People / Students

Cristina Crespo Montanes

I am an Industrial Engineer, a PhD Candidate at the Energy and Resources Group (UC Berkeley), and a researcher in the Energy Markets and Policy Department at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. My doctoral research centers on residential energy transitions, with a focus on electrification modeling, energy poverty metrics, and a strong commitment to advancing energy equity. My projects have utilized energy modeling to predict changes in residential load patterns driven by demand electrification and rising cooling demands due to climate change. Additionally, I’ve conducted resident interviews to understand perceptions of home electrification in the context of increasing grid unreliability caused by climate-induced events. At LBNL, my work focuses on electricity storage dispatch within energy markets, assessing market value opportunities and policies for hybrid wind+storage and solar+storage systems. Looking ahead, I am eager to apply my analytical skills to further explore urban decarbonization strategies. I’m also interested in studying the technical implications of integrating innovative technologies into energy markets and their effects on load growth, alongside understanding the regulatory frameworks necessary to support them.  an active role in the electricity markets. I am interested in the design and technical implications of such programs, together with the policy frameworks needed to both enable and accompany their development.