Utilities Collaborate on Open-Source Software The electric utility industry is increasingly challenged by external drivers such as regulatory obligations and mandates as well as competitors who want to disintermediate utility customers from their current energy provider. Distribution system operator (DSO) models and aggregator participation are challenging the status quo for utility business models. The utility … Continue reading Utilities Collaborate on Open-Source Software →

The customer reigns supreme for investor-owned electric companies ORLANDO — The power industry is transitioning to a more customer-centric focus fueled by distributed energy resources (DER) that are being added to the grid, sources said during the Edison Electric Institute’s (EEI) Financial Conference held here earlier this week. As electric companies spend billions to upgrade … Continue reading The customer reigns supreme for investor-owned electric companies →

Utility chiefs address how to adapt to ‘slowest train wreck in history’ GE chief digital officer Steven Martin vividly captured the present state of flux affecting the global power sector at a London conference last week. Top executives from Innogy, Enel, E.ON and General Electric were on hand to discuss the transformation of the global … Continue reading Utility chiefs address how to adapt to ‘slowest train wreck in history’ →

Imagining the Utility of the Future The past few years have exploded the once-popular idea that the utility industry is sleepy and slow moving. Indeed, a combination of factors has transformed the energy sector in which utilities operate into one of the most innovative and dynamic in the entire global economy. As is so often … Continue reading Imagining the Utility of the Future →

How top utilities are attracting next-gen workers Lloyd Adams from SAP for Utilities explains how utilities could attract a more diverse workforce Let’s face it, chances are slim today that “utilities industry professional” is on the short list of what young people want to be when they grow up. Ours is an industry that, often … Continue reading How top utilities are attracting next-gen workers →

Managing Grid Stability and Transmission Congestion The New York subway officially opened in 1904, yet after more than 100 years, it has remained relatively the same – effective still, but little changed. Similarly, the U.S. power grid traces its beginnings to more than a century ago, and in many ways it’s not tremendously different today … Continue reading Managing Grid Stability and Transmission Congestion →

21st Century Micro-Utility Microsoft recently decided it would no longer get power from its local utility at their Redmond, Washington campus, but would strike out on its own in pursuit of a different approach to power. In a blog post, the company said it would “go to the open market to buy 100 percent carbon-free … Continue reading 21st Century Micro – Utility →

Public Utilities in Trouble Public utilities are struggling with digitalization and the switch to green power. A very different landscape will emerge from a period of consolidation and reinvention. The analysis was as ruthless as it was overdue. Chief executive Susanna Zapreva told the supervisory board that Hanover’s public utility was struggling with both digitalization … Continue reading Public Utilities in Trouble →

Public Power Perspective: What Do Customers Expect from Your Utility? A keynote expert panel at American Public Power Association’s November 2016 Customer Connections Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, focused on the question: How do public power utilities adapt to changing customer expectations and new technologies? A review of the panel’s four experts provides good perspective on … Continue reading Public Power Perspective: What Do Customers Expect from Your Utility? →

Strength in numbers: Solving industry issues will take collaboration Utility folk have a long history of helping each other out. When Katrina’s blow downed power lines throughout the Gulf Coast, some 46,000 restoration workers traveled to the area and helped local utilities get the power back on. This esprit de corps will be a crucial … Continue reading Strength in numbers: Solving industry issues will take collaboration →