Carl Wilkins Senior Vice President, Distribution

Carl Wilkins, Senior Vice President, Distribution, has extensive experience in the electric utility industry serving in a variety of managerial, research, and consultative roles working with electric & gas utility companies. Combining experience in engineering, sales, marketing, and project management with applied technical skills, he brings a wide array of talents to the Distribution team. His team performs grid integration studies for distributed generation projects and distribution planning studies, including load forecasting. His team also supports a myriad of projects from hosting capacity, reliability improvement, grid modernization, distribution operations, DER system impacts, data analytics and electric transportation. Carl’s team has led several projects related to T&D storm hardening assessments and emergency preparedness plans for large electric utilities. Carl has led benchmarking studies on distribution and transmission maintenance and construction practices.

Carl served as the Director of Utility Services at Advanced Energy where he managed senior management relationships and the delivery of energy efficiency and renewable energy services to electric utilities. He has worked with utilities in areas of smart grid, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, policies to address climate change and environmental sustainability.

Carl was the chief architect in the design, coordination, and development of North Carolina’s green power program, NC GreenPower, the first state-wide green-power program where all electric utilities in North Carolina agreed to collaborate and use one marketing campaign.

Areas of Expertise

  • Distributed Energy Resources (DER) System Integration
  • Modern Distribution Planning
  • Distributed Generation Substation Interconnection Studies

Experience & Background

  • Decades of experience in the electric power industry
  • Director, Utility Services, Advanced Energy Corporation (2000 – 2008)
  • Manager, Large Commercial Accounts, Duke Energy Progress (1976 – 1999)

Accomplishments & Industry Recognition

  • NC Energy Policy Council (2014)
  • NC Governor’s Energy Advisory Team (2013)
  • NC Governor’s Scientific Advisory Panel on Offshore Energy & Energy Infrastructure (2011)
  • Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) NC Task Force on Offshore Energy

Education

  • BSEE – NC State University
  • Executive Education – Harvard Business School

Latest Thinking

  • Meet Carl Wilkins, Hall of Fame Inductee 2022

    Carl Wilkins, ECE Hall of Fame 2022 Inductee, sat down with us to discuss his unique success pathway and how NC State helped him achieve it. Since his time in the ECE Department, Wilkins held various technical, management and leadership positions while working at Carolina Power & Light Company for over 23 years.