# PowerGEM

PowerGEM is an Asset Manager based in Clifton Park, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Asset Manager
- **Headquarters:** Clifton Park, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Clifton Park, NY, United States
- **Founded:** 2000
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** power-gem.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/powergem-llc

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

PowerGEM is a software and consulting services provider for the electric power industry, focusing on grid operations and planning. The company offers simulation tools and technical support for grid reliability, serving system operators, utilities, consultants, and energy infrastructure developers. Founded in 2000 in Clifton Park, New York, PowerGEM merged with Cambridge Energy Solutions in November 2024.

## Sectors

- Energy Transition & Renewables
- Infrastructure
- Enterprise Software

## People

- Jay Caspary — President & Director of Research
- Boris Gisin — Vice President
- Kadir Kavakli — Vice President of Transmission Services

## Questions

### Who runs technical and strategic decisions at PowerGEM?

President and Director of Research Jay Caspary leads the firm. Caspary has a decades-long career in transmission planning and reliability standards, previously serving as Director of Transmission Planning at a major grid operator before steering PowerGEM's product roadmap. Vice Presidents Boris Gisin and Kadir Kavakli oversee software architecture and transmission services, respectively. The firm remains closely held, with decision-making concentrated among the technical leadership.

### What is TARA, and why does it matter to institutional investors tracking energy infrastructure?

TARA — short for Transmission Adequacy and Reliability Assessment — is PowerGEM's core software platform. It performs probabilistic production-cost and reliability simulations that ISO/RTO planners and generation developers use to forecast congestion revenue, interconnection costs, and resource-adequacy margins. For infrastructure investors, TARA is frequently the default model required for interconnection studies in PJM and MISO, meaning a project's financial viability often hinges on outputs generated within PowerGEM's environment.

### Which grid operators rely on PowerGEM's models?

The U.S. regional transmission organizations that use PowerGEM software include PJM Interconnection, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), and previously the New York Independent System Operator. Canadian provincial system operators also license the tool. Collectively, these entities coordinate electricity markets and reliability for roughly 150 million people, making the software a key dependency in interconnection and transmission planning.

### Does PowerGEM function like a traditional asset manager or investment firm?

No. PowerGEM generates revenue by licensing simulation software and providing technical consulting, not by managing financial assets. It fits the 'Asset Manager' category only in the broad sense of managing analytical infrastructure that physical asset owners depend on; it holds no investment portfolio. Institutional allocators encounter it as a niche software vendor within the energy-transition ecosystem, not as a capital partner.

### How does PowerGEM make money, and what is its competitive moat?

Revenue comes from software license subscriptions and project-based consulting engagements. The moat derives from regulatory stickiness — several grid operators require interconnection customers to submit studies built in TARA, which means generation developers must purchase licenses to advance their projects. Replacing an entrenched reliability model is a multi-year regulatory process, giving PowerGEM strong retention even without a large sales organization.

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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