Three years ago, I managed the vendor evaluation process for a utility assessing wireless options for telecom connectivity to substations. The field was limited to two vendors and cybersecurity was an important topic we wanted to explore in more detail with each. One specific area we sought to understand was the process used to address any cybersecurity issues that might arise with the...
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As we approach the midpoint of 2018, here are some of the top challenges West Monroe sees in the water industry. Water utility leaders continue to face issues produced by years of underinvestment — aged infrastructure, highly-public water crises, and unmet customer service expectations. Furthermore, as water utilities introduce new technology to address these issues, there are increasing...
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West Monroe attended the 2018 CS Week conference hosted in Tampa earlier this month. CS Week is the premier annual educational and customer service conference serving electric, gas, and water/wastewater utility professionals globally. I attended CS Week a few years ago, and the big talk then was how “rate payers are now our customers, and they are demanding improved service.” Since then we...
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The 2018 New York Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) Summit, hosted by EUCI at National Grid’s Brooklyn headquarters last week, brought together leading industry experts and state policy makers to discuss the status and future of REV. Topics discussed included progress made toward REV goals, the technical and economic details of REV related pilot projects, and how New York’s energy...
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Distributed Energy Resource (DER) advancement is the driver to create significant growth in two-way data flow between DER devices and grid control systems, as well as between DER owners/aggregators and other market actors. Driven by requirements to support greater amounts of renewables, our distribution grids are transforming to accommodate two-way electricity and two-way data flow on the...
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What about AMI battery life? Water utilities throughout the United States are evaluating advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) as a way to improve meter read accuracy and reduce operational costs. In virtually every planning meeting, the topic of AMI battery life bubbles up. AMI devices are battery powered, and once the battery fails, the device must be replaced.…
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Part 3: The Consumer & Provider Relationship This is the final blog of a three-part series discussing the key contributions of the human element within a digital strategy. The term “digital transformation” can prompt thoughts of a change related event that is purely technology driven; however, the opposite is true. To “go digital” requires a cultural shift that places human collaboration...
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Last week I was a panelist at the Utility Analytics Summit 2018 in Irvine, CA. This conference brought together IT and business leaders to share trends, insights, and challenges as they leverage data insights in their organizations. Below, I share some specific areas where the IT role is evolving in this exciting area.…
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Part 2: Governance Modeling: A Central Component for Digital Transformation One of our clients posed a very interesting question about six months ago. Paraphrasing, he stated, “…anybody can build a bot, but nobody is providing a solution to govern them.” Over the course of the past six months, we have found many companies struggling with this question; however, the following reoccurring themes...
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Part 1: Shaping Consumer Demand with Business Capabilities This is the first of a three-part blog series explaining the human contribution within a digital strategy. From a foundational perspective, digital transformation is the application of digital capabilities to processes and products for improving efficiency, enhancing customer value, managing risk, and uncovering new opportunities for...
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The Advanced Energy Conference in New York City brought together utility and energy business leaders, researchers, technologists, and policy makers. A mix of plenary and breakout sessions were supplemented by exhibits and networking opportunities as attendees listened and engaged in discussion on the current state of the industry, and various futures on the horizon.…
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Today, March 22, is recognized by the United Nations as World Water Day and focuses on the importance of water. Our water systems today face urgent and dire situations – Cape Town, South Africa is rationing water and quickly approaching “Day Zero,” when fresh water supplies will go dry. Officials in Flint, Michigan are returning to court, facing involuntary manslaughter charges as well as...
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