Tom Smith is the Supervisor for Puget Sound Energy’s Demand Response portfolio, and has spent the past 4 years developing PSE’s load flexibility programs and Virtual Power Plant. Prior to his time at Puget Sound Energy, he led various energy efficiency initiatives for 7 years serving Northwest utilities in designing and implementing innovative customer programs to meet ambitious clean energy targets.

At PSE Tom has been responsible for leading the product development of demand response programs from conception to implementation, including Thermostat, EV, Water Heater, and Behavioral Programs. He has also driven these customer programs’ integration into PSE’s VPP while being the principle subject of the VPP’s development, overseeing the launch of PSE’s first territory-wide residential Demand Response programs. Since their launch, Tom’s Demand Response programs have enrolled over 90,000 customers into Puget Sound Energy's Virtual Power Plant and achieved over 70MWs of capacity in under 3 years. He now leads a team of load flexibility specialists while continuing to drive VPP and Product Development initiatives. His subject matter expertise on the intersection between designing programs with customer and grid benefits is driven by a passion to achieve the ambitious clean energy goals shared throughout the energy industry.

Tom holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a dual focus in Policy and Philosophy from Western Washington University. Outside of work he enjoys spending time gardening, running Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, playing music, and exploring the abundance of nature in the Pacific Northwest.