In our previous blog, Why Operational Technology (OT) may be your Cybersecurity Achilles’ Heel, we discussed how OT systems had been historically “closed” and that they have evolved over time to become more “open” and able to leverage common off-the-shelf IT technologies. With the advent of this industrywide shift, we identified a departmental clash between OT and IT personnel on how to best...
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Utility representatives and service providers from North America and South America gathered at the UTC Power Grid 4.0 Digitalization Forum on Oct. 16-18 to discuss and debate the changes occurring in the utility industry. Utility executives presented on topics that included the business drivers of digitization, the keys to success on the path to digitization, and considerations on how to...
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Essential. Reliable. Invaluable. Water—it’s the thread that weaves together our daily lives. It keeps our communities healthy, our cities running, and our economies growing. While essential, water infrastructure is largely invisible. Few people realize what it takes to treat and deliver drinking water every day or how wastewater is cleaned so that it can be safely reused or returned to the...
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Electric utilities are undergoing many transformational changes that affect how they operate and engage with customers. The latest trend – gaining quite a bit of traction – is electric vehicles (EVs). Why is this a big deal? EVs are a unicorn trifecta of a win-win-win scenario: benefiting customers, electric utilities, and society.…
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Join the discussion at the New York Energy Summit: West Monroe leads a panel on the benefits and implications of the Value of Distributed Energy Resources (VDER). New approaches to net energy metering (NEM) are expanding across the U.S. Nationwide, lawmakers and regulators are setting aggressive clean energy goals and targets, and the integration of distributed energy resources (DERs) on the...
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As part of our cloud advisory engagements, we work with clients to determine their strategic visions and goals for adopting cloud technologies. Cloud adoption in most industries is well underway but the landscape within energy and utilities is a bit different. This is primarily driven by two factors: Utilities’ unique IT organizations, matched with their technical and operational...
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As we engage utilities on their progress and insights deploying data analytics platforms and use cases, we’re noticing a common theme. When embarking on more complex operational technology (OT) use cases, they are finding gaps in historical records that require them to revisit or rethink their data acquisition, storage, and retrieval strategies.…
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With baby boomers retiring in record numbers and millennials projected to comprise nearly 75% of the workforce by 2025, utilities are faced with the challenge of recruiting and training the next generation of leaders. In early May, members of the Greater NY Chapter of the Women’s Energy Network and the NY Chapter of Young Professionals in Energy gathered at West Monroe’s New York City office...
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Join the discussion at AWWA ACE19: West Monroe and California American water explore the landscape of AMI network design As utilities continue to explore and deploy AMI, there is mounting pressure to use existing telecommunications networks, preventing redundant networks from being constructed across the same geography. Water utilities today have a myriad of options – privately owned, shared...
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The price that you pay for electricity may be very different from what your neighbor may pay, or the small shop down the street, the farmer upstate, or the large Industrial plant miles away. Utility rates have many components, including the type of customer you are (residential, commercial agriculture, etc.), amount of energy used, income level, location, and many other factors.…
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“Perseverance: Be Energized. Be Bold. Be You!” As a longtime member and supporter of the Women’s Energy Network (WEN), three representatives from our Energy & Utilities practice attended the WEN 2019 National Conference. The theme of the conference focused on how women can use their perseverance, energy, boldness, and unique aspects to shape the future of an industry on the...
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In 2014, Governor Andrew Cuomo launched New York’s signature energy policy, Reforming the Energy Vision (REV). One of the goals of REV is to commit the state to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40%. While this goal is central to the policy’s purpose of creating a dynamic, clean energy economy, it is also not entirely aligned with the construction of new gas pipelines in the area.…
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