation. He previously worked for the California Independent System Operator for 19 years as a Principal in Market Design and Infrastructure Policy, for the California Energy Commission as an Energy Economist, and studied electric power industry reform in Indonesia as a Fulbright Scholar. He has a PhD in Economics and prior degrees in Statistics and Mathematics. He served as a member of the GWAC from January 2017 through December 2024 and now an Emeritus Member in 2025.