Guarding the Grid

TVA Names Jonathan Sides Engineer of the Year

Growing up in the small town of Eclectic, Alabama, Jonathan Sides entered the field of engineering as a means to a better life.

Now, after a decade of service at Tennessee Valley Authority, he considers it one of the best decisions he ever made.

“I can’t imagine anywhere better than this to work,” he said.

This week, his contributions were recognized during a celebration in Chattanooga, where he received TVA’s Engineer of the Year award.

Keeping Watch

Sides joined TVA in 2015 under the Bulk Transmission Planning team and later moved into Customer Planning. Eventually, he transitioned to the Power Quality team, where he now serves as a power system engineering specialist.

Over the past five years, he has carved out a niche in Power Quality, managing the phasor measurement unit program.

His role demands a deep understanding of the electric grid’s behavior – particularly the patterns and reactions of the voltages and currents that his group regularly monitors during system events. He looks for irregular patterns, oscillations or subtle shifts that, if left unchecked, could have broader implications across the grid.

If a distortion is detected, Sides works with his group and local power companies to pinpoint and address the root cause of the irregularity, whether it’s a faulty piece of equipment, an issue with the generation, or a measurement issue.

“Our team members are kind of like forensic scientists for electricity when it comes to the level of detail that we look at with these irregularities in signals,” Sides said.

By detecting these issues early, he and his team help keep the grid stable and reliable.

His work has led to groundbreaking innovations, including a first-of-its-kind voltage unbalance mitigation (VUB) method using load-tap changers on 500-kilovolt transformers. The solution improved conditions at 215 delivery points, totaling 4 gigawatts of load. It avoided a $50 million transmission project and enabled continued load growth in middle Tennessee. The VUB method for bulk transmission, documented in a 2025 industry paper, has earned significant industry attention.

Sides also developed an automated script to improve the efficiency of equipment, which led to more than 100 refinements – including one instance that resulted in $3 million saved.

He also developed and implemented new methods for analyzing phasor data to help ensure the reliability of instrument transformers, bus connections and renewable inverter-based resources. This work ultimately strengthened the reliability and resilience of operations at TVA facilities.

He’s quick to credit others for their hand in these many successes, including colleagues Matt Schebler, Gary Kobet, Tim Smith, Phillip Crittenden, and a previous Engineer of the Year, Tim Fritch, and the entire Power Quality group.

“Without all of them, I wouldn’t have been able to get very far on implementing any of these concepts,” Sides said. “They all had a significant role in many aspects of these accomplishments.”

And despite the technical nature of his work, Sides finds the greatest joy in the social aspects of his role.

“In my opinion, I honestly don't think I could ask for a better group of people to work with at TVA,” he said. “Everybody is an expert in their field and they’re extremely passionate about what they do. I usually spend time out of my day just teambuilding – talking to Operations and catching up with various people around the organization. It's the highlight of my day.”

Making a Difference

Sides earned a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Auburn University and a master's in electrical engineering from Arizona State University. He received his professional engineer license out of Idaho and he's an active member of the National Society of Professional Engineers, among other professional organizations.

Outside his career, Sides is a devoted family man and a dedicated member of his church. He’s often found coaching third base for his children’s baseball team, or helping out with wrestling practice. His weekends are filled with slow cooking beef brisket and barbecuing wings – a hobby his family wholeheartedly supports, he said.

As the recipient of TVA’s Engineer of the Year award, he’ll now represent TVA at the Federal Engineer of the Year awards in Washington, D.C.

When asked about the national nomination that follows his TVA recognition, Sides responded with characteristic humility.

“I hadn’t really thought about it, other than the plane ride,” Sides said. “I’d rather not get on an airplane. I may just drive there myself.”

As he surveys the journey ahead, he remains focused on carrying out TVA’s mission of service, providing power to more than 10 million people across the Valley region.

“What we do is important," he said. “It makes a difference in the lives of others. I just try to do the best I can and what I think is the right thing to do in whatever it is.”