ECE PhD Student winner at Wisconsin Energy Institute’s Energy Research Showcase

Fourth-year PhD student studying Electrical and Computer Engineering, Maitreyee Marathe was one of five UW-Madison College of Engineering students to win an award for the Flash Talk session at the Energy Research Showcase.  The showcase was hosted by the Wisconsin Energy Institute and held in Madison, Wisconsin on February 17^th, 2023.

Marathe’s project, Optimal Energy Rationing for Prepaid Electricity Customers, “considers forecasts of future use and knowledge of appliance power ratings to help customers prioritize and limit use of low-priority appliances, with the goal of extending access to their critical appliances.”  Marathe works with UW-Madison Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Line Roald on this project.

The project is based on the knowledge that accessing sufficient electricity and avoiding automatic service disconnections is a concern for low-income households on prepaid electricity programs.  According to Marathe, “In-home energy rationing, i.e. the need to actively prioritize how to use a limited amount of electricity is an everyday reality for such households. We are developing an optimization-based energy management framework that helps households effectively use a limited budget and avoid the disruptions and fees associated with disconnections.” 

Marathe described the Energy Research Showcase as a lively event, and added, “I was able to interact with energy researchers across different departments and learn about their interesting work.”  Other Flash Talk Awardees from the UW-Madison College of Engineering included Joshua Dietrich, PhD student, Chemical and Biological Engineering; Erin Bulson, PhD student, Civil and Environmental Engineering; and Ryan Dailey, PhD student, Engineering Physics.