2022 Substation Best Practices Consortium Conference
This website is established to aid you in completing the administrative activities by providing key information for conference registration, accommodation, travel and visa processing (if applicable).
Conference Information & Registration:
The 2022 Substation Best Practices Collaborative Conference is being held at the Ambassador Hotel Kansas City, Autograph Collection, 1111 Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, Missouri 64106.
Conference Dates:
Each day breakfast and lunch will be served at the conference center and a dinner event is planned for Tuesday & Wednesday (details to follow).

Registration for Conference:
Kindly complete the conference registration form (Substation Conference Attendees) by clicking the button below.
*Please take special care to indicate any special needs you may have on your conference registration form.
Conference Attendee Payment:
We have set up a (separate) site to allow conference attendees to pay using their payment method of choice (e.g. credit card, pay pal, invoice, etc.)
Kindly click the button below to complete conference payment for attendance to the conference.
*Please make sure to complete the registration link, provide payment through the EventBrite section and book your hotel room in the room block offered at the conference hotel.
Hotel Reservations:
To make hotel reservations, click the button below or contact reservations and ask for the Evergy – UMS Group room block.
Key points regarding accommodations at the Conference Venue:
The hotel is offering special group rates as follows:
• 2 Room Suite – 1 King Bed – Non Smoking $ USA/Night
• Self parking available in the hotel’s parking structure at $28 per night with in/out privilege.
• Complimentary Internet access for all Marriott Members (free to register).
Non-Member, $7.95 for 24 Hours / per access.
• On-site Fitness Center: The Gym is outfitted with 2 Treadmills, 1 Elliptical, 1 Peloton, Dumbbell Rack, and Multi-use Machine.
Kansas City History and Appeal:
Kansas City’s history is rich and colorful. Known for its dominance in the heyday of the American Railroad, as the birthplace of TWA airlines and as a city where jazz clubs and gangsters once thrived, Kansas City has many stories to tell.
Nearby Independence is the hometown of one of America’s Presidents and the place where three pioneer trails heading west, began. There are many places to visit should you come in early or stay after the completion of the conference.
Things to Do in Kansas City, Missouri

ARABIA STEAMBOAT MUSEUM

SEA LIFE AQUARIUM

NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL

KANSAS CITY GANGSTER TOUR
UMS Group Team Contact Information:
Kate Tancke
Senior Associate
Mrs. Tancke is a Senior Consultant of UMS Group. She has 20 years of project and financial management experience, with the last 8 years spent in the electric and gas industries. She has significant expertise in asset management, financial analysis, business development, marketing and strategy development, and project management. At UMS Group, she has developed and supported client-sponsored benchmarking and best practice studies area which provides facilitated research and sharing to assist utilities in understanding industry trends, practices, and benchmarks. In particular, she leads the North American Substation Best Practice collaborative, a utility directed program which identifies and shares best practices in substation maintenance, construction, and asset management.
Mrs. Tancke specializes and is a contributor to UMS Group’s Asset Management solution and is an IAM Endorsed Trainer. She also assists UMS Group’s Global Learning Consortium solution which provides facilitated research and sharing to assist utilities in understanding industry trends, practices, and benchmarks. In particular, she oversees the North American Substation Best Practice collaborative, a utility directed community which identifies and shares best practices in substation maintenance, construction, and asset management.
Prior to joining UMS Group, Mrs. Tancke worked for Rockefeller & Company where she managed the Rockit investment data aggregation and reporting software product and was responsible for analyzing industry trends, developing business plans, and implementing enabling technology. She also worked for US Trust where she was responsible for managing the integration of several bank acquisitions and technology platform upgrades.
Mrs. Tancke holds a BS in Economics and Finance from Pennsylvania State University.
Pablo Narvaez
Associate
Mr. Narváez is an Associate at UMS Group with over 14 years of experience in the utility industry. He has worked across multiple areas in a transmission utility operating across Latin-America. His experiences include Substation Design, Asset Management, Project Management, Business Intelligence, Standardization, High Voltage Equipment Specification, Quality and Factory Assessments for HV substation equipment across the globe.
He has been a published author in articles and thesis of Strategic Asset Management, Asset Replacement Theory and Optimization tools, such as Genetic Algorithms, Hybrid Methodologies and Multi-objective Indexes, to identify the optimal sizing and locations of Distributed Generation in a Power System.
Mr. Narváez is a graduate from the University of Antioquia, Colombia, where he received his Bachelor in Electric Engineering, a Postgraduate Specialization in Finance and a Master’s Degree in Electric Engineering. He is also a graduate from the University of Reading, United Kingdom, where he received a Master Degree in Construction Management. He is currently pursuing a Postgraduate MicroMaster Degree in Solar Energy Engineering from Delft University of Technology & EdX.