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Webinars

Below is UAI’s library of webinars for members, and the public.  Webinars are ordered in reverse chronological order (the newest are up top).

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Customer Analytics at OUC

Proving the Value of Customer Analytics at Orlando Utilities Commission

Almost a decade ago, the Customer Experience group at the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) began looking for use cases to demonstrate the value of investing in customer data and analytics. The team knew if it could test concepts…

RAG to Riches – How to realize the full potential of GenAI

Tuesday, April 16, 2024 2:00 PM ET / 1:00 PM CT / 11:00 AM PT / 7:00 PM GMT Duration: 30 Minutes Sponsor: Denodo  Register Today! Already registered? Click here to log in! In recent years, Generative AI (GenAI) has…
Customer Centric Analytics

Accelerating Your Analytics Maturity Journey in the Utilities Sector

In an era of digital transformation reshaping industries across the globe, the utilities sector finds itself at a crucial crossroads. The transition from viewing consumers as mere "rate payers" to recognizing them as "customers" underscores a broader industry…

Empowering Utilities: Sophisticated Approaches to Resilience and Reliability System Planning

Wednesday, March 27, 2024 2:00 PM ET / 1:00 PM CT / 11:00 AM PT / 7:00 PM GMT Duration: 1 hour Sponsor: Gurobi Optimization Register Today! Already registered? Click here to log in! Our mission at Quanta Technology is clear:…
data-driven utility customer experience

Beyond Billing Data: The Transformative Power of a Data-Driven Customer Experience

Today's utilities industry landscape demands a deeper understanding of customers, and data is the key! By embracing a modernized data-driven customer experience, utilities can reveal powerful insights and forge meaningful connections with their customers on a personal basis.…
Generative AI Webinar Utility Analytics Institute

LIVE WEBINAR: Generative AI in Utilities: Beyond the Hype, Into Actionable Strategies

Chart the Course to Generative AI in Utilities   Join a collaborative discussion with 5 trailblazing experts as they share their experiences exploring this transformative technology. This webinar, hosted by Utility Analytics Institute (UAI) delves into practical considerations,…
Emergency Events

Utility Emergency Event Simulation Tools

Utility emergency operation centers (EOC) make critical decisions for public safety based on information like weather, asset status, vegetation, and topography. Training on sustainable simulation tools ensures that those decisions can be made quickly and lead to the…
Generative AI

Enhancing Generative AI Services and Offerings

New capability allows customers to enable automation of complex tasks and to deliver customized, up-to-date answers for their applications based on their proprietary data   Amazon Web Services expanded its fully managed foundation model (FM) service called Amazon…

New Analytics Service Simplifies Data Matching and Insights

Powered by machine learning, the service helps companies match and link records stored across various applications, channels, and data stores   Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced the availability of AWS Entity Resolution, a machine learning-powered analytics service…

Enhancing Sustainability with Data-Driven Solutions

The sustainability software helps track and manage environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance   Digital Realty has selected IBM Envizi ESG Suite to collect, analyze and report on its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance across its network…
Data Automation

Data Collection for Asset Management: People are Key to the Process

With over 500 transmission substations and 16,400 miles of power lines, the transmission group at Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has plenty of assets to manage — and analytics is one of the go-to tools for the job. To…
Using AI for energy forecasting

Does AI Matter in Energy Forecasting?

Rethinking Utilities’ Approach to Forecasting Which of these is a good reason to deploy advanced, AI-powered models in energy forecasting? Navigating the increase in extreme weather events and intermittent generation. Responding to regulatory changes and shifts in energy…
Asset Management

Extreme Weather, Advanced Decision-Making: Strengthening PG&E’s Asset Management with Real-Time Risk Assessment and Forecasting

Searing heat, torrential rain, devastating floods, intense windstorms, and wildfires. Our grandmothers’ and grandfathers’ asset management models may no longer be sufficient to meet the dynamic environmental challenges threatening the U.S. electrical grid. Modern tools such as real-time…
generative AI

Revolutionizing HR Efficiency with Innovative AI-Powered Features

New generative AI-powered capabilities enhance efficiency and streamline HR processes for candidates, employees, managers, and recruiters Oracle has introduced new generative AI capabilities within its Fusion Cloud Human Capital Management (HCM) system. These capabilities are supported by the…
intelligent automation

How intelligent automation is shaping a more reliable power grid

Quick summary: Faced with increasing pressures to enhance the reliability and security of their grid operations, utilities are leveraging intelligent automation and reaping the rewards.   Since the dawn of the electrical age, monitoring and controlling all the moving pieces that…
object storage

New Solution Enhances Object Storage Query Speeds for Improved Data Insights

The solution makes it easier for customers to get valuable real-time insights by combining their data in object storage with database data   Oracle has announced the general availability of MySQL HeatWave Lakehouse, a solution that allows customers…

Advancements in Lakehouse AI and MLflow 2.5 for Generative AI

New data-centric approach to AI makes it easier to build, deploy and manage LLM applications, enabling customers to accelerate their generative AI journey.   Databricks has introduced new Lakehouse AI innovations designed to simplify the development of generative…
Detecting Grid Anomalies with Smart Meters

Distribution Grid Anomaly Detection Using Smart Meters

One of the most important functions of an electric utility is to safely provide reliable and dependable power to its customers. This obligation includes building redundant circuit paths, insulating conductors, installing animal barriers, installing switches and reclosers, trimming…
Delta Lake 3.0

Delta Lake 3.0 Boosts Data Format Compatibility

New features in Delta Lake 3.0 simplify data format selection and integration tasks for enhanced efficiency   Databricks has unveiled Delta Lake 3.0, the newest enhancement to the Linux Foundation open source project Delta Lake. Delta Lake 3.0…
ML Ops and ML Governance

A Gentle Introduction to MLOps and ML Governance

In the past decade, data science and machine learning (ML) have shown significant promise in addressing complex business problems. Companies across various industries are keen to leverage the advantages these tools offer for decision making. However, as more…
cloud native ai platform

New Cloud-Native AI Solution Unlocks Advanced Analytics Capabilities

The new cloud-native platform simplifies deployments and enhances flexibility, while offering comprehensive support for enterprise-scale AI/ML, including generative AI   Teradata has announced plans to introduce VantageCloud Lake on the Microsoft Azure platform. This offering extends the availability…

Taking the stress out of a utility’s compliance reporting

Snapshot California’s Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety (OEIS) ensures that utilities are doing their part to reduce wildfire risks by requiring each provider to submit an annual Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP) and quarterly updates. As reporting and data quality standards became increasingly…

Enhanced Lakehouse Federation Streamlines Data Governance

New Unity Catalog functionality enables organizations to centrally discover, query, and manage all data, irrespective of their location.   Databricks has announced new Lakehouse Federation capabilities that enable organizations to establish a scalable data mesh architecture with unified…
Oil and Gas Pipeline Cybersecurity Compliance: Understanding TSA’s 2023 Security Directive

Oil and Gas Pipeline Cybersecurity Compliance: Understanding TSA’s 2023 Security Directive

A Sept. 27th webinar sponsored by Dragos September 27, 2023 2:00 PM ET / 1:00 PM CT / 11:00 AM PT / 7:00 PM GMT Duration:1 hour Already registered? Click here to log in. Summary Bad actors from hostile states…
electric vehicle adoption

Navigating the Challenges: Planning for Rising Electric Vehicle Adoption

A lot of factors are part of a well-planned community development: where the schools will be located, how many homes will be built, the exact number of Starbucks required to give residents their caffeine fix and more. But…

Empowering Finance Leaders with Cloud-Based Automation and Analytics

Modernizing financial processes with innovative technologies and automated self-service analytics in the cloud   Alteryx has announced decision intelligence and intelligent automation capabilities on Amazon Web Services (AWS). These capabilities are aimed at enabling chief financial officers (CFOs)…

Unleashing Power of Open Data Lakehouse for Trusted Enterprise AI

Expanded open data lakehouse offerings provide customers with a foundation for analytic and AI capabilities in their enterprises   Cloudera has expanded its open data lakehouse offerings to provide customers with a foundation for analytic and AI capabilities…
Smart Utility Summit 2023 Vendor Awards

2023 Smart Utility Summit Names Sensus, Firmatek, and ARCOS as Outstanding Vendors

If you did not join us for the 2023 Smart Utility Summit at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix, Arizona, let me tell you what you missed…   The exclusive Smart Utility Summit, hosted by Endeavor Business Media,…

Enabling Customized LLMs for Accelerated AI Applications in Data Cloud

New partnership allows companies to securely create custom large language models (LLMs) without moving data   Snowflake has partnered with NVIDIA to provide businesses with an accelerated path to securely build custom large language models (LLMs) using their…
Logic 2020 Digital Accessibility

Embracing the future of digital accessibility: AI-powered inclusivity for all

Quick summary: How businesses are leveraging AI to explore new horizons in digital accessibility for people with disabilities In today's digital age, equitable access to technology is a right everyone deserves. However, people with disabilities still face inaccessible websites…

Enhanced Multi-Cloud Capabilities Empower Data Platform Flexibility

New capabilities allow companies to build new classes of applications across the entire enterprise using a single developer data platform MongoDB has unveiled a series of new products and features for its developer data platform, MongoDB Atlas. These…
FERC Order 2222

Impacts of FERC Order 2222 on Asset Health

Landmark FERC Order 2222 opens doors to a new era of energy participation where distributed energy resources (DERs) take a center stage in regional wholesale markets. Members of Utility Analytics Institute (UAI), a utility-led membership organization supporting utility…

Unlocking True Potential of Generative AI and Industrial Data

The new solution provides easy access to complex industrial data and integrates generative AI into every aspect of the product experience   Cognite has introduced Cognite AI, a generative AI accelerator for industrial data and value realization. The…
generative ai

Unleashing Potential of Generative AI Services

New generative AI services to help businesses solve today’s most complex challenges.   Oracle, in partnership with Cohere, plans to develop new generative AI services for organizations across the world. According to the company, these services will help…
Cloud for LLMs

New Cloud Service Provides LLMs for Large-Scale AI Applications

Empowering enterprises with on-demand access to LLMs for large-scale AI solutions   Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has entered the AI cloud market with the expansion of its HPE GreenLake portfolio to include large language models (LLMs) for enterprises…
Distributed Intelligence

New Distributed Intelligence Platform Accelerates Utility Digitalization

Itron is expanding its distributed intelligence (DI) platform with the launch of its new product line called Itron Edge Gateway. The new product line aims to enhance the capabilities of utilities to achieve decarbonization and sustainability goals while…
EV Detection

UAI Real Talk Roundtables: Collaborative Exploration of EV Detection and Prediction

UAI Real Talk Roundtables: Collaborative Exploration of EV Detection and Prediction Wednesday, August 9th at 9am PT / 10am MT / 11am CT / 12pm ET **Updated** UAI Members can download the meeting video. See links below to…
Smart Utility Summit

Smart Utility Summit 2023

The 2023 Smart Utility Summit (SUS23) is designed to bring together a select group of 80 utility and co-op professionals from across North America, along with around 30 leading power and electric industry experts for a 2-day educational…
generative ai

Accelerating Responsible Adoption of Generative AI

New AI-powered industry and functional solutions aim to help organizations drive responsible adoption of generative AI Accenture is partnering with Microsoft to help organizations accelerate the responsible adoption of generative AI. Alongside their joint venture Avanade, the two…
greenlake

New IT Sustainability Dashboard To Help Cut Carbon Footprint

Leveraging advanced analytics, the dashboard aims to enhance overall IT sustainability performance. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has unveiled the preview of a new sustainability dashboard on the GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform, along with an extensive range of services focused…
Path to ChatGPT implementation banner

Don’t get caught in the headlights: a wiser path to ChatGPT implementation

Quick summary: While others waste time and resources chasing the perfect use case for ChatGPT, your organization can be laying the foundation for long-term success in getting the most out of generative AI.   In November 2022, the…
grid modeling with renewable energy

Improved grid modeling and decarbonization: The ‘Dynamic Duo’

U.S. electric utilities could be missing out on millions of dollars in value for their customers by using outdated grid modeling techniques, research has found. The finding has profound implications for grid planning in the energy transition, where…

New Cloud Security Service Simplifies Security Data Management

The new cloud security service helps customers act on security data faster and simplify security data management across hybrid and multicloud environments Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced the general availability of Amazon Security Lake, a cloud security…
Generative AI Discussion

UAI Real-Talk Roundtables: Let’s “Chat” About Generative AI

*To embrace the spirit of our conversations, this summary is brought to you through a collaborative effort with ChatGPT. Utility Analytics Institute (UAI) invites members to join us for a three-part series of roundtable discussions on Generative AI.  We…
UAI Analytics Maturity Assessment

UAI 2022 Analytics Maturity Assessment Report

The UAI Analytics Maturity Assessment is a self-assessment tool which enables each participating utility to compare its current level on the analytics maturity curve overall and across seven dimensions to that of other participating members.   Analytics maturity…

New Generative AI Capabilities to Supercharge Analytics Democratization

Infusing the power of generative AI with analytics automation to enable analytics for all Alteryx has introduced its new Alteryx AiDIN engine that combines artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and generative AI with the Alteryx Analytics Cloud…

Overcoming the Challenges of Traditional Asset Management

Modern business has reached an inflection point where the complexity of our asset management and capital planning has outstripped the capabilities of the available tools. Building manual projections using spreadsheets and traditional asset investment planning (AIP) software doesn’t…
smart utility summit

Smart Utility Summit 2023

The 2023 Smart Utility Summit (SUS23) is designed to bring together a select group of 80 utility and co-op professionals from across North America, along with around 30 leading power and electric industry experts for a 2-day educational…

New Cloud Offering Brings Advanced Analytics to Business Users

Tableau Cloud can empower customers to make faster and more confident decisions for better, data-driven outcomes.   Salesforce has introduced Tableau Cloud, an analytics platform designed to enable customers to fully leverage Tableau’s capabilities at an enterprise level.…

New Cloud Observability Solution Streamlines Application Management

The new cloud observability solution helps organizations manage the growing scale and complexity of cloud and cloud-native infrastructure for complete visibility across the enterprise.   Digital workflow company ServiceNow has unveiled ServiceNow Cloud Observability, an integrated end-to-end observability…
data analytics for utilities

Utilities Navigate Transformational Change Even Better with Data Analytics

Utilities and the broader energy sector are increasingly relying on advanced data analysis techniques and technologies. By collecting, processing, and analyzing large volumes of data from various sources, utilities can improve operational efficiency, enhance customer service, and gain…

Enhanced Generative AI Capabilities for Streamlined Workflow Automation

New generative AI capabilities help companies reduce costs while driving higher productivity, smarter experiences, and faster time to value.   ServiceNow has introduced new capabilities for its Now Platform. The solutions, namely ServiceNow Generative AI Controller and Now…
AI Governance

AI Governance Empowers Organizations to Mitigate Risks in AI

AI Governance helps manage the privacy, ethical, and societal risks associated with AI. OneTrust has launched a new solution called Artificial Intelligence (AI) Governance to help organizations address the risks associated with AI. As AI and machine learning…
wildfires

Blazing Challenges: Wildfires are an Escalating Risk for Utilities Across the Western U.S.

Data insights from Asset Invest Planning (AIP) software helps utilities identify the areas most prone to wildfires and prioritize their investments accordingly. How are you making sense of your wildfire data? California has had a stormy, rainy winter, and…
Smart Utility Summit

Smart Utility Summit 2023

The Smart Utility Summit 2023 is a unique opportunity to engage with industry leaders, gain insights into the latest trends and technologies, and network with peers. This two-day event is the perfect combination of networking, education, and insightful…
hybrid multicloud mesh

Hybrid Multicloud Management Enhanced with New SaaS Solution

The Hybrid Cloud Mesh empowers hybrid and multicloud application deployments by creating a simple, secure, scalable, and seamless on-ramp for applications and services across different environments.   IBM has introduced IBM Hybrid Cloud Mesh, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution…
Distribution Transformer

Discover How Ameren and SAS Leveraged 8 Critical Data Sources to Develop a Use Case to Monitor the Health of Distribution Transformers

With the adoption of smart meter or automated metering infrastructure (AMI) and big data platforms to collect and analyze AMI meter data, utilities are equipped to continuously monitor and proactively manage distribution transformer overloading.   Ameren Illinois and…

Considering Grid Impact as Electric Vehicle Adoption Explodes

A group of analytics professionals and experts in electric vehicle adoption and grid integration pooled their insights on the best practices to overcome the challenging obstacles of electric vehicle adoption, which include the high cost of equipment, haphazard…
wildfire prevention

Wildfire Prevention for Electric Utilities through Asset Investment Planning

Integrated decision making for wildfire prevention   Electric utilities are on a journey with the evolving risk of wildfire. How do you tackle a challenge of that scale? How do you comply with current or future regulations, while…
AMI Water AMI

New AMI Solution Launched to Transform Water Management

AMI Essentials empowers water utilities with advanced technology for enhanced efficiency and customer engagement.   Itron has introduced AMI Essentials in Australia and New Zealand to accelerate the digital transformation of water utilities. The solution is designed to…

State of the Market Webinar: Quantitative Analytics in the Utility Industry

This webinar was originally held on June 20, 2023, and is now available for on demand viewing.  Duration: 1 hour Sponsor: Gurobi Optimization Register Today! Already registered? Click here to log in! Awareness and real-time utilization of quantitative analytics is crucial…
conversational ai

Revolutionizing Conversational AI with Cloud Partnership

Conversational AI is a complex AI model used to create the illusion of a personalized conversation between humans and computers. Character.AI is a conversational AI (artificial intelligence) platform building dialog agents with the intent to bring to life…
Open Data

Open Data Soaring Between 2 Cloud Giants

New partnership expands open data opportunities for simplified data landscapes.   SAP and Google Cloud have announced a significant expansion of their partnership, introducing an extensive open data offering aimed at simplifying data landscapes and unlocking the potential…
Street Light Automation

Street Light Automation Expected to Strengthen AMI Network

Street light automation is expected to improve efficiency of lighting management, support voltage optimization, monitor power factor, accurately measure energy usage, and strengthen the AMI communication network.   AEP Texas has partnered with Landis+Gyr to carry out one…
Safety Leading Indicators

Safety Leading Indicators Resource Development for Workplace

Safety leading indicators provide information about the effective performance of safety and health activities and enable employers to take preventative action.   The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is seeking stakeholder input regarding…
Foundation Models

Foundation Models Empowered By New AI and Data Platform

A new platform unveiled for foundation models and generative AI offers a studio, data store, and governance toolkit.   IBM has unveiled a new AI and data platform called IBM watsonx to power next-generation foundation models for business.…
Cloud Analytics Platforms

Cloud Analytics Platforms: Do Analytics Fall from the Cloud? 

Six utility analytics experts discuss their motives to migrate to the cloud and the status of their cloud analytics platforms. Listen in on an interactive and informative conversation about why these member utilities embarked on a journey to…
AI

Enabling Organizations to Accelerate Artificial Intelligence-Led Digital Transformation Initiatives with AI/ML Tools of Their Choice

Users can now take advantage of various algorithms to build high-quality artificial intelligence (AI) models in less time and with minimal expertise.   Teradata, a data and analytics solutions provider, has announced the integration of Google Cloud’s unified…
Multicloud

New Innovations Streamline Data Access and Sharing Across Multiclouds, Reducing Costs and Accelerating Processes

The latest innovations provide native multicloud capabilities and open standard-based data sharing across databases, simplifying data integration and analysis with a unique low-code based tool.   Oracle has announced new capabilities to its Autonomous Data Warehouse, an autonomous…
Cloud Solution

New Cloud Platform Integrates Customer Billing and Meter Data Management to Help a Texas Utility Enhance Customer Service

By adopting the cloud technology, the utility anticipates a flexible scale to support the smart meter rollout while realizing value from the massive data sets that come with a smart, connected network.   El Paso Electric (EPE) recently…
Customer Engagement

Improved Customer Engagement Through AI-Powered Utility Insights

Strategic relationship to enrich customer engagement through advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the Middle East.   Moro Hub, a subsidiary of Digital DEWA, the digital arm of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, has partnered with Bidgely in…
Hybrid Cloud Environment

Hybrid Cloud Environment Partnership

A hybrid cloud environment collaboration between IBM and Wasabi aims to enable businesses to run applications across hybrid cloud environments from on-premise, to the cloud, and out to the edge.   IBM has teamed up with cloud storage…

5 Ways Utilities Accomplish More with Real-Time Data

Utilities need to ensure that the data they are collecting is high quality, specific to their needs, preemptive in nature, and, most importantly, real-time.   In the utility industry, high-quality data plays a critical role in effectively managing…

Top Trends in Energy 2023: Building momentum in the transition to clean energy

The energy industry is changing with the advancement of new technology. The "Top Trends in Energy" video series, featured in the blog below, explores the changing landscape of the energy sector. The third episode of the video series,…
Asset Management

Harnessing AI and autonomous systems for more effective asset maintenance

In Chicago, Illinois, Oracle has built a state-of-the-art facility that brings together utility customers, technology partners, and subject matter experts to collaborate and accelerate innovation. It’s known as the Oracle Industries Innovation Lab. One of many current experiences…

Top Trends in Energy Video Series: “Modernizing the energy grid” featuring Karen Wayland and Hanna Grene

The energy industry is changing with the advancement of new technology. The "Top Trends in Energy" video series, featured in the blog below, explores the changing landscape of the energy sector. The first episode of the video series,…
top trends in energy

Top Trends in Energy Video Series: “Harnessing the data revolution in the power and utility industry”

The energy industry is changing with the advancement of new technology. The "Top Trends in Energy" video series, featured in the blog below, explores the changing landscape of the energy sector. The second episode of the video series,…

Siemens Partners With EnergyHub for Next-generation DER Management

The partnership aims to break down silos across utilities to enable them to move towards a holistic and scalable end-to-end DER management solution.   Siemens has teamed up with software technology firm EnergyHub to expand its ecosystem of…

Digitally Transform Grid Analytics with Drone Inspection and AI

Digital transformation has revolutionized the utility industry in recent years, and the integration of drone technology and artificial intelligence (AI) is no exception. Utilities are beginning to leverage the power of drone inspection and AI to improve grid…

First Steel Towers Erected for Australia’s Largest Transmission Project

The project is expected to provide cheaper, more reliable, and sustainable energy to Australian households and businesses.   Australia’s largest transmission project, EnergyConnect, has achieved a significant milestone with the erection of the first of 1,500 steel towers…

Duke Energy Begins Operation of 11-MW Battery Storage System in North Carolina

The new battery storage system uses lithium iron phosphate chemistry, has a system rating of 11-MW/11-MWh, and covers approximately one acre of physical space. Duke Energy has begun the commercial operation of an 11-MW battery storage system in…

New Research to Explore Potential for Utility-Scale Carbon Capture from Natural Gas Power Plants

Trailblazing project will evaluate the feasibility and cost of deploying the University of Kentucky’s carbon-capture technology at LG&E and KU’s natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) facility located at Cane Run Generating Station in Louisville, Kentucky   A new…

Q&A with UAI: Digital Transformation, Data and Analytics in the Utility Space

Within the utility sector, data used to be primarily collected for reporting purposes, but it is now starting to be used as a driver for decision-making. The DIREXYON team recently sat with Gina Weber, Managing Director for Energy Membership…

Consumers Energy to Install Over 120 New Automatic Transfer Reclosers to Reduce Power Outages

The 2023 Automatic Transfer Recloser (ATR) deployment plan is part of the company’s overall strategy to enhance the electric grid’s reliability and make it more resilient.   Consumers Energy has revealed plans to install 123 new automatic transfer…

Solar Forecasting Study Offers Advanced Forecasting Methods and Creates a Roadmap to Help Maintain Grid Reliability

Forecasting Systems Analyze the Sun’s Energy Potential Within the New York State Energy Grid New York Power Authority (NYPA), in collaboration with its research partners, has completed a multi-year study aimed at improving reliability of New York state’s…

How Can Utilities Implement DERs in their Capital Planning?

There was a point last summer, as unprecedented heat gripped California and wildfires raged through the state, when it seemed that the power grid might collapse. It didn’t — but only thanks to efforts by local utilities and communities…

Building Resilience in Utilities: The Why, the What and the How

Change is the only constant. Yes, it’s a cliché. But old clichés tend to bear some element of truth.   How do organizations plan strategies of resiliency within an inherently unstable environment? These days, an organization’s ability to…

Why is More Sustainable Asset Management for Utilities Important?

Modern society is more dependent on power grids than never before. From cars and buses to buildings, the shift from fossil fuels to electric energy carries enormous promise for a greener future. And utilities will play an essential…

Graph Database Technology Can Solve Vexing Utility Data Management Issues

Utilities are undergoing an unprecedented transformation due to changing generation technologies, the introduction of energy storage systems, distributed energy resources and major shifts in load due to electrification. These challenges are occurring simultaneously with the introduction of sophisticated…

Reaction and Reliability: How Data Analytics Support the Grid in Dynamic Times

In early March, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agreed to collectively monitor and consult on what they called “electric sector resource adequacy and operational reliability (together, reliability) at a time of significant…

AI at the Edge

Utilidata has announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to create a new module with the purpose of providing real-time artificial intelligence (AI) at the edge of the grid.  The new module will be powered by the NVIDIA Jetson™ edge…

FirstEnergy installs new high-voltage wires in Ohio and Pennsylvania to support grid reliability

FirstEnergy, an Ohio-based energy company, is upgrading high-voltage transmission lines in Ohio and Pennsylvania to improve the reliability, resiliency, efficiency, and operational flexibility of the transmission system in the areas.   These upgrades are part of its multi-year…

Geospatial Trend Analysis of Power Plants Completed in the Last 15 Years

For over 40 years MAPSearch has been actively engaged in compiling unique, proprietary, and strategic energy infrastructure information into GIS databases for use by public and private sectors. What Does the Data Reveal About a Transition from Fossil…

Renewable energy forecasting with AI and machine learning

Summary: AI and machine learning enable utilities to improve the accuracy of renewable energy forecasting as we progress towards a clean-energy future. When we look to the future of energy production in the United States, it’s clear that…

4 Myths of DIY Data Platform Projects

The power and utilities industry is now decades into digital transformation and many digital teams are under increasing scrutiny to determine their business impact. For those who have taken a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to operational data and digital…

2022 ICS/OT Cybersecurity Year in Review

The industrial cyber threat landscape is constantly changing with new adversaries, vulnerabilities, and attacks that put operations and safety at risk. Asset owners and operators like you need proactive, actionable information, and defensive recommendations to prepare for and…

Top 3 Cybersecurity Challenges Facing Electric Utilities

The business benefits of digital transformation in grid operations are tremendous, but this progress increases cyber risk to Operations Technology (OT) in the areas of safety, unscheduled downtime, and negative impact on corporate brand. The good news is…

Zondits Interview: EV Adoption Forecasting – How’s That Done?

Zondits speaks with a forecasting specialist about modeling EV adoption to optimize infrastructure deployment. Walter Schaefer is a Senior Engineer at DNV with eight years of experience in electric mobility and transportation, demand side management, and distributed energy…

Power Grid Planning For 2023 and Beyond

Over the next decade, the electric utility ecosystem is perfectly poised to grow its potential along with its complexity. From rising interest rates to regulatory constraints and continuously evolving priorities, utilities face difficult budgetary decisions in tandem with…

Using Machine Learning to Improve Vegetation Management in Power Line Corridors

Vegetation management often represents a utility’s largest operations and maintenance cost, and with good reason. Trees are a leading cause of U.S. electricity outages. Controlling vegetation is a key factor in reducing wildfire risks. And North American Electric…

Widespread Outages Avoided During Record-Setting Heatwave in California Thanks To a Newly Completed Battery Energy Storage System

Finnish energy technology firm Wärtsilä announced it has completed a 125-MW/250-MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Calexico, California for renewable energy company REV Renewables. The facility is referred to as the LeConte energy storage project. The energy…

Sensor Data, AI and Advanced Analytics Help Utilities Predict and Mitigate Equipment Failures Before Service Interruptions Occur

Equipment failures cost utilities millions annually – and each year, they are the root cause of nearly one third of customer interruptions. These outages not only leave utility customers without electricity, but also represent significant repair costs and…

4 Capital Planning Challenges Utilities Will Face in 2023

It was easy to anticipate the damage that could be caused by Hurricane Fiona as it barrelled up the East Coast of North America in late September. But the reality of its destruction was still a shock. In…

Solving Complex Feeder Protection Challenges and Reducing Wildfire Risks with Remote Measurements

This webinar was originally held on March 7, 2023, and is now available for on demand viewing.  Duration: 1 hour Sponsor: Synaptec Register Today! Already registered? Click here to log in! Today’s distribution and subtransmission networks are becoming more complex with…

Maximizing the Value of Utility Options

This webinar was originally held on March 1, 2023, and is now available for on demand viewing.  Duration: 1 hour Sponsor: Gurobi Optimization Register Today! Already registered? Click here to log in! Avista, as an integrated natural gas and electric utility…

6 Currencies Utilities Should Consider When Prioritizing Capital Planning Optimizations

Imagine this: you’re developing your strategic plan for the next 10 years and there are no budget constraints. You know any project that improves the performance, resiliency and sustainability of your infrastructure won’t only be approved; it’ll be…

Get Schooled on the Viability of Two-Way Vehicle to Grid Energy Storage

In the Greater Boston area, electric school buses are doing more than taking students to and from school. Energy stored in the buses’ batteries is transferred back to the grid during times of demand stress on the regional…

Making Predictive Maintenance Economically Viable for Overhead Distribution Infrastructure

I live in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, and while we are not in the city proper, the neighborhoods are still densely packed​. Power in this area is provided by Cobb EMC, one of the largest electric…

Electrification Load Forecasting

Abstract As new trends emerge in the ever-evolving electrification environment, electric utility operators need to adapt their distribution networks to account for the new supply and demand on their networks. To account for the changes, operators have been…

Helping Utilities Anticipate EV Charging Loads Through Operational Analytics

Anticipated growth of electric vehicle (EV) sales in the U.S. over the next several years will have a great impact on the nation’s existing infrastructure — especially the grid.   The right infrastructure needs to be in place…

Energy Storage is Changing the Grid: Here’s How to Navigate the New Dynamics

Understand power market dynamics around your plant through accurate and timely market data.   The North American electricity sector is making significant progress toward decarbonizing its power supply as solar and wind become major contributors. However, electric grid…

Sensor Data, Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics Help Utilities Predict and Mitigate Equipment Failures Before Service Interruptions Occur

Equipment failures cost utilities millions of dollars annually. And each year, they are the root cause of nearly one-third of customer interruptions. These outages not only leave utility customers without electricity; they also incur significant repair costs and…

Semantic Modeling for your Data Architecture to Reduce Cost of Analytics

What we see with our clients are that they want to gain more business value from their data. However, the initial direction they take make differ. Some clients focus on technologies while others focus on building their data…

Geospatial Identification of Disadvantaged Communities – A Decision Support Strategy

One of the most common questions utility clients ask is, “How can we identify our disadvantaged customers and tailor our services to meet their unique needs?” As state legislatures, regulators and investors call on utilities to improve energy…

Change Management: Preparing Your Teams for the Grid of the Future

Change has become the new normal in the utilities industry. The following trends are rampant. Rapid growth in renewable energy sources. An uptick in climate-related emergencies. Escalating customer expectations. Expansion of distributed energy resources (DERs) and microgrids. An…

Turning Behind-the-Meter DERs into Grid Assets: Opportunities, Challenges and Principles for Success

Due to advances in technology, the Distributed Energy Resource (DER) landscape is rapidly evolving in terms of price, performance and resulting adoption. Adoption is growing exponentially, and utilities are already rethinking the ways they procure power and operate…

Is Your Data Use Reflecting Your Organizational Truth?

Four steps to enterprise data management for climate-challenged utilities From megadroughts to rapidly intensifying hurricanes, tornado outbreaks and record-breaking temperatures, our public infrastructure is being stressed to the extremes of its original designs. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric…

A Dual Benefit: How GPU-Accelerated Analytics Solves Challenges for Utility Asset Management and Climate Change at the Same Time

Utilities can combat climate change while enhancing their own service operations and bottom line by leveraging data from graphics processing unit (GPU) systems for next-generation GPU-accelerated analytics. Climate change is a growing concern that needs every available tool…

AMI – Advanced Analytics Opportunities

To be successful today, utilities should implement transformative customer-facing and grid-facing initiatives using advanced analytics on AMI data. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), commonly called Smart Metering, is a solution that uses digital meters, two-way communications networks and data…

The Analytics Maturity Assessment is back for 2022

UAI’s Analytics Maturity Assessment is the most comprehensive benchmarking survey for enterprise analytics. “The AMA provides insights based on data and serves as a great measuring stick against our peers in the utility sector.” -Eddy Halter, Evergy What…

The Moneyball for Utility Analytics Teams is a Good Analogy

Entergy's Andy Quick uses UA Summit 2022 keynote to talk about launching and sustaining a successful analytics function. May 11, 2022, New Orleans – Andy Quick, vice president of business data & insights kicked off Day 2 of…

Start your Analytics Journey with LiDAR

For utilities that are just commencing their analytics journeys, LiDAR is the gateway drug to the world of data-driven, high-efficiency decision-making. Light Detecting And Ranging (LiDAR) is a highly accurate method of digitizing three-dimensional (3D) objects. While many…

Forecasting the Future of Electric Vehicles: Predicting the Grid

Instead of filling up gasoline- and diesel-powered cars, more U.S. drivers are opting to plug in electric vehicles (EVs). According to the International Energy Agency, more than 10 million EVs are in use globally, which represents 1% of…

The Journey to Reliable Data: Essential Steps in Data Governance to Improve the Bottom Line

Every organization requires attention to data governance, which affects every part of the engineering and operations chain, from start to finish. Utility companies frequently rely on digital tools to help make operational decisions, meet regulatory requirements, plan capital…

Demystifying the Digital Twin. Time to Rethink the Definition?

A clear definition for digital assets is critical to realizing their full potential and value. “We have a lot of data, but we still don’t have a lot of information.” If this sounds familiar, you’re far from alone.…

Devouring Underutilized Data with Spatial Analytics

Limiting GIS use to a digital replacement of paper maps is a profound underutilization—a lost advantage to address a challenging environment. Overcoming the challenges that utilities face today seems overwhelming at times. Yet, utility issues and solutions all…

Using Artificial Intelligence to Support Utility Industry Solutions

EN Engineering sees artificial intelligence as a key technology as the company continues to innovate solutions for the utility industry. Overview Data is the foundation of every decision-making process within the utility industry. Decision makers need high-quality data…

Beyond Run to Fail: Redefining Low-Voltage Grid Management

By combining a distributed intelligence (DI) platform with real-time vision technology, the possibilities of using low-voltage grid management are being redefined. In today’s dynamic energy industry, the low-voltage grid plays an increasingly critical role—especially as electric vehicles (EVs)…

The Need for Detailed and Accurate DER and Electrification Growth Information

Inaccurate DER and electrification growth forecasts can have significant impacts on capital and operating costs as well as on the ROI in DER growth. Numerous entities are engaged with the distributed energy resources (DER) and electrification markets, primarily…

How Deep Learning Helps Utilities Facilitate Automation and Innovation: Executive Summary

UAI and Mosaic Data Science host virtual executive roundtable discussion on deep learning. UAI and Mosaic Data Science (MDS) hosted a virtual roundtable with utility representatives from Con Edison, National Grid, Enbridge Gas, CenterPoint Energy, Grant County Public…

Risky business: Why ‘the way we’ve always done it’ is now the riskier approach to utility risk management

“The essence of risk management lies in maximizing the areas where we have some control over the outcome while minimizing the areas where we have absolutely no control over the outcome.”—Peter L. Bernstein, Against the Gods: The Remarkable…

Dynamic Operating Envelopes can Enable DERs in Wholesale Market without Endangering Grid Reliability

Enabling millions of diverse DERs to participate in the wholesale market without deteriorating the reliability of the distribution system by using dynamic operating envelopes. The approval of Order 2222 by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has generated…

The Single Most Important Investment Needed for EV Initiative Success

No area of operations reveals the risk of failure to transform AMI data into actionable insights more strikingly than transportation electrification. A 2020 Consumer Reports survey found that more than 70 percent of U.S. drivers would consider buying…

How to Handle the Load: Rappahannock Electric Cooperative Utilizes Analytics to Identify System Line Losses and Reduce Costs

Rappahannock Electric Cooperative worked with Burns & McDonnell to simulate load flows in order to develop a digital model that would assist in understanding the correlations between loading, load flow and losses within the system. Rappahannock Electric Cooperative…

Satellites and Vegetation Management: Lessons from Multiple Grid-Wide Rollouts

The importance of utility vegetation management is growing as weather events become more severe; satellites can help. More utilities are adding satellite analytics to their toolbox in their vegetation management process. LiveEO, a satellite analytics company, has rolled…

Affirma – Value by Design

By using Enterprise Information Management and viewing data as a valuable asset, you can optimize its use for day-to-day decision-making.  Affirma, a product recently introduced by Xtensible, helps with data design and governance. Working with utilities over the…

Health of Power Grids Increases When Existing Data is Properly Harnessed

When asset managers figure out how to harness existing high-quality data, they increase the health of power grids. Consider for a moment an analogy of your utility’s power grid as a living, breathing human being. Grids and human…

EPRI Develops AI Model to Reduce Wind Turbine Operations Costs

EPRI has been working with utilities in the United States to digitalize wind assets and develop a physics-based machine-learning hybrid model to identify gearbox damage and extend the life of gearboxes. Wind turbine gearbox replacement cost can be…

Making a Business Case for More Intelligence at the Grid Edge

Grid edge intelligence empowers business transformation, evolves distribution grid operations, enhances customer experience. The future of our modern grid is dependent on leveraging more distributed intelligence (DI) at the grid edge to help manage growth, stability, and safety.…

Utilities Assess Benefits and Challenges of Decentralizing the Power Grid through Blockchain Technology

Challenges include building transactive energy infrastructure, operational capabilities and security and decentralized decision-making processes. Decentralization, decarbonization, and digitalization are the three primary driving forces in the paradigm shift to the new energy economy. Decentralization, in particular, is a…

Guard Your Data, but Don’t Imprison It: The Benefits of Data Openness for Utilities

The most valuable utility of tomorrow will be the one that knows how to guard its data while simultaneously pursuing the benefits of data openness. After decades of only having to think in terms of physical assets, utilities…

Digital Asset Management Strategies Can Address Rising Infrastructure Challenges

A comprehensive digital transformation plan can help asset managers develop data-driven, risk-informed asset management strategies. Disruptive trends in the power sector can complicate transmission and distribution (T&D) asset management. But a comprehensive digital transformation plan can help asset…

What is a Data Fabric and How Does it Complement my Data Warehouse?

Connecting DWH to advanced analytics at scale requires a data fabric, not just data availability. For industrial companies, the path to ultimate value from data liberation requires three crucial steps. Many organizations have already achieved step one: liberating…

Energy Decentralization: Why it’s a Big Deal for Every Business

With energy decentralization evolving into so much more than just an energy trend, nearly every business could have a stake in it. Energy transition, or the shift from fossil fuels to renewable sources, is a major step in…

How AI Fuels Digital Transformation

AI should fuel digital transformation, not hinder it. The Digital Transformation Landscape As businesses adapt to the rapidly changing competitive landscape, many are pursuing Digital Transformation (DX) initiatives to increase business agility, improve operational insights, reduce costs, and…

The Benefits of Data and Analytics Training

Workforce training and development result in more engaged, motivated, and satisfied employees. Utilities should be investing in these areas to remain competitive. Utilities are becoming increasingly digital entities—leveraging data and analytics to make operational decisions. As they learn…

Consumers Energy Entire Customer Journey — Executive Summary

Consumers Energy presented for UAI's July Customer Analytics Community Conversation on creating a process of continuous improvement for retail products and services. Consumers Energy recently lead the July Customer Analytics Community Conversation, which featured a presentation by Francisco…

How Connected Buildings are Re-energizing the Grid

Flexible energy platforms use artificial intelligence, cloud and blockchain to help manage renewable energy usage. On May 11, the Biden administration approved the Vineyard Wind project, a major wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts capable of powering 400,000 homes…

Utilities May Be Key in Broadband Expansion to Underserved Areas

As broadband service rolls out to rural America and to other remote and underserved areas, it is increasingly clear that utilities will have important roles to play. Municipal, cooperative and investor-owned utilities all will have opportunities to be…

Probabilistic Electricity Consumption Forecasting

Machine learning provides an excellent avenue for predicting future energy consumption. Energy Consumption is Ripe for ML Predictions Matching energy consumption with the appropriate level of supply is critical. Excess electricity cannot be stored unless converted to alternate…

Growing Analytics to Meet Current and Future Needs: NYPA’s Approach

NYPA is committed to becoming an end-to-end digital utility. At UA Summit 2021 they laid out how they developed their data analytics strategy, process, and architecture. The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has taken a disciplined approach to…

Automating Utility Pole Recognition & Inspection with Computer Vision

Computer vision offers significant cost savings by way of scalability and automation. The true art of any AI application comes down to how a data scientist can tune AI to accurately label what is in the image set.…

Three Things to Know About Power System Flexibility

Utilities in the United States have increasingly recognized the many benefits of power system flexibility and are developing their own services. Flexibility market development has been fastest in Europe I have been writing about the development of power…

Using Satellite Imagery to Identify 37 Different Species of Vegetation and Reduce Risk

A case study by Red Eléctrica de España, Elewit and Overstory. Which tree, of the millions that are located near power lines, could be the one to grow into a powerline or fall and cause a power outage?…

The Role of Distributed Intelligence in Addressing Grid Challenges

Distributed intelligence capability is a key pillar for utilities to building a broad solution—a distributed intelligence platform applies analysis, decision-making and action where it is best utilized for the most valuable outcome. The utility industry is presented with…

How effective is your Data Model in supporting Enterprise Analytics?

An enterprise data model will help utilities drive value out of the data platform in fulfilling the holistic approach of semantic reconciliation, sourcing and data governance, as well as the application of data transformation rules and metadata enrichment.…

Bringing Automated Inspection From Concept to Scale by “Closing the Loop”

Computer vision and the quickly evolving field of drones and robotics for inspection have become key figures in the race to realize automated operations across generation and grid. Just over a decade ago, I observed my first computer…

Artificial Intelligence: How good is good enough?

Artificial intelligence is a great tool for specific purposes but it’s not a panacea for grid automation. Speak with any data scientist about artificial intelligence (AI) and you’ll soon hear one common gripe: that hype lifts expectations to…

Why Satellite-Informed Vegetation Management is Rapidly Becoming the New Industry Standard

Satellites offer the utility industry enormous opportunities in the area of vegetation management. Students graduating from universities today most likely have never used a paper map to find their destination. The advent of GPS navigation, in combination with…

Using Data Visualization to Realize Return on Smart Grid Investments

Data visualization software can help utilities visualize the return on smart grid investments and show how much change smart grid technologies bring. Data visualization is the graphical representation of data and information using visual elements such as maps,…

Three Problems Data Can Solve for Utilities—And One it Can’t

Apply data and analytics to solve these common challenges No utility has a perfect data and analytics strategy. There are simply too many problems to solve. From cybersecurity to asset inventory to customer experience, utilities are stretched way…

Outsourcing and Analytics: Foresight Makes the Difference

Outsourcing has emerged as a way to support utility analytics activities, but it comes with trade-offs. Outsourcing IT and business processes is not new to utilities. With the increased popularity of analytics, outsourcing has emerged as a way…

For T & D Leaders, Change Is NOT on the Horizon. It’s Here NOW.

The increasingly dynamic nature of the grid means platforms need to handle all aspects of the analytic modelling process in an integrated and seamless fashion to rapidly get from analytical model development to business decision-making.   The proliferation…

Estimating Electricity-Elasticity of GRP for Long-Term Demand Forecasting–Executive Summary

February Data Science Community Meeting Estimating Electricity-Elasticity of GRP for Long-Term Demand Forecasting Purpose February’s Data Science Community Meeting featured Alex Elder, PhD, Data Scientist for The Energy Authority (TEA) speaking about estimating electricity-elasticity of GRP for long-term…

Portfolio Optimization Via More Surgical Customer Resource Acquisition and Evaluation

Blending customer-centricity and utility priorities is the art of portfolio optimization, but doing so can be perfectly scientific. In the first two articles of this series, I detailed how utilities can 1) use data science to break down…

REPORT: Reimagining the Utility Analytics Roadmap, Executive Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A lot has changed over the past four years. There is more clarity about alternative organizational models, useful process methodologies, technology architecture and tool options, and the skill sets needed to develop and implement an analytics…

Valuating Digital Liabilities

Most power utilities create more or less the same data types as their peers, but what differentiates them is how some are better at extracting value from their data. If data is a company’s most valuable asset, why…

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Why Utilities Need the Right Data to Empower Action While data can be an invaluable tool for utility companies, what happens when there’s too much of a good thing? Many utilities have vast amounts of asset data. This…

UAI and IBM Virtual Roundtable: State of Cloud Adoption in Utilities–Executive Summary

An executive summary on a virtual roundtable with eight investor-owned utilities discussing the state of cloud adoption. Purpose UAI and IBM hosted a virtual roundtable with eight Investor-owned utilities including, AEP, Avista, Duke Energy, Oncor Electric Delivery, Xcel…

Utilities and Data Science: Unlocking Portfolio Potential with an ‘Audience of One’

It has never been more urgent for utilities to understand their customers in vivid detail to unlock the full potential of programs and portfolios. Electric utilities have seen a large increase in low-to-moderate income (LMI) and small-and-medium-sized business…

The Energy Act of 2020, Grid Modernization – A First Look

A first look at Title VIII Grid Modernization from the 533-page Energy Act of 2020. The 533-page Energy Act of 2020 is chock full of provisions that cover almost every aspect of the energy transition, including R&D, development…

Building the Foundation for Utility Asset Analytics Part 2

Asset analytics can help make the shift from run-to-failure to predictive and condition-based maintenance. This is the second part of a two-part series. Read part one here. Process and tool challenges The ability to collect and organize data…

Building the Foundation for Utility Asset Analytics Part 1

Predictive analytics can help utilities realize value through improved reliability, decreased O&M costs, improved safety, and developing a coherent, systematic approach to asset base replenishment. Using analytics for asset management within utility operations is far from a new…

Climate Risk is Investment Risk – What Utilities Need to Know: An Introduction

Investors will be looking more closely at utilities’ exposure to climate risk as an input to their investment decisions.   Climate risk has shareholders, bond holders, insurance companies and ratings organizations worried. Note the recent statement by Larry Fink,…

Using data science to break down program silos and better serve your customers

What if you could double the performance of your utility’s program portfolio without increasing marketing spend? The development of new technologies and new ways of applying data science can make this a reality for utilities and help enable…

The Year of Utility Transformation: Becoming Energy Resilient, Dynamic Energy Providers Through AI

Throughout a year of unprecedented change in 2020, utilities have been committed to developing energy resilience through innovation. While resilience is often thought of only in a grid capacity, this year has seen a fundamental shift in which…

Utility leader Southern Company uses SAS to better manage COVID-driven fluctuations and keep operations steady

Southern Company is recognized as a bellwether utility in the United States and around the world. This leadership position is owed not just to its size – it’s operating companies serve over nine million electric and gas customers,…

The Colors of Hydrogen – Brown, Grey, Blue and Green – Think About It

Hydrogen is the latest buzz for meeting the world’s energy needs. It is another--and some say important--tool for meeting decarbonization goals. For utilities, hydrogen is being discussed as a way to decarbonize heating, lower power plant emissions and…

Improving Asset Risk Mitigation by Making Data a Top Priority

Risk mitigation is the key reason to know the probability of failure of utility assets. Unfortunately, the utilities that know that best, are the ones that have had one or more catastrophic asset failures that jeopardized the safety…

The Trouble with Tons – Tons of Image Data That is

PG&E recently received a CIO 100 Award for Excellence for its creative approach to wildfire risk. The utility applied machine learning to aerial images of transmission towers – PG&E has 2 million - to shorten the time it…

Wisdom Is In Communities, UAI Communities That Is

Have you ever met with utility analytics practitioners who are grappling with the same questions you are? I have. Have you ever participated in a meeting to help vet an early iteration of analytics architecture? I have. Have…

Making AI Work – An NREL “How-to” Guide for Utilities

Utilities have seen the evidence; there is real value in using artificial intelligence (AI) to solve business problems. Artificial intelligence - encompassing machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing and image processing - has been successfully applied to…

Natural Language Processing – Talking In A Way Machines Can Understand

Anyone who has ever used a search engine or virtual assistant is using natural language processing (NLP). Who knew that NLP is artificial intelligence (AI)? Well, probably most of the readers of this blog. In 2018, Karen Hao…

PG&E, California Fire Foundation Renew Partnership to Tackle Wildfire Risk (via T&D World)

Partnership creates grant funding opportunities for fire and community organizations to address ongoing risk of wildfires. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) has renewed its partnership with the California Fire Foundation (CFF) by providing US$1.2 million for a…

Virginia Regulators Seek Comments by Sept. 21 on KU-ODP’s Estimated $14.8m Rebuild Project (via T&D World)

The commission said that any interested person or entity may file a request by Aug. 24 that the commission convene a hearing on the company’s application. Comments on Kentucky Utilities d/b/a Old Dominion Power Company’s (KU-ODP) June application…

South America Forecast to Invest US$18.1 Billion in Smart Grid Infrastructure (Via T&D World)

Investment over the next decade to be led by Brazil, Colombia, and Chile. The fifth edition of the South America Smart Grid: Market Forecast study published recently by Northeast Group, LLC, says the South American smart grid infrastructure market will finally…

Con Edison, NYCHA Complete Inspections, Upgrades at 29 Buildings (Via T&D World)

The company, working with NYCHA, reviewed the energy usage and equipment at more than 200 buildings and identified 29 of those for inspections. Con Edison has completed inspections and service upgrades at 29 NYCHA buildings, ensuring that residents will be…

COVID-19 Lockdowns Demonstrate How AI Reveals Energy Shift Causation for Utilities

Across the board utilities are seeing extreme shifts in energy demand due to COVID-19 lockdown orders, particularly increases in residential consumption. The unpredictability of energy demand makes it hard to manage the grid, so the more utilities can…

Can you Host? Analytics and Interconnection

In 2017, “hosting capacity analysis” is the buzz phrase heard in utility, developer and regulator circles. The Interstate Renewable Energy Council defines hosting capacity analysis as “the amount of DERs that can be accommodated on the distribution system…

Duke Energy Readies for Hurricanes during Pandemic (T&D World)

Utility takes steps to restore power quickly after a storm without compromising on the health of employees and customers. Duke Energy has prepared to respond to power outages as quickly as possible during the hurricane season that started…

Community Heroes: APPA Honors Utilities and Individuals for Service and Leadership (Via T&D World)

The American Public Power Association awarded 13 individuals and 10 utilities for giving back to their local communities. Nineteen individuals and 10 utilities were recognized for service to the American Public Power Association and the public power industry…

Boulder, Xcel Energy Enter Settlement Discussions on Municipalization (Via T&D World)

The City of Boulder and Xcel Energy last week announced that they have begun discussions that may lead to new pathways to reach the city’s energy future goals as an alternative to a city-run, community owned electric utility.…

Advanced Analytics and Machine Learning Boost Bee Populations (Via T&D World)

As part of its commitment to using data and analytics to solve the world's most pressing problems, SAS' recent work includes helping to save the world's No. 1 food crop pollinator – the honey bee. With the number…

Leveraging Predictive Data Science to Optimize Vegetation Management

Managing vegetation and tree growth around power lines is an important responsibility that rests on the shoulders (and budgets) of utilities. It plays a critical role in fire hazard mitigation, and ensures the reliability of the grid, but…

Trump’s Order to Secure Power System Met with Favor, Uncertainty in Utility Industry (Via T&D World)

Utilities remain uncertain on how the order intended to secure the bulk power system from foreign cybersecurity attacks will impact current projects and the installed infrastructure base. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on May 1, 2020, that…

FirstEnergy Deploys Internal Avian App to Streamline Bird Protection Efforts (Via T&D World)

Digital reporting promotes quicker response to bird-related power issues. FirstEnergy Corp. has deployed an app that allows utility personnel to report avian issues in real time, streamlining the process to protect nesting birds and enhance electric service reliability.…

COVID-19: Two Use Cases for Analytics in Preparing for Reopening

As an essential industry, utilities have risen to the occasion by implementing pandemic plans to protect customers and workers while keeping the lights on. COVID-19 has brought unemployment, shutoff deferments and changes in consumption patterns. Now, with states…

North America Has Retaken Role of World’s Leader in Total Microgrid Capacity (Via T&D World)

Guidehouse Insights report shows North America is the leading microgrid market, claiming 36.3% of global capacity.   A new report from Guidehouse Insights examines data on known grid-tied and remote microgrid projects in the proposal, planning, and deployed stages across…

Con Edison, Employees Donate Funds, Equipment, Service to COVID-19 Relief (Via T&D World)

“These heroes are people we know, and they need our help,” said John McAvoy, CEO and chairman of Con Edison.   New York’s doctors, nurses, food banks and firefighters are just some of the many front-line groups battling…

COVID-19: Six Use Cases on How Analytics Can Help in the Short Term

As providers of essential services, utilities have their hands full with COVID-19. From managing a large workforce to serving many customers, utility operations are using analytics to adapt quickly to the pandemic. Fortunately, utilities are more prepared than…

Utility Crews Deploy Rapidly Across the Southeast Following Easter Storms (Via T&D World)

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, utilities are doing everything in their power to protect workers, ensure safe working conditions.   A series of storms that hit the south and the southeastern United States beginning on Easter Sunday…

Toward an Equitable Energy Future (Via T&D World)

A new energy economy will require long-term interaction between energy companies and communities hosting next-generation energy infrastructure.   Living in a city, it is easy to forget that one in five Americans — about 60 million people —…

Virginia to Embrace Clean Energy Future (Via T&D World)

The Virginia Clean Economy Act will foster economic development across Virginia, reduce carbon emissions.   The Virginia Senate recently passed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, after the House of Delegates’ approval of the bill. Governor Ralph Northam is…

Don’t Need a Crystal Ball to Predict the Future of the Grid (Via T&D World)

Energy storage technology has moved to center stage and has changed renewable energy, DERs, and microgrids along the way. For almost a year now, I have been writing the “Charging Ahead” segment. It has been an exciting undertaking…

Know Your Trees – Storm Management

Getting better at storm-related outage prediction Utilities need to know the “ground truth” One of the utility’s primary missions is to minimize outage frequency and duration.  Outage prevention is even more important during the COVID-19. Until recently, storm-related…

Resource Planning Continues to Get More Complicated – What You Should Know

Resource planning has changed a lot over the last five years, with the increase in intermittent renewables and distributed energy sources. In 2018, the piece Are DER Heavy Utilities Being Held Captive by Technology Limitations?, posited that analytical…

Georgia Power Foundation Invests $1 Million to Support State in COVID-19 Recovery (Via T&D World)

The Georgia Power Foundation is supporting COVID-19 recovery with investments impacting food insecurity, homelessness and displaced worker assistance. The Georgia Power Foundation, Inc. is investing $1 million in 2020 to support the state of Georgia in addressing the…

National Grid, Eversource Propose Transmission Solutions to Enhance Reliability (Via T&D World)

Solutions to provide Greater Boston with enhanced electric reliability and clean energy capacity. National Grid and Eversource are preparing to meet the energy shortfall expected to be caused by the eventual retirement of the Mystic Generating Station. New…

Enterprise Analytics for Optimizing & Personalizing Utility Programs

Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) is becoming ubiquitous throughout the utility industry, providing many sources of value for both utilities and ratepayers as utilities unlock previously unavailable insights to help customers understand their consumption and use that information to…

Hydrogen: The Other “Natural” Gas (Via T&D World)

Government agencies, environmental organizations, and manufacturers around the globe hold high hope for a green H-based economy.   During my time as a young engineer at an electric utility, the standing joke we shared internally about the gas…

A Journey, Not an End Point: A Case Study in Utility Digital Transformation (Via T&D World)

One of the world’s largest energy companies, ENGIE, is committed to being the world leader in the transition to a zero-carbon future. Achieving that goal led to a digital transformation of the business.   The digital transformation of…

The Fleets are Coming, The Fleets are Coming – Electric Trucks, That is

Amazon made big news last September when it announced a deal with well-funded startup Rivian to deploy 100,000 medium-duty electric box trucks by 2030. There are a lot of incentives for companies to adopt electric fleets. Still, there…

AI Provides Smarter Tech for Grid (Via T&D World)

Gridwise, AI is becoming the Rosetta Stone for making sense of big data.   Does it seem like artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere today? It can be found in everything from transmission to distribution. Gridwise, AI is becoming…

Software Enhances Operational Performance of Transformers (Via T&D World)

ABB Power Grids recently launched its Asset Performance Management Edge solution for power transformers.   ABB’s Power Grids business has launched its APM Edge solution for transformers. This technology accommodates the growing complexity of grid operations to safeguard…

California Wildfires: Snapshot of Utilities’ Mitigation Plans (Via T&D World)

Utilities shared their plans for wildfire mitigation at recent workshops organized by the California Public Utilities Commission.   With the risk of wildfires increasing in California, utilities are taking a proactive and preventative approach. The California Public Utilities…

Wisely Managing Vegetation at the Distribution Level

Ever since the 2003 blackout, vegetation management has improved, largely due to FERC regulation. Still, improvement has been mostly in transmission. The “last mile” of distribution has not achieved maturity. The good news is that analytics infrastructure -…

An Interview with SAS Founder & CEO, Dr. Goodnight

SAS' Founder and CEO Dr. Goodnight weighs in on analytics in the energy and utilities industry.    SAS has its roots in the energy and utilities industry. Can you provide an overview of how analytics has evolved since…

Embedding Analytics: Data Governance as an Ongoing Practice

Data governance is like motherhood and apple pie. Everyone thinks it is a good and necessary thing. Should the pervasive use of analytics change how data governance is done?   Stakeholders at leading utilities interviewed for Ensuring Success…
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Hyper-Personalization That Drives Enterprise Analytics, Customer Experience, and New Business Model

Hyper-personalization drives enterprise analytics Bidgely UtilityAI™ is the energy industry's only AI-powered Platform for Hyper-Personalization. Read this guide to learn more! Bidgely UtilityAI™ is the energy industry's only AI-powered Platform for Hyper-Personalization. UtilityAI delivers actionable insights for every…

Embedding Analytics from the Ground Up: Training and Projects

In 2018, UAI, published Ensuring Success in Analytics:  A Playbook for Utility Executives, which provided advice to utility leaders on how to de-risk analytics deployments. The findings, based on interviews with analytics stakeholders at leading utilities, delivered insights…

Reducing Bad Debt & Collection Costs with Predictive Analytics: Part 2

Scrying, the act of staring into reflective surfaces like crystal balls to see the future, can be traced back to the Medieval Period in central Europe (between 500 – 1500 AD). Thanks to predictive analytics, it is being…

Reducing Bad Debt & Collections Costs with Predictive Analytics: Part 1

Modernization of the grid, digitization of the customer experience, and replacing back office infrastructure to support complex rate structures are just some of the factors influencing utility rate increases. Combine these with an economic slowdown in the US…

From Ubiquitous Acronym to Real Business Solution: Why Asset Performance Management Matters Today

Paul McRoberts is President of Atonix Digital I’m not here to sell you on asset performance management (APM)—plenty of blog posts and thought pieces already exist for that purpose. I’m here to shed light on the challenges facing…

Artificial Intelligence: Smart(er) Front and Back Office Energy Operations

The use of AI in energy operations has picked up the pace in recent years and is now moving beyond back office automation It’s no secret that participating in energy markets and developing strategies requires processing massive amounts…

What Deep Learning Can Teach Utilities

How Duke Energy is gaining insight from self-organizing maps, a form of deep learning. Duke Energy has a reputation for deploying analytics to solve business problems. The Data Science role at Duke was defined in 2014, with the…

Top Analytics Trends and Use Cases Showcased at Utility Analytics Week 2019

Overall utility industry analytics maturity has increased substantially when compared to the first Utility Analytics Week nine years ago. This year’s presentations covered the use of machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing (NLP), deep learning…

Data Hubs Surpass Data Lake Functionality for Asset IoT

Could data hubs provide a life preserver for analytics teams thrown into the deep end with IoT data? “Data hub” may be one of the more popular analytics buzzwords of 2019, quickly surpassing its relative and predecessor, the…

Energy IoT Platforms Cut Complexity, Speed Up Deployments

Defining an energy IoT platform may be tricky, but the need for these bundles is unmistakable. “Complexity” may be an arguable concept, but anyone who’s been through an energy IoT implementation probably has a deeper understanding of the…

PPL and AI: The Journey to ‘Data-Driven’

PPL Electric Utilities recognized early on that data – and the compelling ways it could be put to use – would play a major role in its becoming a “utility of the future” and delivering on its mandate…

A Team Approach to Utility Customer Journey Orchestration

Journey orchestration at its best includes planning and coordination of elements of an activity to produce the desired outcome. Here’s an example: A man by the name of Robert Cass is raising money for athletes with special needs…

Is Your Utility Ready for Smart Inverters?

Smart inverters are getting more attention these days with utilities looking to mitigate voltage instability and variability on the system brought forth by distributed energy resources (DER). As the penetration of DERs increases, autonomous operation of smart inverters…

The Answer to CIS Shortcomings: CRM or Analytics?

Is CRM investment worth it?  Traditional customer information systems (CISs) are billing engines that were built to process meter data and send the appropriate information to the billing department for processing. These systems also grew to include the…

Don’t let Smart Contracts Outsmart You: A Legal Perspective

Leonard Tillman is a partner in Balch & Bingham LLP’s energy practice In the future, Smart Contracts utilizing blockchain are expected to autonomously enable billions of transactions among power producers and transporters, consumers, vendors, service providers and even…

AI’s Action and Impact on the Energy Sector

How do we manage the largest machine ever built? The first time I walked into an electric T&D control center was about a decade ago. With a smartphone in my pocket and a laptop in my bag, I…

Market Snapshot: Utility Asset Performance Management

The world of asset performance management (APM) technology is expanding rapidly. But what does that mean in terms of how utilities are investing solutions that exist in the marketplace today? According to Gartner’s IT glossary, APM “encompasses the…

Community a major caveat to successful open-source model adoption

Open-source analytical models abound, but having a dedicated community is essential. In More to open-source than you think, the ABCs of open source were described in the utility context. While “open-source” is being used to describe developer tools,…

The shifting role of the CEO in an era of digital transformation – interview with Tom Siebel part 2

When most people think about a democracy versus a dictatorship, they distill it down to collaboration among people, or lack thereof. CEOs who use a dictatorial style of leadership believe that they are the only person who possesses…

CapX2020 utilities to study transmission grid’s ability to support ambitious carbon reduction goals

Upper Midwest regional utilities are embarking on a cross-state effort to establish a transmission investment approach. Midwest consortium CapX2020 utilities announced yesterday that they will study the Upper Midwest transmission network to identify system improvements and infrastructure upgrades…

It’s been a good year for Blockchain in energy

After a few years of hype, a lot of questioning and a handful of disappointments, Blockchain is starting to make some inroads into energy and utilities. Once upon a time, Hervé Touati worked as an executive at Shell…

5G and power grid singularity—not if, but when

5G is not just a fatter pipe. It is a much smarter, more capable one that will transform how data is managed in the field. But utilities need to start preparing now.  I’ve written previously about how 5G…

Tom Siebel’s data-driven approach to digital transformation: part 1

Tom Siebel, CEO of C3.ai, weighs in on a data-driven, strategy-first approach. “Putting the cart before the horse”, a cliché’ we inherited from the Greeks, means that the action that should come second is prioritized first. This approach…

More to open-source than you think.

We broke down some common misconceptions about open-source models for utilities. With an uptick in literacy in Python and R, utilities are hearing the term “open source” more often. But, open source has already become ubiquitous in many…

Outage data is everywhere

Social media and nontraditional data sets create transparency of when, why and where major grid events occur. In the fall of 2018, with a new vision of grid resiliency —driven by industry collaboration and a necessity to provide…

Making the Case for Utility Operated, Blockchain Enabled Power Systems

Using blockchain as an enabler of new technologies to assist utilities in keeping up with the times. In April 2016, the first official peer to peer (P2P) energy transaction occurred between neighbors in a residential neighborhood of Brooklyn,…

Oracle customers testing analytics solutions for EV adoption and integration

Oracle is ramping up investment in analytics-based products and services to facilitate smoother utility operations alongside booming EV adoption. Oracle recently announced that the company is “test driving” EV analytics with several partner utilities. Oracle takes a two-pronged…

Tendril & Simple Energy merger Uplight strives to alleviate IT integration headaches

Uplight wants to make it easier for utilities to do more for their customers—and for IT teams work with their solutions on the back end. By now the word has gotten out on the formation of Uplight, born…

A virtual environment with AI-powered digitization

AI-powered technologies are transforming business models, value streams, and revenue opportunities throughout the electric power industry. The prime directive for the “Charging Ahead” department at T&D World is to explore new technologies and older technologies that are being reestablished or…

Utilities discuss working safely with augmented reality at IEEE ESMO 2019

The same technology that superimposes bunny ears on Snapchat is also changing the fabric of utility workforce operations. Last month at the IEEE ESMO Convention, representatives from American Electric Power (AEP), Burns & MacDonnell, XR Product Line, Pillar…

JEA is building flexibility into management of power and water

JEA is preparing for a flexible grid for power and water With the introduction of new sources of power, both distributed and centralized, along with more frequent extreme weather conditions, utilities are looking for ways to enable a…

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad MADLab

Duke Energy's MADLab (machine learning, artificial intelligence and deep learning) initiative is an important driver of innovation culture. For the younger audiences reading T&D World, you will need to Google “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,” a 1963…

Grid Analytics: Good or Great?

To thrive in the grid of the future, we must leverage analytics to move from good to great. As a kid growing up in Wyoming, I played every sport and, being from a small town, was considered good…

How to Determine the Right Mix of DER

The Austin Energy SHINES project optimizes utility-scale and behind-the-meter resources with a mix of centralized and distributed intelligent systems. Austin Energy is transitioning rapidly into a utility with significantly high levels of renewable resources. In 2015, only 20%…

Utility Disruptors Report 2019: Artificial Intelligence, Electric Mobility and Blockchain

Data is fueling disruption everywhere, and the utility industry is no exception. The exponential accumulation of data is a global phenomenon that is turning many industries on their heads. Research suggests that the amount of data doubles roughly…

In-home Voice Assistants for Utility Customers Part 1: “The New, Better, Mobile Experience”

Sales of in-home voice assistants are surging. According to a report by Market Research Future, the market for this technology is anticipated to achieve revenues worth USD 7.8 billion by 2023 while growing at 39.27 percent of CAGR…

Using data to weigh the pros and cons of performance-based rates

Utilities are relying more on data to minimize the risk of taking on new rate structures. Performance-based regulation (PBR) has been in the news, with Nevada approving legislation calling for a PBR process. Hawaii just approved a Phase…

Customer journey analytics for payment arrangements

Consider this scenario: your utility notices that there was a high volume of calls to make payment arrangements for residential customers in the months immediately following high bill season. Analysis of the calls by disposition code reveals a…

DER control with grid edge analytics

Entergy creates new approaches to better manage the grid that involve more distributed energy resources. Today, approximately 120 megawatts of customer-owned distributed energy resources, almost all rooftop photovoltaic systems, are spread out over 20,000 connections at various customer…

We updated our analytics architecture competitive landscape!

Stay posted for quarterly updates! Big data and analytics are transforming the public utility sector with advances in storage, computing power, applications, and connectivity. Utilities can gather and analyze greater amounts of data faster and cheaper than in…

Utilities collaborate on open-source software

Avista Utilities and Duke Energy partner to create an energy operating system available to the entire utility industry. The electric utility industry is increasingly challenged by external drivers such as regulatory obligations and mandates as well as competitors…

Austin Energy and others moving closer to V2G

Austin Energy wants to understand V2G; so should you. Austin Energy (AE) recently announced that it will work with the Pecan Street project to test Vehicle to Grid (V2G) technology, adding to an increasing number of V2G pilots…

Eight deadly sins of analytics to avoid

Industry consultant Mark Konya weighs in on eight critical factors for analytics. Mark J. Konya, P.E. The contemporary view of deadly sins originated from the works of 4th-century monk Evagrius Ponticus; the eight “vices” he advanced include: gluttony,…

Home automation: using data to deliver value propositions that work

From discovering new sources of revenue to data collection and analysis that lead to customer experience, becoming an integral part of the smart home value chain makes good business sense for utilities. But as explained here, utilities are…

How can utilities break into the home automation device market?

The global Smart Home Energy Management Device Market is budding. According to Market Research Future, it is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 18% during the forecast period of 2017-2023. Utilities that want in and are…

EPRI identifies impacts, solutions for EMP effects on grid

Three-year EPRI study indicates a cost-effective path to enhance the resilience of the electric grid. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has released findings from its three-year study of the potential impacts of high-altitude electromagnetic pulses (EMP) on the…

Oregon utilities poised to sink or swim with new electric transportation rule

How utilities adopt the new rule will depend on their ability to integrate and analyze electric vehicle, transportation, grid, and customer data. In mid-April, Oregon regulators adopted a new rule to compel utilities in that state to increase…

Utilities opt to use cloud-based analytics, despite lack of monetary incentives

It’s been over two and a half years since NARUC passed a resolution encouraging state public utility commissions to “consider whether cloud computing and on-premise solutions should receive similar regulatory accounting treatment, in that both would be eligible…

How utilities are really using machine learning and artificial intelligence

Want to see how utilities are actually solving problems with AI? Come to Utility Analytics Summit. Artificial intelligence has erupted across markets, promising organizations the capability to transform and optimize the business. Defined, artificial intelligence is the “development…

What solutions are populating the utility analytics space?

We looked to our members to find out which solutions are rising to the top of the utility analytics market. Big data and analytics are transforming the public utility sector with advances in storage, computing power, applications, and…

New technologies creating opportunities in transmission analytics

Power transmission has rarely been the hottest topic in the utility industry. With the integration of large-scale renewables and the drive to decarbonize, this segment of the power value chain has received more attention, and the focus on…

Increasing grid reliability through AI and the power of prediction

Tom Martin, formerly of PG&E and now Trove, discusses an AI data-driven path to outage prevention Reliability – the ability to deliver uninterrupted power to residences and businesses across a service territory – is a top priority of…

Digital twins: big gains for utilities, but not so fast

Digital twins hold promise, but not without a massive data headache The digital twin market is exploding—some say to the tune of $15.66 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of almost 40%. Utilities are among many asset-intensive industries…

Taking strides & realizing value

The State of Utility Analytics from the SAS 2019 Global Utility Industry Survey The utility industry in 2019 is in many regards barely recognizable from the utility industry just 10 years ago. The growth of renewables, electric vehicles,…

Food for thought when feeding machine learning algorithms for vegetation management

Machine learning and artificial intelligence have strong potential in vegetation management, but there is a lot that can go wrong. My last blog discussed the opportunity for transmission and distribution utilities to use artificial intelligence (AI) to improve…

Commonwealth Edison poised to revolutionize energy delivery with Bronzeville Microgrid

Senior Vice President Of Technical Services M. Michelle Blaise Discusses The Project’s Significance In A Time Of Rapid Change. Chicago’s Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) is leading the way in revolutionizing energy delivery alongside Siemens and the Illinois Institute of…

It’s complicated: smart grid in the city

How steady is the bridge between the smart grid and smart cities? The buzz of the smart grid began to cede ground to smart cities just a few short years ago in 2013 (at least if Google Trends…

The thorny issue of analytics-based vegetation management

Hard work could reap big rewards in vegetation management. The world of vegetation management (VM) has received significant press in 2019, and for good reason. In 2017 and 2018, a series of deadly wildfires struck the state of…

Advanced investment planning: a strategic imperative for the smart grid

How utilities are optimizing smart grid investments in the digital age. A typical electric utility is responsible for investing in the maintenance and replacement of millions of assets spread across thousands of kilometers of the network. Making the…

Missouri utility embarks on $5.3 billion grid modernization plan

Microgrid And New Technology Pilot Program To Be Included. Ameren Missouri over the next five years plans to invest $5.3 billion on more than 2,000 infrastructure improvement projects across its 24,000 square mile service area. The Smart Energy…

Applying metering analytics to common distribution challenges

Meter data improves visibility into the edge of the electric system, directly impacting a wide range of utility operations. Distribution utilities have installed millions of smart grid devices, creating an unprecedented amount of data available for analysis. The…

Edge computing plus blockchain is on the bleeding edge (Blockchain series part 2)

Blockchain was developed to facilitate the business of cryptocurrency, but now utilities can leverage the technology to solve other business problems. Marrying Blockchain with edge computing could be the next step forward for utilities. But what happens if…

Asset Performance Management: has the time for utilities to invest finally arrived?

Utilities around the world are waking up to the reality that they must prioritize their investments based on asset health and not age. Gaining an accurate assessment of an asset’s health can be a complicated task, however; drawing…

This is what an analytics partnership looks like: Avista and PNNL’s collaboration

Avista and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together on advancing the grid. You may know that PNNL has been active in developing the concept of transactive energy, “a…

Making Sense of Sensors in the Age of the Smart Grid

Grid operators across Europe are experiencing higher maintenance and reinforcement costs than ever before and, without significant increases in funding, are realizing that they must fundamentally change the way that their assets are operated, maintained and replaced. In…

TOU Rates: Marketing Financial Benefits of EV Ownership

In the face of declining profits, utility companies are recognizing Electric Vehicle (EV) charging as a viable source of revenue. According to a report from the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, a comprehensive shift to EV charging is estimated…

Blockchain linking business challenges and solutions for utilities (Blockchain series part 1)

Once regarded as a back-door payment solution for less-than-legal online commerce, Blockchain is moving into the mainstream due to its ability to solve complex problems quickly and efficiently. Blockchain has moved away from its tech audience niche, with…

Customer and Data Analytics Part 2: Mastering Utility Customer Satisfaction 2.0 through AI

AI is becoming indispensable across industries, and utilities are not immune. Back in 2012, the Aberdeen group reported that merely 18% of utility industry businesses believed that customer satisfaction was important. Since then, several well-documented market factors have…

Expedite Energy Transformation by Adopting Proven Practices

5 Precepts That Promote Effective Power System Planning and Operations In November 2018, the European Commission adopted a strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive, and climate neutral economy by 2050. Wide-scale energy transformation is central to…

Operational Analytics: Avoid “Get Rich Quick” Schemes

Defined in the negative, operational analytics are not about those precious “aha” moments or dramatic storytelling; they are about making better decisions in the moment. While there are many popular press stories generated about the beneficial returns from…

Customer Data Analytics Part 1: Inventing on Behalf of your Customers

Customer Analytics will help utilities provide better service and identify new opportunities, but not without adopting a new perspective on customers. From the 13th century until the early 19th century, roughly 600 years, people connected pieces of paper…

Protecting the grid in a time of increasing complexity

Grid reliability cannot be maintained in a silo. The North American bulk power system is a highly complex machine. It is also one of the most critical infrastructures to society and as electrification expands into every aspect of…

It’s twelve o’clock, do you know where your unhealthy transformers are?

Let’s face it. The utility industry is asset-intensive. Even with disruptions to centralized supply and delivery models, there will still be physical assets to maintain. Over the last three decades, asset management practices have evolved from routine maintenance…

Is R Shiny the Holy Grail for publishing analytics?

UAI's Analytics Architecture & Technologies group is exploring strategies for publishing analytics models. R Shiny has recently risen to the top at many organizations. Data visualization tools have brought many benefits to the utility industry, making it easier…

Ask utilities about their data challenges, and they will come

How to create data solutions for utilities that they actually need Most people who were around circa 1990 know the quote from the Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come.” While this approach worked out…

The Value of Utility Data: Sunshine or Oil?

Utilities need to take a few things into account before they can extract value out of their data. We’ve all heard it; data is the new oil. It’s valuable. It’s a differentiator. Like crude oil, it needs to…

Valuable new data sources for utilities

New data sources for power utilities continue to emerge, a trend that is likely to continue in the digital age. Whether these new data sources can and will be harnessed by utilities for significant value, however, remains an…

How the utility can do more than just light up the town

The best way to your customers may be through the front doors of City Hall. In the late 1990s, I was working with a cable company that was deeply invested in selling high speed data services to the…

Do you really want your utility to be data-centric?

It is absurd to think that there is a single modernized utility that doesn’t derive some significant value from analyzing data. Without data and its analysis, it’s impossible to improve customer segmentation for improved demand-response targeting, revenue protection,…

Predictive maintenance improves asset efficiency for the energy industry

Predictive maintenance growth in North American markets a result of high potential for ROI and operational benefits. Equipment manufacturers, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies, and power and process plant owners and operators for the energy industry commonly…

Analytics are at core of non-wires alternatives projects

Analytics are essential from the get-go for non-wires alternatives (NWA) projects to succeed. NWA are gaining popularity in utilities, so much so that E4theFuture funded a study by the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) and the Peak Load…

Smarter Grid, Smarter City

Smart grid will be the leading edge of revolutionary new electric grid capabilities soon to be launched to achieve a set of key environmental and sustainability goals. Next year PGE will begin building three smart grid test beds…

Xcel Energy and Google collaboration indicates a shift in how utilities are serving customers

Brett Carter, executive vice president and Chief Customer & Innovation Officer at Xcel Energy discusses the company's partnership with Google. Brett Carter, executive vice president and Chief Customer & Innovation Officer at Xcel Energy The internet has changed…

A good utility data scientist? More than some experience required

A background in data science versus a background in utilities? How can utilities hire the right people for their analytics initiatives? Nearly every utility has a data analytics initiative today, or at least the beginnings of one. Like…

The transition from power-line carrier

Comanche Electric Cooperative moves to the next generation of advanced metering infrastructure communications with real-time visibility into the grid. Nov 26, 2018 As technology companies pioneered new mobile applications such as email and web browsing on phones and…

New uses of smart meter data are coming to utilities

It is that time again. FERC just published a paper that has been on my night stand every year at this time since 2006: the Assessment of Demand Response and Advanced Metering. The original economic justification for smart…

Advanced grid analytics program integrates energy theft

The “adapter-free” integration feature found in the new software version eliminates the need for most custom adapters to deploy metering analytics ATLANTA, GA. – Nov. 15, 2018 – Landis+Gyr (LAND.SW) has released version 5.1 of its Advanced Grid…

Arrowhead Cooperative Uses Data Analytics to Pinpoint Meter Issues

Arrowhead Cooperative combined data from three grid modernization technologies to pinpoint and prioritize load control receivers that need maintenance. Like many electric cooperatives in the United States, Arrowhead Electric Cooperative Inc. employees have at their fingertips the power of…

Visualizing utility data analytics: making the point

The brightest person in the room might also be the worst one at telling a story. In the early years of in-home energy display technology, there was an ongoing and often heated debate over how to drive behavior…

Municipals face new challenges in managing the risk in energy procurement

Municipal utilities have the reputation of being dedicated to the customer and dedicated they are, especially when it comes to meeting customers’ desires for sustainability. Municipal utilities and cooperatives like Georgetown Utilities (TX), the City of Austin, the…

How TVA weathers storms

The resilience matrix has provided TVA methodologies to understand severe storms and plan for future events. The Tennessee Valley Authority has transmission facilities in seven states in the mid-south region of the United States. The climate in general is mild…

Analytics experts converge in Orlando

There’s little doubt that today’s utilities have entered the age of Big Data — and Big Analytics. From customer experience ratings to SAIDI and CAIDI numbers, from equipment operations data to weather metrics, most if not all utilities…

Utilities are getting nimble with analytics start-up investments and partnerships

Demanding times call for innovation and utilities have responded by getting involved. Traditionally risk averse, utilities now recognize that they can learn from companies that are born of a culture of fail fast, learn and move on. Active…

Eyes on the grid – the sensor revolution

The New York Power Authority Is In The Vanguard Of Utilities Turning To Sophisticated Sensors To Better Understand Their Billions Of Dollars Of Grid Equipment – And Provide For More Resilient Electric Service. A vast multiplication of sensors…

Utilities’ staff can focus on high-value activity with digital monitoring & diagnostics

Organizations such as utilities that manage complex assets often become aware of problems only after significant damage or failures occur on those assets. This reactive approach to asset management leads to avoidable productivity loss, downtime and expensive repairs.…

States increase efficiency investments and power savings: ACEEE Scorecard

NJ, CT, CO, SD improve most; MA and CA lead. As the U.S. government loosens environmental rules, states are investing more in energy efficiency and delivering increased power savings, according to the 2018 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard. This…

Data Privacy: A Secret Ingredient for Aspirational Energy Innovators

Data privacy is bubbling up across markets as a major issue to be faced. The DataGuard Initiative is aiming to be a source of support for utilities. When widespread furor erupted over FaceBook and Cambridge Analytica’s unauthorized uses…

Situational awareness depends on weather forecasting for utilities

The phrase, “you don’t have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing,” applies less and less these days. Between wildfires in California and flooding in the Carolina’s, utilities have been on high alert.…

Using an analytics platform to build a bridge between grid and customer data

As many Utility Analytics Institute members are aware, and indeed are experiencing, utilities have historically had a very distinct wall between the siloes of customer operations and grid operations. Within each of these siloes were systems, data, processes,…

The City of Austin wants to be zero-net-energy by 2050…here’s how

Karl Popham, Manager of Electric Vehicles and Emerging Technology at Austin Energy Recently I had the opportunity to speak with Karl Popham, Manager of electric Vehicles & Emerging Technologies at Austin Energy. At the heart of one of…

Are DER-heavy utilities being held captive by technology limitations? 

The penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) is growing rapidly. Forward looking utilities are engaged in planning exercises to learn how DERs will impact their business. Concerned utilities want to understand the impact of DERs on revenue (minus…

Hurricane Florence: storm social media snapshot

As mutual assistance crews hit the road for the Carolinas, many companies tracked their progress on social media. Not that long ago, when linemen were deployed out on storms, they didn't have smart phones or social media at…

Three areas that should not be overlooked in prepping for this year’s storm season

Nothing can make or break a utility like a storm. The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season that devastated Texas, Florida, Georgia, the Caribbean and Puerto Rico, was a sobering experience. Many lessons were learned that are guiding efforts to…

Gas leaks are a massive headache for utilities—but analytics can help

With the gas explosion in San Bruno in 2010 came an uptick in public attention to the hazards of pipeline leaks. Regulators in several states are mandating more regular inspections and reporting, and penalties for incidents can be…

Doing data science right in Excel-pervasive utilities (on demand)

Tuesday, September 25th, 11:00am-12:00pm Eastern Clutter created by years of Excel usage is inescapable in the utility industry, as are its associated bad consequences. A few years ago The Energy Authority (TEA) decided to utilize R to break…

The future of power delivery

One word sums up all discussion of what the future grid will be — flexible. There is a great deal of speculation about what the electric power grid will look like in the next 10 to 20 years.…

Getting the pulse of your customers

T&D World's Rick Bush ponders the changing utility business since his time at Georgia Power. I once had the privilege of serving as the chairman of a Georgia Power committee to see how we might better serve our…

JD Powers Customer Satisfaction leaders – what’s analytics have to do with it? Part 2 – outages

As we reported recently, the new JD Power’s J.D. Power 2018 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study is out and it is good news for utilities. For the seventh consecutive year, customer satisfaction is up, which JD Powers believes…

Five lessons learned about change management

Raiford Smith, VP of Energy Technologies and Analytics at Entergy, shares insights based on his experiences with analytics and change management.  One of my favorite childhood songs was Elmo & Patsy’s Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.…

De-risking analytics: things you may not know

Deploying analytics has become a top priority for utilities and is driving significant investments. By now, most utilities know that there’s a slew of well-documented analytics use cases with proven value. Analytics technology can provide answers to complex problems…

Enabling self-service at City of Tallahassee Utilities

City of Tallahassee Utilities is undergoing an enormous transformation, and is working to put analytics into the hands of its employees through a self-service campaign using Alteryx/Tableau solutions. David Carnes, Mobile Systems Data Coordinator, shares some insights from…

Real-time customer sentiment for public services…this is a thing now

The cities of New York, Los Angeles, and Grand Rapids, Michigan have each turned to a new technology to track customer sentiment of their police forces. The technology is called Elucd, and the goal is to monitor public…

Using Data is Key to Grid Development

Information Can Heighten Grid Security, Top Government And Utility Leaders Tell Icons Of Infrastructure Washington Conference. The public and private sectors are increasingly focused on using analytics to make the nation’s electrical grid more secure. “We’re looking at…

JD Powers Customer Satisfaction Leaders – What’s Analytics Have to Do with It?

The new JD Power’s J.D. Power 2018 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study.SM is out and it is good news for utilities. For the seventh consecutive year, customer satisfaction is up. Many in the industry are curious about what…

Enabling Rapid Analytics Evolution at Tacoma Public Utilities

While many utilities understand that the analytics discipline offers heaps of benefits, crafting an actionable analytics strategy has proven much more difficult. In less than two years, Tacoma Public Utilities (TPU) has engaged in a rapid transformation effort…

Self-Service for Utilities: What’s Holding People Back?

The Analytics Architecture & Technology Advancement Group at UAI meets to share insights and experience on the use of customer segmentation. This is a report out of the discussion. In an ideal working environment, we have no barriers. We can…

Deploying Analytics as EV Penetration Increases

There is no question that the pace of EV adoption is quickening, and analytics are more important than ever for utilities to accommodate that growth. Once a niche product, EVs are coming into the mainstream. In the United…

Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Outage Management Systems at Florida Power & Light

Thursday, August 16th at 1:00pm EDT Over 50,000 times a year, Florida Power & Light’s field crew is deployed to respond to customer-reported outages. Beginning in 2016, FPL began building systems that analyze smart grid data for active…

Optimizing Utility Segmentation with Predictive and Qualitative Insights

The Customer Analytics Advancement Group at UAI meets to share insights and experience on the use of customer segmentation. This is a report out of the discussion. Knowing your customer is the key to business success for nearly…

Advancing Risk-Based Posture through Platform Alignment: NERC’s ERO Enterprise CMEP Technology Project

Stan Hoptroff, VP, CTO, and Director of Information Technology at the North American Electric Reliability Council, discusses the use of NERC's ERO Enterprise CMEP technology to streamline compliance monitoring and reduce risk. Maintaining reliability across the bulk power system…

Technology to Culture: Evergy’s Enterprise Analytics Toolset

Andy Kapp, lead enterprise architect at Evergy, discusses how the right approach to technology can help to create an analytics culture.  What types of benefits and ROI has your utility observed from adopting analytics? A data driven culture,…

PG&E’s Agile Asset Analytics Teamwork  

Jen Owens of Pacific Gas & Electric's Digital Catalyst Group discusses how agile product development teams at PG&E have developed tools to optimize asset management via data science and advanced analytics. How did your agile product development team…

Data: The Renewable Resource for Digital Reinvention

It’s undeniable - analytics provide utilities with opportunities to realize significant cost savings in work and asset functions.  Additionally, improvements in network reliability, regulatory compliance, customer satisfaction and safety can be achieved.  Obtaining these benefits requires a focused…

Optimizing Your Grid of the Future Means Optimizing Your Data

Each month, UAI members gather to discuss the role of data analytics in grid optimization. This is a report out of recent discussions. It’s not 2008 anymore, but there is something in the air in terms of utilities…
future of utility analytics

The Future of Utility Analytics: Insights from Leading Utility Companies

The energy industry is evolving at a rapid speed, and utilities are embracing data and analytics to counter challenges and create new opportunities. But, with their unique regulatory structure and the complexity of managing energy resources, utilities have…

AMI Transforms Business and Benefits Customers

Modern utilities are challenged to do more with less. Today, utilities must meet the ever-growing expectations of consumers while maintaining or reducing operational costs and, most importantly, keeping the lights on, despite heavy electricity demand. To support each…

Aligning the Business: Salt River Project’s Analytics Organization

SRP has a thriving Analytics Community. Last year we formally established a community of people with an interest in data and analytics together to share success stories, discuss tools, show best practices, and encourage collaboration. This group meets…

Using Analytics to Enable Successful IT/OT Convergence

There is a new mindset coming to the forefront for utility leadership, a mindset that says: “Data must be considered a vital asset to the enterprise.”  Without this statement, grid modernization efforts will only go so far. Distribution…

Assuring Reliability in an Evolving Utility Landscape

The electric grid as we know it is changing. The generating resource mix is shifting with the retirement of natural gas, coal and nuclear plants combined with the introduction of renewable energy resources, such as wind and solar…

Road-mapping for Artificial Intelligence: Are Utilities Already There?

Earlier this month, Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar participated in a cross-industry White House Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI). There were no identifiable outcomes of the meeting, but AI for utilities and power generators…

Should Utilities Outside of Europe be Worried about GDPR?

Data Privacy is top of mind across markets, due in part to the mandatory implementation of GDPR to all companies that do business within the European Union, in addition to the accumulation of headlines involving high-profile privacy violations (Red…

Analytics as Strategy: Integrating Analytics to Drive Customer Value and Operational Excellence

Integrating Analytics to Drive Customer Value and Operational Excellence While many utilities understand that the analytics discipline offers many benefits, crafting an actionable analytics strategy has proven more difficult. In this session, Joe Tellez and Andrew Braeger of…

How Dangers of Imprecise Thinking Could Increase as T&D Data Accuracy Increases

Some folks may be surprised to learn that a utility with millions of customers could have a 100% accurate billing system which associates each customer address correctly with each meter, while having a much less accurate mapping of…

Analytics Strategy is Like Military Intelligence

Utility analytics and I have had a very long, sometimes frustrating, sometimes rewarding relationship. Having started as a SCADA (Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition) market analyst nearly three decades ago, and SCADA being arguably an early version of…

Bridging the Gap Between Analytics and Business: Southern California Edison’s Story

Last month at the Utility Analytics Summit, four data scientists provided examples and realistic perspective on how they’ve optimized model-building for their internal customers at Southern California Edison (SCE). Two key aspects of model-building emphasized by the SCE…

1+1=4: What Synergies Will be Created by California’s May 2018 Initiative to Have PV Installed on All New Homes?

What unexpected synergistic benefits will be created, based on the announcement this week that California plans to have solar photovoltaic panels installed on 100% of new homes in the state?  The announcement represents a tremendous vote of confidence…

Show me the Money—High-Profile for Advanced Analytics in Utility Project Finance

Advanced analytics will likely play a front-and-center role in the majority of goals associated with a drive toward operational excellence which American Electric Power highlighted in a recent publicly-available presentation to a major investment bank. Well-prioritized advanced analytics…

How Smarter Customers Can Make Smarter Grids: Using Lessons from Behavioral Science in Utility Marketing Programs

nalysts involved in building new Demand Response, Home Energy Network, and Energy Efficiency programs may find the following analogy of interest, especially if they work at utilities seeking to improve upon low (often single-digit percentage) participation levels currently…

Bulk Power Bulking Up: Investments in Advanced Analytics and the Bulk Electric System (BES)

With a spotlight on analytics and DER, it’s important to remember that advanced analytics capabilities in support of optimal operation of centralized generating facilities and the Bulk Electric System (BES) connecting them are vital areas of recent utility…

Analytics Strategies vs. Tactics: Analytics Roadmaps Vary Based on Where You’re Going

Major advanced analytics strategic considerations are involved in a utility's decision to replace a core legacy system, such as a Customer Information System. In contrast, a more tactical "quick win" approach can fit advanced analytics projects of narrow…

Customer Segmentation Insights—Using Analytics to Avoid Pitfalls

The phrase "all other things being equal" has been a simplifying assumption frequently employed in many situations. But in the data-driven world in which utilities now operate, this common phrase should be viewed with increased skepticism, including decision-making…

The Art of Data Science

Some of the keys to optimizing outcomes of an advanced analytics project appear directly associated with how utility personnel define project “success” and how they frame any obstacles they encounter along the way. A theme during several Q&A…

Keeping Ahead of the Dark Side of Customer Engagement—Detecting Power Theft

Power theft (or energy diversion) is like an arms race, where the good guys are constantly seeking to stay ahead of the bad guys. In a recent filing a revealing spotlight was shined upon the multi-faceted relationship between…

The Role of Advanced Analytics in Optimizing ROI of Projects to Improve Day-to-Day Outage Management Response

Utility planners can drive big ROIs by using more detailed data to reveal the best area for improvement when it comes to responding to smaller day-to-day outages. A review of a wide range of recent OMS-related improvements clearly…

Distributed Generation and Distributed Energy Resources Cost Estimation Trends Evaluated

A February 2018 Pacific Northwest National Labs (PNNL) white paper provides helpful perspective on factors to consider when utilities evaluate the economics of distributed generation (DG) and associated analytics challenges. Source:  "Distributed Generation Valuation and Compensation."  Page 35…

Taking a Cleaner Grid from Imagined to Dispatched in Practice

What will be required for Distributed Energy Resource Management System solutions to model and control increasingly complex grids and asset portfolios? Recent work by Sameer Kalra and his colleagues at Pacific Gas & Electric provides a sense of…

7 Reasons Not To Miss UA Summit 2018

The Utility Analytics Summit offers the same type of inspiring setting to exchange ideas as years past, but this year the Summit will be held in a growing technology hub: Irvine, California, from April 16th through the 18th,…

Ameren Loss Analysis

Increasing use of distributed energy resources drives development of real-time system loss analysis. Whether a utility generates its own power or buys power on the wholesale market, one certainty is the amount of electricity the utility puts into…

Meeting New Challenges with Advancements in Asset Health

Along with ongoing low electric sales growth and aging T&D assets, will reduced access to capital now make advanced asset health solutions even less of a luxury and more of a necessity?     Advanced analytics is enabling…

Making Effective Headway with Machine Learning: What are We Missing?

As the members of UAI climb up the maturity curve and share their success around using analytics in their business, there are still road bumps ahead. I recently read an article related to machine learning, “The machine learning…

The Future is Now

Over the last decade, utilities have pushed the envelope on analytics. Moving from an era where industry publications ran cover stories on the “data deluge,” we see utility analytics leaders today re-shaping business operations across the utility enterprise…

Next Steps Toward a Next-Gen Advanced Analytics Infrastructure

What advanced analytics infrastructure will be required to enable reliable, full-scale deployments of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in the future? One can get some indications regarding key improvement areas for a future advanced analytics infrastructure by reviewing findings…
Future is Now

Electric Utilities and Machine Learning: Achieving Widening ROI via Artificial Intelligence

While Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is not new to utilities, new insights via Machine Learning are increasing the range and size of A.I.-related benefits From self-healing grids to voice recognition applications, electric utilities have already been enjoying a positive…

Next Steps Toward a Next-Gen Advanced Analytics Infrastructure

Won’t next-generation advanced analytics infrastructure have to be at least as reliable as the grid it will be supporting? What advanced analytics infrastructure will be required to enable reliable, full-scale deployments of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in the…

Making Effective Headway with Machine Learning: What are We Missing?

Utility Analytics Institute's Analytics Maturity Curve As the members of UAI climb up the maturity curve and share their success around using analytics in their business, there are still road bumps ahead. I recently read an article related…

Debating About Data Science Literacy

Do we need to teach data scientists to be better communicators, or improve the data science literacy of their audience, or both? In recent years, advanced analytics has been making a lot of Operations functions more efficient at…

Fathoming Advanced Analytics: Job Trends Part II of II

Benchmarks dispel the notion that utilities are “behind” other industries generally, when it comes to advanced analytics job trends for utilities vs. U.S. industries as a whole. Let’s unpack some of the BLS, BEA, Salesforce, and LinkedIn data…

Advanced Analytics and the Development of New Markets and Regulatory Mechanisms

How are utility regulatory models evolving, and what role will analytics have to play in this new world? Advanced analytics tools being adopted by leading utilities are not only facilitating uptake of new technologies such as IoT devices—they…

Meeting New Challenges with Advancements in Asset Analytics

Advanced analytics is enabling utilities to extract new value from operational and sensor data in diverse ways, helping to counter new financial, regulatory, and environmental challenges. Workflows impacted include  assessing failure modes, developing algorithms to predict failures, and…

New Weather Modeling Capabilities Driving Big Bottom-Line Benefits for Utilities

Source: Improving Weather Forecasts for Wind and Solar Energy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather is, rightfully, likely to appear near the top of the lists of risk factors published in utility Annual Reports. Utilities have already come…

Five Imperatives for Utilities Executives to Thrive in the Analytics Economy

The pressure to become a data-driven business with a competitive edge is greater now than ever. The digital economy brings new demands from technology-savvy customers and unprecedented competition from new players that have entered the “traditional” utility market…

Minimizing Customer Fraud through a Collaborative Analytics Approach

In 2017, Southern California Edison (SCE) centralized its process for addressing customer complaints for payment scams and fraud. This centralization allowed SCE to develop a process for data collection and analysis, leading to targeted education and outreach. This…

UAI Member Spotlight: Alejandro Komai, SCE

Dr. Alejandro Komai is a data scientist with Maintenance and Inspection Analytics at Southern California Edison. In his current role, he applies machine learning algorithms to predictive maintenance of poles, both pole loading and intrusive inspection. He earned…

Fathoming Advanced Analytics: Job Trends (part I of II)

Sometimes we need to pay attention to the man behind the curtain. U.S. utilities have a significantly higher portion of personnel involved in advanced analytics jobs than U.S. companies generally, and the top decile for these jobs’ salaries…

Oncor’s Journey to An Advanced Distribution Grid

Hagen Haentsch serves as Director of Oncor’s Distribution Operations Center – West (West DOC). His organization is responsible for monitoring and operating the Western half of Oncor’s distribution system, which serves approximately 3.5 million customers. In this capacity…

Advanced Analytics Meets Challenges of Wind Power Head-on

With wind power now exceeding hydro power as the largest source of renewable energy in the U.S., variations in intermittency of different sources of renewable energy are driving ever-more complex analytics requirements which need to be addressed now…

Tata Delhi’s Journey into the 21st Century

Shweta Mathur is the Head of Group, Business Relations & Analytics, of Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL). TPDDL is a Public Private  Partnership  (Joint  Venture)  of  Tata  Power  and  Government  of  National  Capital  Territory  of  Delhi.  The  …

Leveraging AMI Data to Tap Untapped Value

Many utilities have invested in Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). Now, they are looking at areas such as dynamic rates to increase returns on those investments.  The comedian Groucho Marx famously asked “Will it play in Peoria?” His vaudeville-era…

Centerpoint Energy’s Response to Hurricane Harvey

Hurricane Harvey was a record-breaking storm inundating southeast Texas with 51.88 inches of rainfall, breaking the single-storm record of 48 inches set in 1978. The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph at landfall. There were more…

Empowering Collaborative Advanced Analytics Across Utility Operations

This webinar will discuss the emergence of the Data Science Platform as an integrated and collaborative environment for empowering advanced analytics across the utility enterprise. A successful Data Science Platform enables the proliferation of data, opening up new…

Great Expectations: A Beginner’s Guide to Implementing Analytics

Raiford Smith, VP of Energy Technologies at Entergy, shares advice to new utility players in the analytics game, and how to turn expectations into value.  If you have read the classic novel Great Expectations, you will realize that plot…

PG&E’s Elaboration on Collaboration at Utility Analytics Week

Tom Martin, manager, Grid of Things, at Pacific Gas & Electric provides an interesting perspective on the value he and his team have been gaining from their collaborations with fellow Utility Analytics Institute members. A key focus for…

Unlocking the Power of Analytics

As the Internet of Things becomes a reality, billions of connected devices are generating massive amounts of data. In fact, by 2020, the number of internet-connected things is estimated to reach 50 billion. All this data has a…

Sensor Technology on Regularly Scheduled Flights Brings in New Data

Electric utilities performing transmission line aerial patrols and inspections are now receiving valuable new data from regularly scheduled flights by placing Exacter sensor technology on-board the aircraft. As the aircraft flies, Exacter's technology automatically identifies and maps conditions known…

Ameren Loss Analysis

A regulated utility recovers the cost of system losses through rate mechanisms partially supported by the utility’s system loss analysis (SLA). Traditionally, SLA requires a long and arduous engineering study that can take more than a year. It…

Obtaining Value From Smart, Connected Power Plant Assets

Please join Utility Analytics Institute members CPS Energy and Duke Energy for a presentation on how analytics is transforming power generation operations at both organizations. We will hear about CPS’ journey of concept to deployment of near-real-time situational…

Webinar: The Current State Of Smart Grid Analytics

The Utility Analytics Institute conducted a research study sponsored by ABB to assess how far the utility industry has progressed in its evolution toward a smart grid and maturation of smart grid analytics. The Current State of Smart…

Utilities and Analytics Excellence: An Interview with Raiford Smith

I had the following interesting discussion regarding analytics trends with Raiford Smith, VP of Energy Technology and Analytics at Entergy. Raiford brings more than 26 years of industry experience with strategies and innovations related to supply- and demand-side…

How Utilities are Leveraging the Benefits of Machine Learning

Machine learning is igniting a data analytics revolution across industries. Join UAI members, actively applying it to different operational domains to solve business challenges. Discussed use cases include: Demand Response, Outage Management, Real Time Grid Operations, and DER…