The Chartwell PowerUP 2024 conference provided a critical platform for discussing the evolving landscape of utility operations, highlighting a pivotal shift from mere reliability to a broader focus on resilience. This transition is driven by changing customer expectations, regulatory mandates, and the increasing frequency of extreme events impacting utility infrastructure.
Resilience vs. Reliability: The Next Big Thing
Reliability refers to the ability of the utility to provide a continuous supply of electricity with minimal interruptions, measured by metrics such as outage duration and frequency. On the other hand, resilience encompasses a broader spectrum of capabilities, including the ability to anticipate, absorb, adapt to, and rapidly recover from disruptive events. Resilience is about maintaining essential functions during and after a crisis, ensuring that utilities can not only withstand but also thrive amidst challenges. The dialogue at PowerUP focused on this fundamental shift towards proactive management, communications, and disaster response, all centered around the emerging concept of a “resilient utility.”
Why It Matters: Customer Satisfaction
Don Daigler, Resilience Executive Consultant and former Managing Director of Business Resiliency at SCE highlighted key statistics about resilience in a roundtable talk with Avangrid, TVA, and PG&E. Customers who perceive their utility as resilient are more satisfied. This is because a resilient utility provides assurance that it can handle unexpected disruptions, maintain service continuity, and recover swiftly from incidents. The peace of mind that comes with knowing their utility is prepared for emergencies leads to higher customer confidence and satisfaction.
Evolving Customer Expectations
Today’s customers expect more from their utilities than ever before. They demand not just reliable power but also transparency, swift communication during outages, and proactive measures to prevent disruptions. As the industry reaches a tipping point, utilities are being held to higher standards of resilience. This shift is compounded by the aging infrastructure and the ongoing electrification of various sectors, which transform the grid from a one-way to a two-way system.
Practices Vary Among Utilities
Emergency management practices vary significantly among utilities, influenced by geographic, regulatory, and operational differences. While some utilities are advanced in their resilience strategies, others are still catching up. This disparity highlights the need for a standardized approach to resilience across the industry, ensuring that all utilities can meet the rising expectations of customers and regulators alike.
All Hazards Management
There is a growing concept of “All Hazards Management,” meaning that utilities must take proactive measures to prepare for any eventuality. This includes investing in modern infrastructure, deploying advanced communication tools, and implementing comprehensive emergency response plans. By doing so, they can enhance their resilience and ensure they are ready to tackle the challenges posed by natural disasters, cyber threats, and other disruptive events. PG&E’s presentation discussed the concept of an All Hazards Awareness Center, which goes beyond a Wildfire Operations Center to provide resiliency support for all hazards that can impact operations and their customers.
The Role of a Resilience Executive
Avangrid’s presentation emphasized the role of a resilience executive, an emerging position in response to these evolving needs. Some states and regulatory commissions are mandating this new role within utilities. This executive oversees the utility’s resilience strategies, ensures compliance with regulatory requirements, and drives continuous improvement in resilience practices. The mandate for this role underscores the critical importance of resilience in the utility sector. It was noted that the industry is at a “tipping point” where resilience and reliability needs must be addressed, considering the aging infrastructure and the shift to a two-way grid system. The industry must figure out how to leapfrog into the next phase, or customers will bear the recovery costs.
Conclusion
The Chartwell PowerUP 2024 conference underscored the critical importance of shifting focus from reliability to resilience in utility operations. As the utility sector evolves, the need for advanced tools and strategies becomes ever more apparent. One such tool is the DataCapable Threat Detector Software, which empowers stakeholders to discern the time and location of events that affect operations, including active shootings, wildfires, floods, and other significant events and disasters. This transformational software enhances threat awareness and crisis response, providing utilities with the insights needed to maintain resilience and operational integrity.
DataCapable
At DataCapable, we understand the critical need for rapid and accurate information during emergencies and outages. Our suite of solutions is meticulously designed to revolutionize the utility industry. Our comprehensive platform leverages the latest in AI and machine learning technologies to provide utilities with unparalleled operational insights and enhanced decision-making capabilities. To discover how the DataCapable Platform can assist utility companies like yours, please schedule a demo.
About the Author: Zac Canders
Zac Canders is a seasoned expert in the utility industry with 20 years of experience, specializing in business process improvement and IT strategy. With an MBA and Project Management Professional Certification, he excels in leveraging emerging technologies to enhance safety and optimize data sharing in the energy sector. Zac's extensive skill set includes product management, software project management, and management consulting, making him a valuable partner to leading consulting firms and major utilities like Accenture, Deloitte, and PG&E.
