The electric grid is undergoing transformations enabled by the integration of new technologies, such as advanced communication and power electronic devices and the increasing penetration of distributed generation. Such changes introduce a new paradigm in the cultural infrastructure of power systems, which requires a great deal of cooperation between utilities, power generation companies, consumers, governments and regulators. The roles of utilities and consumers in the energy marketplace are modified, since energy will begin to flow not just from utility to consumer, but from consumer to consumer and consumer to utility. Such changes are challenging to implement. During this session the process of developing transformational grid design, control and architectures that optimize the usage of flexible load and distributed energy resources, as well as the leveraging of physical assets and communications network infrastructure to develop the utility of the future will be discussed.