powergridinternational201601 dl

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T H E O F F I C I A L P U B L I C A T I O N O F

YOUR POWER DELIVERY MEDIA SOURCE

32 BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)

42 Five Strategies to Engage

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2016

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Revenue collector.

Outage sensor.

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Rugged communications for the electric power grid

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2 | January 2016www.power-grid.com

PowerGrid International (ISSN 1547-6723).

PowerGrid International is published 12x times

per year, monthly by PennWell Corporation,

1421 S. Sheridan, Tulsa, OK 74112. Periodi-

cals postage paid at Tulsa, OK 74112 and at

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PRICES: $85 per year (U.S.), $94 (Canada/

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issues of PowerGrid International may be

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and $21 elsewhere. Copies of back issues

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addresses to P.O. Box 122, Niagara Falls,

ON L2E 6S4. PowerGrid International is a

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Publications Mail Agreement no. 40612608.

JANUARY 2016 VOLUME 21.01

22

The nations best electric T&D show is coming

to Orlando with its biggest offering yet: 12,000

attendees, 440 exhibitors and 428 speakers. By

Rod Walton, Senior Editor

From the Editor 4

Notes 6

Growing 18 Revenue From the Connected Home

New report by Deutsche

Telekom reveals opportunities

for utilities. What are the best

strategies in the home market? By

Jon Carter, Deutsche Telekom AG

32 CASE STUDY: Bring Your Own Device to Increase Efficiencies

Utilities are quickly learning how newly developed

geospatial software and handheld BYOD devices

can streamline operations. By Ron Bisio, Trimble

36 The Internet of Things Connection to the GridUtilities are the most critical player in leading this

transformational change as more and more IoT devices are

connected, benefiting consumers, cities, businesses and the

planet. By Mike Bell, Silver Spring Networks

39 Making Big Bets on IoT

Major players are investing in smart tech-

nologies. For those in the utility sector,

these moves have important implications.

By Neil Strother, Navigant Research

42 5 Analytics-Enabled Engagement Strategies To capitalize on new potential revenue streams, utilities must

establish deeper relationships with their commercial customers.

By Bennett Fisher, Retroficiency

44 Developing a Universal Power Quality StandardConsidering the variety of challenges

and environments across the world,

the industry can take more informed steps to

address challenges. By Matthew Bell, Aggreko

46 Products

47 Calendar/Ad Index

48 Parting Thoughts

1601pg_2 2 1/6/16 1:49 PM

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FROM THE EDITOR

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, NORTH AMERICAN POWER GENERATION GROUP

Richard Baker

EDITOR IN CHIEF Teresa Hansen

918.831.9504 [email protected]

SENIOR EDITOR Rod Walton


ONLINE/ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jeff Postelwait


CONTRIBUTING EDITOR TransmissionHub Senior Analyst Corina Rivera-Linares

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Deanna Taylor


VICE PRESIDENT-AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT & MARKETING

June Griffin

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Jesse Fyler


BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR Angie ODea


PENNWELL CORPORATION 1421 S. Sheridan Road, Tulsa, OK 74112

PO Box 1260, Tulsa OK 74101 Phone 918.835.3161 Fax 918.831.9834

[email protected] www.pennwell.com

PENNWELL CORP. IN EUROPE PennWell International Limited

The Water Tower, Gunpowder Mill Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 1BN, United Kingdom

phone +44.1992.656600 fax +44.1992.656700

[email protected]

CHAIRMAN Robert F. Biolchini

VICE CHAIRMAN Frank T. Lauinger

PRESIDENT AND CHIEF

EXECUTIVE OFFICER Mark C. Wilmoth

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CORPORATE

DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGY Jayne A. Gilsinger

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, FINANCE AND

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Brian Conway

SUBSCRIBER SERVICE P.O. Box 3264, Northbrook, IL 60065

phone 847.763.9540 [email protected]

POWERGRID International is the official publication of

EDITOR IN CHIEF TERESA HANSEN

You need only look at the cover of this issue to discover that this is our

DistribuTECH issue. Ive mentioned before that POWERGRID International

magazine is the official publication of DistribuTECH, PennWells large annual

T&D conference and exhibition. As the magazines chief editor, a big part

of my job throughout the year is to help shape DistribuTECHs conference

content and work closely with the rest of the event team to make sure every

detail is handled and the event is the best that it can be.

I attended DistribuTECH for the first time in 1995. The following year, I

helped launch POWERGRID International (originally titled Utility Automation)

magazine as its partner publication. Although I havent attended every

DistribuTECH or continuously been a part POWERGRID Internationals edi-

torial staff since then, I do have a long history with both the event and the

magazine. Ive watched and helped DistribuTECH grow from the small event

of 2,900 attendees and around 150 exhibitors in 1995 to this much larger

2016 event. We expect more than 440 exhibiting companies and 12,000-

plus attendees. In addition, weve scheduled 448 industry experts to speak

in the 77 conference sessions being offered.

Ive worked on the event continuously for the past eight years and

each of those years it has been larger than the previous year in numbers

of both attendees and exhibiting companies. This year is shaping up

to be another record-breaking year. Id like to think the DistribuTECH

teams hard work is the reason for this steady growth; however, we can

take only part of the credit.

New legislation, changing policies, customers growing expectations,

technology advancements, shifting generation mix, competition and

more are dramatically changing the way utilities operate and make

money. The products and services featured by the exhibiting companies

and the topics discussed in the conference sessions are key to ensuring

the electric grid is prepared not only to meet future demands, but to

become an enabler of future innovation. With a 25-year history of cov-

ering all things grid related, DistribuTECH is better positioned than any

other North American industry event to provide the information that

our industry wants and needs. This combined with the DistribuTECH

teams hard work is the reason the event continues to grow.

You still have time to register and make your travel arrangements to attend.

Im confident this will be the best DistribuTECH yet and wont disappoint.

You can learn more about DistribuTECH 2016 in Senior Editor Rod

Waltons article that begins on page 22 and on the event website: www.

distributech.com. I hope to see you in Orlando.

DistribuTECH 2016

Positioned to be the Best Yet

1601pg_4 4 1/6/16 1:50 PM

Industrializing Ethernet, Simplifying Industrial Communication

VISIT US AT DISTRIBUTECH BOOTH 1741

kyland.com

Introducing an

Industrial Ethernet off eringfor Power Utilities

beyond all others...

SICOM 3024P - quick plug and play for intelligent substations

ORLANDO, FL FEBRUARY 9 -11, 2016


1601pg_5 5 1/6/16 1:50 PM


NOTES

from renewable resources, load, dis-

tributed storage, and demand response

technologies into bulk power system in

a holistic manner.

Stanford University, Stanford,

California ($3,500,000)Open and

Scalable Distributed Energy Resource

Networks. Stanford University will develop

Powernet, an open-source and open archi-

tecture platform for scalable and secure

coordination of consumer flexible load and

distributed energy resources (DER).

General Electric Global Research,

Niskayuna, New York ($3,900,000)

Synthetic Reserves From Aggregated

Distributed Flexible Resources. General

Electric Global Research, along with its

partners, will develop a novel distributed

flexibility resource (DFR) technology that

aggregates responsive flexible loads and

DERs to provide synthetic reserve services

to the grid while maintaining quality cus-

tomer service.

National Renewable Energy

Laboratory (NREL), Golden, Colorado

($3,900,000)Real-time Optimization

and Control of Next-generation Distribution

Infrastructure. The NREL project will

develop a comprehensive distribution net-

work management framework that unifies

real-time voltage and frequency control at

the home and the DER controllers level

with network-wide energy management at

the utility/aggregator level.

Pacific Northwest National

Laboratory (PNNL), Richland,

Washington ($2,700,000)Multi-scale

Incentive-based Control of Distributed

Assets. PNNL will develop and test a hier-

archical control framework for coordinat-

ing the flexibility of a full range of DERs,

The U.S. Department of Energys

Advanced Research Projects Agency-

Energy (ARPA-E) announced $33 mil-

lion in funding for 12 innovative projects

as part of its newest programNetwork

Optimized Distributed Energy Systems

(NODES). NODES project teams will

develop technologies that coordinate load

and generation on the grid to create a vir-

tual energy storage system. The teams will

develop innovative hardware and software

solutions to integrate and coordinate gen-

eration, transmission and end-use energy

systems at various points on the electric

grid. These control systems will enable

real-time coordination between distrib-

uted generation, such as rooftop and

community solar assets and bulk power

generation, while proactively shaping

electric load. This will alleviate periods

of costly peak demand, reduce wasted

energy and increase renewables pene-

tration on the grid.

The NODES program continues ARPA-

Es commitment to investing in technolo-

gies that can provide options for our energy

infrastructure and its arising operational

challenges, said Dr. Ellen D. Williams,

ARPA-E director. The research and devel-

opment of these grid control technologies

will make the concept of virtual energy

storage a practical reality. The result will

enhance the resiliency, security and flexibil-

ity of our nations electrical grid and allow

the U.S. to make the best use of its abun-

dant renewable energy resources.

The NODES program aims to create

a new approach to management of the

two-way flow of power to and from homes

and businesses that consume and deliver

electricity back to the grid. The resulting

virtual energy storage will manage the

intermittency of renewable energy, the lack

of electricity production when the sun is

not shining and the wind is not blowing.

The expected benefits of these technologies

include improving grid efficiency, reducing

CO2 emissions in power generation and

significant system cost savings. The pro-

grams goal is to enable more than 50 per-

cent use of renewable power on the grid.

The 12 projects are:

University of Vermont, Burlington,

Vermont ($1,537,904)Packetized Energy

Management: Coordinating Transmission

and Distribution. The University of

Vermont (UVM) will develop and test a

new approach for demand-side manage-

ment called packetized energy manage-

ment (PEM) that builds on approaches

used to manage data in communication

networks without centralized control and

requires a high level of privacy.

University of California San Diego,

La Jolla, California ($2,338,485)

Distributed Grid Control of Flexible

Loads and DERs for Optimized Provision

of Synthetic Regulating Reserves. The

University of California, San Diego will

develop coordination algorithms and soft-

ware using intelligent control and optimi-

zation for flexible load and DERs to provide

reliable frequency regulation services for

the bulk power grid.

Arizona State University, Tempe,

Arizona ($3,000,000)Stochastic Optimal

Power Flow for Real-time Management

of Distributed Renewable Generation and

Demand Response. Arizona State University

will develop a stochastic (randomly deter-

mined) optimal power flow (SOPF) frame-

work, which would integrate uncertainty

ARPA-E AWARDS $33 MILLION TO FUND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR DISTRIBUTED ENERGY

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

1601pg_6 6 1/6/16 1:50 PM


1601pg_7 7 1/6/16 1:50 PM


NOTES

ZIP-detailed utility PV and PV/battery

forecasts, PV output, revenue impacts,

financial impacts of alternative rate

designs and potentials for utility con-

trol of PV/battery systems for demand

response. Annual forecasts will be pro-

vided for 10 years. Business model anal-

ysis reflects each utilitys hourly loads, PV

hourly output, utility avoided costs, cur-

rent utility rate structures, net metering

and other utility, federal and state incen-

tives and programs and other factors that

impact the utility business model.

Study results will be provided to par-

ticipating utilities beginning March 15.

The Smart Grid Research Consortium

(SGRC) began as a Texas A&M University

research and service project in 2010 and

transitioned to an independent consult-

ing organization the following year.

The Smart Grid Research Consortium

(SGRC) recently announced that it has

initiated a new multi-client study to fore-

cast and analyze business model impacts

of residential solar photovoltaic (PV) over

the next decade. SGRC multi-client appli-

cations reduce the cost for individual utility

participants by joint funding of common

portions of the research and analysis frame-

work development. Business model anal-

ysis is conducted independently for each

utility participant.

US residential solar PV installations

increased 69 percent in the last year

according to the most recent GTM and

SEIA (Solar Energy Industry Association)

national market analysis. This translates to

new PV output of about one point eight

gigawatts from 400,000 new installations.

The steady improvement in economics

of solar PV, including PV/battery systems

promises to continue the industrys expo-

nential growth, impacting nearly every

electric utility said Dr. Jerry Jackson, SGRC

research director. Minimizing negative

utility business model impacts requires

proactive strategies that recognize each

individual utilitys exposure to PV impacts,

ranging from net metering revenue loss to

additional investments in voltage control to

accommodate PV clustering along feeders.

Market penetration of new residential

PV systems is modeled for each utili-

ty at the ZIP area level based on data

from more than 7 million customers and

400,000 PV installations. Optional feed-

er-level forecasts also are available. These

resources have been applied for a variety

of solar and other distributed energy com-

panies including Geostellar, Sun Edison,

Sungevity, Sharp, Toyota, Ingersoll Rand,

United Technologies, Bloom Energy, Ice

Energy, Aisen and many more.

Each utility participating in the study

will receive its own report and briefing.

Reports include a review of recent PV

and battery market developments and

a discussion of likely future develop-

ments based on comments from industry

experts. Analysis results include annual

NEW STUDY PROVIDES SOLAR PV BUSINESS

MODEL IMPACTS FOR UTILITY PARTICIPANTS

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Arlington, Virginia ($1,335,507)

GridBallast-Autonomous Load Control

for Grid Resilience. NRECA will develop

GridBallast, a low-cost demand-side man-

agement technology that will monitor grid

voltage and frequency and control the

target load in order to address excursions

from grid operating targets.

Eaton Corp., Menomonee Falls,

Wisconsin ($3,311,532)Cloud-Based

Cascaded Multi-rate DER Control for

Synthetic Regulating Reserves. Eaton Corp.

proposes to develop and validate a disrup-

tive cloud-computing solution that will

provide agile and robust synthetic regulat-

ing reserve services to the power grid.

including flexible building loads, to supply

reserves to the electric power grid.

Regents of the University of

Minnesota, Minneapolis ($2,950,000)

A Robust Distributed Framework for

Flexible Power Grids. The University of

Minnesota will develop a comprehensive

approach that addresses the challenges to

system reliability and power quality pre-

sented by widespread stochastic renewable

power generation.

Northwestern University, Evanston,

Illinois ($2,692,845)A Novel

Hierarchical Frequency-based Load Control

Architecture. Northwestern University and

its partners will develop a frequency-based

load control architecture to provide

additional frequency response capability

and allow increased renewable genera-

tion on the grid.

DNV GL, Chalfont, Pennsylvania

($2,150,000)Enabling the Internet

of Energy through Network Optimized

Distributed Energy Resources. DNV GL

together with its partners will develop

an innovative Internet of Energy (IoEn)

platform for the automated scheduling,

aggregating, dispatch and performance val-

idation of network-optimized DERs and

controllable load.

National Rural Electric

Cooperative Association (NRECA),

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

1601pg_8 8 1/6/16 1:50 PM

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NOTES

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the industry evolves.

IEI provides a forum for the exchange

of ideas on the future of the electric power

industry, and through his work with IEI,

Kevin has played a critical role in facili-

tating discussions about the adoption of

new technologies to benefit customers and

the policies that will help support the

industrys technological transformation,

said Scott Prochazka, CenterPoint Energy

Inc. president and CEO and IEI co-chair.

Fitzgerald, who has more than two

decades of experience in the industry,

joined PHI as executive vice president

and general counsel in 2012. Kevin is a

recognized industry leader in M&A, reg-

ulatory policy and strategic planning. He

spearheaded development of PHIs vision

of the 21st Century electric utility model.

The Edison

F o u n d a t i o n s

Institute for Electric

Innovation (IEI)

awarded Kevin

Fitzgerald, execu-

tive vice president

and general counsel

of Pepco Holdings Inc. (PHI), with its

inaugural Technology Leadership Award.

The award, which IEI will present annually,

recognizes visionary thinking in pursuit of

our energy future.

It is our privilege to recognize Kevin for

his tremendous contributions, leadership

and vision, which have greatly benefited

the electric industry, said Lisa Wood, IEI

executive director. His involvement with

IEI and his work with industry technology

partners have been extremely valuable;

Kevin has a strategic vision of the future

energy landscape.

Fitzgerald has been chair of IEIs

Technology Partner Roundtable since

2013. During his tenure, the IEI Partner

Roundtable expanded, adding renewable

energy, energy storage and data analytics

companies.

Our industry is undergoing a major

transformation as electric utilities are forg-

ing partnerships with tech companies to

utilize new technologies to offer more

services to our customers, said Bob Rowe,

NorthWestern Energy president and CEO

and IEI co-chair. Kevin is a real leader and

visionary in working to bring technology

partners and thought leaders together with

utilities to discuss how we collaborate as

PEPCOS FITZGERALD HONORED WITH IEI LEADERSHIP AWARD

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NOTES

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products and services

to their customers.

It is clear that after

over a decade of deregula-

tion and electric choice in Texas, retail

electric providers have built brand images

in the market, Oberle added. Consumers

should only select an REP with high brand

trust, as that provider will be more finan-

cially viable and they can count on it to

be good to its word on the promises it

makes.

Market Strategies interviewed a sample

of 878 Texas electric consumers aged 18 or

older in November 2015. Market Strategies

International is a market research consul-

tancy with deep expertise in consumer/

retail, energy, financial services, healthcare,

technology and telecommunications.

Cogent Reports announced that Texas

Retail Electric Providers (REPs) have a

brand trust level of 748 (on a 1,000 point

scale), a good initial score for these retail-

ers. The top four providers have an even

higher combined average brand trust score

of 752. The top four providers, Ambit

Energy, Bounce Energy, Champion Energy

Services and StarTex Power, also were

named Texas Retail Electric Provider Most

Trusted Brands, according to the survey.

Not all REPs in the state have high

trust levels among their customers,

however. The survey shows a 200-point

spread between the highest- and low-

est-scoring providers.

We know that brand trust is the

basis for market share growth as cus-

tomers are not likely to do business

with retailers they do not trust,

said Chris Oberle, senior vice presi-

dent at Market Strategies International,

which did the interviews for the report.

Customers also tend to be loyal to

companies they trust and are also more

likely to recommend those companies to

others. And, customer loyalty increases

financial returns for these electric pro-

viders.

This is the first time retailers have been

benchmarked on brand trust in the Texas

market, the largest deregulated electric

market in the country. Another finding

shows that REPs that have been able to

position themselves as trusted providers

also have higher customer engagement

ratings. This means that REPs will be

more effective at offering other value-added

SURVEY REVEALS BRAND TRUST AMONG

TEXAS RETAIL ELECTRIC PROVIDERS VARIES

1601pg_12 12 1/6/16 1:50 PM

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AUTOMATION


1601pg_13 13 1/6/16 1:50 PM


NOTES

EYE ON THE WORLD

AES Energy Storage and LG Chem announced a multi-

year agreement that provides access to a gigawatt-hour

(GWh) of lithium-ion battery capacity with the option to

procure additional capacity for the AES Advancion energy

storage solution.

The agreement covers the supply of several of LG

Chems battery modules that have been designed and

configured for AES Advancion grid-scale energy storage

solution. The agreement provides access to batteries

to meet the needs of Advancion installations currently

under construction and allows AES to purchase additional

batteries to meet the growth for future Advancion system

sales. For reference, 1 GWh of batteries is capable of

powering 250 to 1,000 MW of energy storage installations,

depending on the needs of the customer.

AES Energy Storage Inks Battery Supply Deal With LG Chem

The global grid-scale energy storage sector has entered a

new growth phase, with more than 1,400 MW of advanced

energy storage projects announced or in operation today,

compared to less than 60 MW just six years ago. Navigant

Research projects that more than 11 GW of energy storage

capacity will be installed annually by 2020 across 22 countries.

AES previously announced installations for various customers

in six countries totaling 384 MW in operation, construction, or

late stage development, representing the worlds largest fleet.

LG Chem competes in the market for electric vehicle

and hybrid electric vehicle battery systems. Battery cells for

automotive and stationary storage systems are at facilities

in Korea and the United States. The supply agreement covers

battery modules with configurations ranging from 30 minutes

to 4 hours of discharge duration.

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Swiss firm ABB will install a 363-kV disconnecting

circuit breaker (DCB) with fiber optic current sensor (FOCS)

integrating three substation functionscircuit-breaking,

disconnecting and current measurementin one single

component, reducing the space needed for a substation bay

by up to 70 percent.

In the integrated smart grid-enabling switchgear the

FOCS replaces the conventional current transformers

required for measurement and protection and enables grid

automation. This will be the first commercial installation of

this technology at this voltage level, which is the backbone

voltage level of the grid in northwest China.

The DCB with FOCS is part of the technology being

supplied by ABB for State Grid China Corp.s (SGCC) next-

generation smart substations project. This project will use

state-of-the-art software and power technology to enable

remote control, protection, automation, monitoring and

diagnostics for these substations, as well as to allow both

a reduction in their operating costs and footprint. The

resulting smaller footprint minimizes environmental impact.

The substations will contribute to a more efficient, flexible

and reliable national grid and also build the backbone for

the increasing renewable power in China. According to

Chinas National Energy Administration, the installed power

capacity of Chinas renewable energy exceeded 400 million

kW, in 2014, accounting for more than 30 percent of the

ABB Supplying Technology for Chinese Smart Substations

total installed power capacity, making China the largest

user of renewable energy. ABB will provide the DCB with

FOCS equipment for the smart substation in Fuping, Shanxi

province, which will supply power for a rapidly developing

industrial area there.

As a result of replacing conventional equipment with

smart technology, the footprint of air-insulated switchgear

bays in a substation can be significantly reduced with a

potential space saving of 70 percent. In addition, several

tons of equipment can be removed from a high-voltage

substation, while substation safety is enhanced and

installation time, design, operation and maintenance costs

as well as environmental impact are lowered.

1601pg_14 14 1/6/16 1:50 PM

2016 Open Systems International, Inc. All rights reserved.


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NOTES

decision, the CPUC said.

PG&E did not wait long, issuing a

statement that said the CPUC must

do more to ensure that rooftop solar

can grow as a resource in California for

years to come.

Nearly 20 years ago, customers were

provided with substantial incentives to

install rooftop solar facilities, and under

those outdated rules, rooftop solar

users can effectively pay nothing for

their use of the grid to both buy and sell

electricity, PG&E said. In addition,

they are paid more than market rates

for excess electricity that they generate,

despite solar costs falling more than 50

percent in the last six years.

The incentives amount to nearly $1

billion annually across the state, which

is offset by the rates paid by non-solar

customers, PG&E said.

In a brief statement, SolarCity CEO

Lyndon Rive said his company supports

the proposed decision, even though the

plan to require new solar customers to

be on TOU rates is concerning. TOU

rates would reduce the motivation for

installing solar facilities, and that was

seen in 2007 when TOU rates were

briefly mandated for solar customers,

Rive said.

Although TOU rates can send helpful

signals about when to use electricity,

we urge the PUC to closely examine

the impacts of mandating time-of-use

rates, he said.

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) said

a proposed decision from a California

Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)

judge on net energy metering falls

well short of what is needed to ensure

sustainable growth of solar resources

in the state.

The proposed decision attempts to

create a successor to the existing net

metering program, which has seen the

growth of solar photovoltaic facilities

installed on-site at

customer facilities,

while several utilities have asserted that

current net metering customers do not

pay their fair share for the use of the

transmission and

distribution net-

works.

Under 2013 leg-

islation, the CPUC

was directed to

ensure that custom-

ers pay their appro-

priate share of costs

while encouraging a

sustainable custom-

er-sited renewable

distributed genera-

tion program, the CPUC said in a Dec.

15 statement. The proposed decision

by ALJ Anne Simon attempts to strike

a balance between these requirements,

the CPUC said.

The proposed decision would continue

the existing net metering structure while

making some adjustments, including

adding a one-time interconnection fee

that is likely to be between $75 and

$150 for net metering customers, the

CPUC said.

The proposed decision also calls

for net metering customers to pay

nonbypassable charges to support low-

income customers and energy efficiency

measures on all energy they use from

the grid, regardless of the amount of

energy they export to the grid.

Historically, net metering customers

have paid only the nonbypassable

charges if over the course of a year they

have used more electricity from the grid

than their on-site

facilities produced,

the CPUC noted.

The proposed

decision also

calls for new net

metering customers

to use time-of-

use (TOU) rates.

Customer who sign

up for net metering

in 2018 or later

must use TOU rates

as soon as they sign up, while customers

who sign up before 2018 must use

TOU rates beginning in 2019, when

all residential customers are placed on

TOU rates, the CPUC said.

Parties of record in the proceeding

may file comments on the proposed

PG&E DISAPPOINTED WITH NET METERING

PROPOSAL BY CALIFORNIA REGULATORS

BY TOM TIERNAN, SENIOR ANALYST, TRANSMISSION HUB

The proposed decision calls for new net metering customers to use time-of-use (TOU) rates.

1601pg_16 16 1/6/16 1:50 PM

Reduce costs,

increase revenue and

improve customer service.

Join our Live Webcast at DistribuTECH 2016. Learn from fellow

utilities on the elements of a successful smart lighting strategy.

February 9, 2016

11:30 AM in Room W206

Lunch will be provided.

Visit www.power-grid.com to register!

Nothings out of reach.

Go beyond the bulb.

Strategies for smart lighting.

1601pg_17 17 1/6/16 1:50 PM


burning question is, however: What strat-

egies can energy utilities adopt to best

exploit the market and capture new rev-

enues?

Industry analyst Strategy Analytics pre-

dicted that the number of households with

some form of smart home system would

surpass 100 million worldwide by the

end of 2015, and nearly triple in the next

10 years to more than 300 million. The

challenge is that although the smart home

offers compelling growth opportunities, it

also represents a real threat, especially to

energy utilities, as large U.S. technology

companies are already entering the market

with smart thermostats. Indeed, the smart

home sector is immensely disruptive and

some industries will be upended. New

players are threatening to disintermediate

some of todays market leaders and are

shifting value from one sector to another.

Deutsche Telekoms report outlines

opportunities including home securi-

ty, insurance, home automation and not

least, energy management. Energy utility

companies already have a way into the

home with the rollout of smart meters and

thermostats. It might seem that energy

management is the perfect opportunity for

new report by Deutsche Telekom, How to Create Growth From the Connected Home, sets out the key busi-

ness opportunities and models that will

enable energy utilities to create new reve-

nue streams and succeed in the burgeoning

smart home sector.

There are many players interested in the

smart home, and in its wider context, the

Internet of Things (IoT)energy utilities,

New Report by Deutsche Telekom Reveals Opportunities for Utilities to Create New Revenue Streams in Smart Home Sector

BY JON CARTER, DEUTSCHE TELEKOM AG

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telephone companies (telcos), retailers,

insurers, warranty providers, home assis-

tance providers, as well as appliance and

consumer hardware manufacturers. The

Jon Carter leads UK business development for Deutsche Telekoms white label and open connected

home platform. Jons focus is on establishing partnerships with telcos, utilities, insurers and retailers, as

well as third party platform providers and original equipment manufacturers to help them realize the

benefits available through innovative new models and revenue generating services.

Jon has worked in and around the connected home space since the early 2000s, and has a deep

knowledge of the European market, and in particular what will finally drive growth in this market.

1601pg_18 18 1/6/16 1:50 PM

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U T I L I T I E S . D I G I TA L . I N F I N I T E O P P O R T U N I T Y.

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business models can differentiate ener-

gy companies from being mere com-

modity suppliers as they develop bun-

dles around smart devices that increase

engagement with customers. (At pres-

ent, consumers spend a lowly six to

nine minutes interacting with their

energy supplier a year, according to

Accenture.)

Because consumer interest in stand-

alone energy management products

remains low and most energy utilities

have struggled to develop messaging

and introduce the necessary cross-sell-

ing processes into their organizations,

a bundled approach can make sense.

Already several European energy util-

ities offer a free smart thermostat and

installation to tempt switchers and

retain customers.

The key to smart home success also

lies in the Internet and the ubiquity of

smartphones and tabletssome energy

suppliers offer remote control of heat-

ing from these devices, and no doubt

in the near future consumers will take

such control for granted. This sort of

remote control will extend not just

to energy management, but to setting

alarms, checking cameras and much

more. Meanwhile, the real time data

from smart meters will give energy

suppliers a huge amount of usage infor-

mation and the ability to offer tempting

and dynamic demand-related tariffs.

Deutsche Telekoms report also

highlights the need for an open, stan-

dards-based platform that promotes

integration among the players in the

energy market. Authorities such as reg-

ulators are starting to look closely at

issues such as data privacy in the IoT.

Those players that work together to

create value, while keeping crucial con-

sumer protection safeguards in place,

energy utilities to build a closer relation-

ship with their customers. Others such

as telecommunications and Internet com-

panies have identified the utility sector as

an entry point into consumers home and

are making heavy investments to secure

market traction; not least is Google, with its

$3.2 billion acquisition of Nest, the home

thermostat and alarm provider.

By its nature, the smart homewith

access through the ubiquitous broadband

routeroffers multiple opportunities to

energy utilities, which can then expand

into other applications and services. The

report explores how utilities can profit

from the smart home through the right

strategy, partnerships and platform.

FROM SMART METERS

TO SMART THERMOSTATS

Energy suppliers are most likely to

be involved with the rollout of smart

meters, which are mandated now in

some countries. Smart meters are really

a first step toward capturing overall

energy consumption detail.

When smart meters are combined

with demand disaggregation capabili-

ties, energy utilities can identify how to

save energy and enable new, more flexi-

ble tariff structures. Deutsche Telekoms

report notes that leveraging a smart

thermostat-connected boiler is anoth-

er use case that can engage the home

owner because it offers a way to better

control one of the key drivers of higher

energy bills.

Berg Insight reported in January of

2015 that the number of smart thermo-

stats increased by 105 percent in 2014

to 3.2 million in both North America

and Europe. Berg Insight also claims

that by 2019, the number of smart

thermostats will grow at a compound

annual growth rate of 64.2 percent in

both markets. In addition, Navigant

Research predicts that global revenue

attributed to home energy management

products and services will grow from

$586.9 million to $2.4 billion in 2023.

Take-up of smart thermostats in Europe

has not been as great as in the U.S. Thats

partly because of the need for profession-

al installation in some European coun-

tries and a wide variation in the type of

heating systems and energy type. Energy

utilities can combat this by adopting a

joined-up approach by partnering with

installers or retailers. Otherwise, con-

sumers who are not seeing smart home

offers from their energy suppliers are

likely to buy smart home kits from device

manufacturers or retailers.

In a wider context, with closer integra-

tion between energy demand in the home

and energy generation, societies can be

more energy efficient and thus combat

climate change. Depending on the local

market structures, there also could be an

opportunity to take real-time demand and

generation data to better use the electricity

grid and power stations.

PROPOSITIONS, PLATFORMS

AND PARTNERSHIPS

Energy utilities will benefit more if

they can secure the right platform,

partnerships and value proposition. For

instance, linking heating, energy man-

agement and security brings with it

many advantages for consumers. When

no one is homeperhaps when a secu-

rity alarm is set or there is no move-

ment detected by motion sensorsthe

heating system automatically turns off.

Working with partners such as insur-

ance companies and telcos to devel-

op cross-sector propositions is a clear

opportunity.

In addition, new service-related

1601pg_20 20 1/6/16 1:50 PM

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that a partnership-based approach

established in an ecosystem focused on

mutual collaboration is essential for this

market to realize growth, partnerships

and industry-wide collaboration. The

time is now, therefore, to join forces,

combine industry-specific know-how

and drive the smart home forward to

realize new growth for Europe and

other regions.

Energy utilities have a real, significant

opportunity to engage customers in

new services and grow their business.

They must beware, however, because

other companies are entering the smart

energy domain. The key to success is

to develop a strategy that maintains an

open, agile and flexible course.

Visit www.connectedhomeplatform.

telekom.net to download the report and

view other material.

are likely to be the leaders as the smart

home market gains momentum.

A key, critical risk for energy utilities

is to remain as a commodity provider,

especially with the introduction of leg-

islation in some countries that will man-

date same-day switching to competitors

and access to smart meter data by third

parties. It is imperative for energy util-

ities to get the right strategyfrom a

defensive decision to protect a customer

base in the face of competition to roll-

ing out a fully-fledged connected home

proposition that demands resources,

expertise and new partnerships.

CONNECTED HOME

PLATFORM IS KEY TO SUCCESS

One of the greatest challenges facing

firms seeking to enter the smart home

market is the lack of common standards

and architectures, as well as a lack of

openness in terms of the application

programming interfaces (APIs) between

platforms. To overcome this, Deutsche

Telekom built an open white label

connected home platform that enables

partners to integrate connected devices

and create new services. The platform

leverages the Eclipse SmartHome open

source developer community.

An open ecosystem such as this

allows energy utilities to play to their

core strengths, benefit from multiple

synergies, discover new routes to mar-

ket, deepen consumers loyalty to their

brand, capture device data and create

new growth for their business.

NOW IS THE TIME

TO JOIN FORCES

Deutsche Telekoms report reveals

1601pg_21 21 1/6/16 1:50 PM


in clean energy and global trends that

are impacting the power industry.

Pogue brings with him a rich, versa-

tile background. A childhood magician

and spelling bee champion in Ohio, he

studied music, English and computer

science at Yale before moving to New

York after college.

He will talk about the worlds latest

technologies and trends. Be ready

Pogue might even sneak in a magic trick

or two.

But the thing that DistribuTECH really

he 26th annual DistribuTECH

Conference & Exhibition heads

east this year with three days in Orlando

at the Orange County Convention

Center. The nations biggest and best

annual show focused on the electric

transmission and distribution sector,

DistribuTECHand its leadoff event,

the Electric Light & Power Executive

Conferencewill offer a bounty of

information, insights and networking

opportunities to the thousands who

attend it.

DistribuTECH returns to The City

BeautifulOrlandos mottoafter 12

years away. At that time in 2004 the

event had 3,700 attendees and 200

exhibitors, but it has grown a little since

then. More than 12,000 attendees and

more than 440 exhibitors are expected

to fill the spacious, palm tree adorned

convention center.

DistribuTECH will officially kick

off at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9, with

the keynote session. This two-hour

opening session will feature Orlando

Mayor Buddy Dyer; Orlando Utilities

Commission President Linda Ferrone;

Michael Liebreich, founder and adviso-

ry board chairman of Bloomberg New

Energy Finance; and David Pogue, host

of NOVA ScienceNow and founder of

the Yahoo Tech website.

Dyer and Ferrone will discuss how

they worked together to help make

Orlando what they believe is the south-

east United States greenest city, while

maintaining some of the highest elec-

tricity reliability metrics in the nation.

Liebreich will talks about investment

BY ROD WALTON, SENIOR EDITOR

David Pogue, NOVA ScienceNow Michael Liebreich, Bloomberg

1601pg_22 22 1/6/16 1:50 PM



has up its sleeve will show itself candid-

lyunprecedented levels of informa-

tion pertinent to those who make their

living working in or with the power

grid. From Utility University courses to

Breakfast Roundtables to Mega Sessions,

the conference offers dozens of experts

who all have vast experience to share

with the industry.

The 19 breakfast roundtables, which

start at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10, all

offer good food and conversation on

new opportunities and challenges faced

within the industry. Those include cut-

ting-edge stuff like augmented reality,

wearable technologies, GIS, grid protec-

tion and energy storage.

Multi-track conference sessions

focused on crucial industry topics such

as advanced metering, grid analytics,

outage management, mobile solu-

tions and asset managementwill run

in two different afternoon time slots

Tuesday. Experts also will lead sessions

Outside look at the Orange County Convention

Centers West Hall, where DistribuTECH 2016

will take place. (Courtesy photo)

1601pg_23 23 1/6/16 1:50 PM


potential of drones for inspection and

data consistency.

Attendees also can take advantage

of abundant networking opportunities.

These get-togethers include the opening

reception at 5 p.m. Feb. 9, the Utility

Women Networking Breakfast which,

like the roundtables, starts at 8 a.m. Feb.

10. The DistribuTECH Fun in the Sun

Networking Party will begin at 5 p.m.

Feb. 10, in the Valencia Ballroom of the

Orange County Convention Center.

The weeks activities actually begin

Monday with the Utility University

Courses at the convention center.

These 22 courses will drill down into

Wednesday and Thursday on everything

from renewable integration to network

evolution, security, drones, grid storage

and next-generation substations, among

many others.

Wednesdays Mega Sessions, which

all run in the afternoon, will feature

executives with National Grid, SGIP,

Landis+Gyr, S&C Electric, Oracle

Utilities and Consolidated Edison,

among many others. The topics range

from integrating distributed energy

resources to New Yorks Reforming the

Energy Vision (REV) to the dynamics

of new revenue streams for electric

utilities.

The benchmark for getting a Mega

Session on the DistribuTECH schedule

is very high: only seven abstracts were

accepted out of about 800 submitted.

And one of them is historically signif-

icant in the sense it will be comprised

entirely of utility-industry women. New

Revenue Streams for Electric Utilities,

which begins at 2 p.m. Wednesday, will

feature female leaders such as Melisa

Johns, Duke Energy; Mona Chandra,

National Grid; Gail Allen, Kansas City

Power & Light; and Deborah Affonsa,

Pacific Gas & Electric. Chrissy Carr of

Burns & McDonnell will be the moderator.

During Thursdays conference

sessions, everything is on the table

from asset management to what drones

can offer the T&D sector. The latter

session will look to the sky and the

Attendee having fun throwing giant dice at

last years DistribuTECH event.

1601pg_24 24 1/6/16 1:50 PM


Remote Assets. Local Control.Simpler control from smarter cellular RTUs

2015 Red Lion Controls, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

+1 (717) 767-6511 I [email protected] I www.redlion.net

Remote monitoring and control with RAM industrial cellular RTUs.

Managing remote assets and ensuring smooth operations when you are at a distance has

never been easier. Red Lions Sixnet series RAM industrial cellular RTUs provide users an

intuitive, web-based interface to easily congure event parameters and dene alarm states

that trigger I/O or send SMS text messages based on real-time operational data.

With connectivity options such as I/O, serial, Ethernet and optional Wi-Fi, our rugged RAM

RTUs provide a secure all-in-one platform that seamlessly integrates with existing equipment

to enable data visibility, control and real-time notications for eld-deployed assets.

Visit www.redlion.net/control to learn more.

Visit booth 1763 in February!


nitty-gritty, specific industry challenges.

A separate registration is required for

each Utility University course.

Go to www.distributech.com and click

on the conference button to see the

entire schedule at a glance.

Registration costs vary according to

how much the attendee wants to expe-

rience. Individual fees for the full con-

ference are $925with a discounted

rate of $495 for utilitiesbut options

are available for single-day attendance,

exhibitor hall only pass and utility part-

ner programs. Go to www.distributech.

com and find the various options under

the register tab.

The Electric Light & Power Executive

Conference, DistribuTECHs sister

event, also will begin on Monday, Feb.

8 at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando.

Orchestrating the Future is the title

of the Electric Light & Power Executive

Conference program this year. Five ses-

sions will be offered that day, led by

executive leaders from diverse compa-

nies such as Eversource Energy, PwC

Strategy&, Comcast, AT&T, San Diego

Gas & Electric, Public Service Gas &

Electric, Bloomberg and Consolidated

Edison of New York.

The final session of the afternoon

features CEOs from highly regarded

utilities. This stellar group includes

Ralph Izzo, CEO of this years Utility

of the Year PSE&G and its parent

Public Service Enterprise Group; David

Hutchens, CEO of Tucson Electric

Power and its parent UNS Corp.;

and Great Plains Energy CEO Terry

Bassham, who leads Kansas City Power

& Light and is being honored as Electric

Light & Power magazines Large Utility

CEO of the Year.

Those aforementioned awards and

The benchmark

for getting a

Mega Session on

the DistribuTECH

schedule is very high:

only seven abstracts

were accepted

out of about 800

submitted.

1601pg_25 25 1/6/16 1:50 PM


CenterPoint Energys Advanced

Metering and Intelligent Grid

Initiative

Altogether now, the numbers behind

DistribuTECH are impossible to ignore:

more than 12,000 attendees from more

than 60 countries, about 440 exhibi-

tors, 14 conference tracks, 77 sessions,

428 total speakers, seven mega sessions

and three live webcasts. If strength is

in numbers, then the conference surely

offers a muscular examination of whats

important in the T&D, smart grid,

customer service and energy storage

sectors.

Registration fee for the EL&P

Executive Conference is $595

and includes an option to add

DistribuTECH at a reduced rate.

Go to www.elpconference.com

for registration information.

other honors will be revealed Monday

evening during the DistribuTECH

Awards Reception and Dinner present-

ed by DistribuTECH, Electric Light &

Power and POWERGRID International

magazines. The awards event begins at

6 p.m. and tickets are $65.

The past year was full of big and

innovative projects within the industry.

The DistribuTECH Awards highlight some

of those and announce winners in four

areas. The finalists in each category are:

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

National Grid for its WeatherBug

program

PPL Electric Utilities for Universal

Outage Alerts

DEMAND RESPONSE/ENERGY

EFFICIENCY

Duke Energy Ohios HM Energy

Manager

Pacific Gas & Electric for its Supply

Side Pilot

RENEWABLE GRID INTEGRATION

Hawaiian Electric Co.s rollout of

In-Line Power Regulators

San Diego Gas & Electrics Advanced

Distribution Management System

GRID OPTIMIZATION (FORMERLY

KNOWN AS SMART GRID PROJECT

OF THE YEAR)

BC Hydro for its Downtown Vancouver

Automated Open Loop

Last years DistribuTECH exhibit hall was filled

with attendees wanting to learn more about

the latest industry technologies.

The numbers are impossible to ignore: more than 12,000 attendees from more than 60 countries, about 440 exhibitors, 14 conference tracks, 77 sessions, 428 total speakers, seven mega sessions and three live webcasts.

1601pg_26 26 1/6/16 2:24 PM

As a power systems engineer its essential that I keep up to date

with whats going on in the market and what our customers need.

Based on this, I am constantly looking for better ways of doing

things. Take our simulation-based protection testing solution; now

even complex networks can be tested automatically from a single

point of control. This allows a comprehensive assessment of the

entire protection scheme, taking into account the settings and

functionality of the individual relays.

Visit us at Booth 1455 at DistribuTECH.

www.omicronenergy.com

Tomorrows protection testing, today!

Benton Vandiver

Application Engineer


1601pg_27 27 1/6/16 1:50 PM


ADVANCED CONTROL 1125

SYSTEMS

www.acspower.com

ACS is a leading provider of smart grid solutions and

advanced automation technology to the global electric

power industry. For 40-plus years, ACS has pioneered

control center solutions which include SCADA, advanced

distribution management (ADMS), outage management

(OMS), energy management (EMS), network simulation

and optimization, network display strategies and

ergonomic design.

AMERICAN PERIMETER 867

SECURITY USA INC

www.ameristarfence.com

American Perimeter Security manufactures an array of

perimeter security products. These products range from

vehicle barriers, bollards, gate systems, security fencing and

guard booths.

BARCO 1533

www.barco.com/en

Barco offers the complete T&D control room visualization

solution that enhances situational awareness while

facilitating real-time collaboration to empower smart

decision-making in 24/7 control centers.

DOBLE ENGINEERING 2347

www.doble.com

For nearly a century, Doble Engineering Co. has part-

nered with electric power industry clients to minimize

risk, improve operations and optimize system perfor-

mance. Doble provides enterprise management sys-

tems (such as dobleARMSTM), engineering consulting

services and expertise, as well as diagnostic testing

and monitoring equipment.

FIBOX

www.fiboxusa.com

Fibox is a leading global manufacturer of non-metallic

NEMA 4x enclosures. With over 1,500 off-the-shelf sizes

and styles ranging from 2x 2 to 24x 24 molded of

impact and UV resistant polycarbonate material. Fibox

is ISO certified and all of our enclosures carry UL listngs.

G&W ELECTRIC 1747

www.gwelec.com

G&W Electric has been a global supplier of electric power

equipment since 1905. Our products are designed to the

latest industry standards and backed by over 105 years of

engineering expertise. Brands include Lazer automation, Vi-

per solid dielectric reclosers, Trident solid dielectric switches,

and CLiP current limiting protectors.

GRID ONE SOLUTIONS 1467

www.gridonesolutions.com

Grid One Solutions specializes in AMI deployments for elec-

tric, gas and water utilities. In addition to smart grid imple-

mentation services for in-home displays and load control

devices, Grid One performs meter reading, field service work,

customer call center operations and back office services

including secure data transfer and storage.

HD ELECTRIC CO. 1246

www.hdelectriccompany.com

HD Electric Co. will be displaying our line of capacitor con-

trol with three-phase monitoring and gang- or single-phase

switching capability. VarCom Capacitor Controls provide re-

mote control from central Volt-VAR, CVR, DMS or SCADA sys-

tems and can control capacitor banks using combinations

of ambient temperature, time, voltage, current and kVAR.

HUBBELL POWER 1555

SYSTEMS INC.

www.hubbellpowersystems.com

Hubbell Power Systems manufactures a wide variety of

transmission, distribution, substation, underground, com-

munications, protection and enclosure products including

overhead and pad-mounted switches, vacuum switches,

reclosers, capacitors, sectionalizers, motor operators and

products to monitor and protect the grid.

KYLAND USA 1741

www.kyland.com

Kyland is a global company with focus on products for

Industrial Control Networking. We provide vertical market

solutions in industrial networking and time synchroniza-

tion. Our mission is to build the next generation industrial

control ecosystems based on Internet connectivity.

LEIDOS ENGINEERING 717

www.leidos.com/engineering

Leidos designs, connects and protects intelligent infrastruc-

ture to deliver better business outcomes in a connected

world. Demo areas: Grid engineering, smart grid as a

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1601pg_29 29 1/6/16 1:50 PM

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1601pg_30 30 1/6/16 1:50 PM


1601pg_31 31 1/6/16 1:50 PM


CASE STUDY

Service Provider Uses BYOD Data Collection App to Increase Efficiencies

BY RON BISIO, TRIMBLE

tilities are quickly learning how

newly developed geospatial software

can streamline their operations and

help them better manage their dis-

persed assets. In the past, locating and

keeping up with these dispersed assets

required specially-made hardware with

management software built in. Today,

however, workers can deploy agnostic

software on any handheld device, allow-

ing project managers and field workers

to use real-time data to streamline proj-

ect efficiency. This new bring your own

device (BYOD) capability is allowing

Ron Bisio is vice president of geospatial at Trimble.

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1601pg_33 33 1/6/16 1:50 PM


utilities to cut cost and man hours.

St. Anthony, Minnesota-based

SL-serco found out firsthand how

BYOD apps can make life easier and

more productive for its mobile teams.

SL-serco supports all facets of AMI

and AMR installations at water, electric

and gas utilities. The company coordi-

nates field activities for audits, repairs

and data collection, then leverages the

resulting data to help utilities optimize

their advanced metering systems.

Accurate data is the basis of any

successful advance metering systems,

said Reed Sutter, SL-sercos manager for

AMI/AMR systems support.

Sutter and his teams have long relied

on electronic data collection rather than

pen and paper, but until recently their

efforts to increase efficiency were hin-

dered by an inability to quickly com-

bine old data with new data.

You have to marry new information

to old records so that account data can

stay consistent, Sutter said. In the

beginning, we tried lots of different

technology tools, but their collective

inability to integrate data was always

limiting.

GREATER DATA COLLECTION

EFFICIENCY FROM THE GET-GO

SL-serco began a project in 2013 that

included recording a water utilitys assets

as part of a study for a proposed fixed-

base metering system. To audit assets

such as water towers and pump houses,

SL-serco staff had to collect attributes

such as GPS location, structure height,

the presence of a power source and

altitude. Because this project required

accurate GPS coordinates, Sutter and

his team for the first time adopted a

data collection app. They selected this

newly-available app because it could

synthesize different kinds of data across

a variety of devices, including iPhones,

iPads, Windows Mobile and Android

devices. The geospatial software appli-

cation SL-serco used can be deployed

in various utility settings beyond water

utility applications, such as locating

buried utilities with maps created from

mobile data collection, electric meter

audits, project management via data

collection, and energy analytics generat-

ed from data reporting.

Collecting GPS coordinates immedi-

ately created opportunities for SL-serco

to increase efficiency around data col-

lection just by more accurately locating

meters on a property. For example, if a

water utility account holder owns a 100-

acre property, the city may only provide

one GPS location

for the entire 100

acres, and that point

might not match

the meters location.

Now SL-sercos pro-

cess can assign the

GPS coordinate to

the meter, not just

the general property

point that the city

has for the property.

Similarly, if there are

electric utility assets

such as meters or

buried lines, the

integration of previously-captured loca-

tion data into mobile, real-time data

collection allows managers to quickly

and accurately incorporate that infor-

mation into other project plans moving

forward.

The first immediate benefit the new

data collection mobile app provid-

ed, however, came from its capability

to create custom forms. Sutter could

quickly create forms in the software

application with all the different kinds

of data fields to better manage and track

field assets. If a form needed modifying

mid-project, Sutter made the changes

from his chosen device, even if he was

in a remote area away from the project

location. The updated form was pushed

out to the rest of the staff the next time

they synced up. This ensured data col-

lection was always consistent.

The forms are really easy to use. I

get very few calls with questions once

the utilitys guys are out in the field,

Sutter said.

Armed with customizable tools that

meet exact needs, the utilitys teams

collected meter data quickly and effi-

ciently. The data was then automatical-

ly transferred to the

Cloud for access by

the back office.

Businesses across

nearly all sectors

have been forced to

implement software

that can success-

fully integrate with

the Cloud. The dig-

ital world demands

real-time decision

making, and for

field workers, the

ability to rapid-

ly collect data and

automatically upload that data to the

Cloud means that the information can

be turned into actionable intelligence

by project managers regardless of their

physical location. For utility companies,

this means stronger workflows and the

ability to use business intelligence in

an industry that is feeling the pressure

to successfully connect service provid-

ers with consumers who want to track

The amount of data will grow, so software must grow along with it. Connecting devices, assets, processes, etc. will enable utility companies to improve service and business practices.

1601pg_34 34 1/6/16 1:50 PM


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Multi schedules, data logging

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energy usage, and thus require more

and better data.

Sutter also was able to enter data

while offline and then simply synchro-

nize his device when cell coverage was

again available. When he needed to

geo-reference an asset but GPS wasnt

being logged, the process was again

quite simplehe manually placed the

dot onscreen when collecting the data;

and later he assigned coordinates to

this dot.

OLD AND NEW DATA

INTEGRATED AT LAST

When SL-serco was looking to

upgrade its hardware and software

technology, the ability to integrate old

and new data ranked high on its list

of necessary qualities. Todays utility

companies need this capability for sev-

eral reasons, including event tracking,

personnel and asset management, and

ability to navigate the future of energy

and utility management, which lies in

the connected world.

It is important in many of its utili-

ty-related auditing tasks for SL-serco

to have tracking capability for cer-

tain events, such as meter change-outs.

SL-serco and its utility clients can start

with an existing record, then import

previous data, as well as attach new

installed meter data, by simply creating

a new form with the software. When a

utility field technician inputs data, he or

she is adding information to an existing

record rather than creating a new log

without context.

The integration of old and new data

also allows faster re-routing sequenc-

es with GPS coordinates. SL-sercos

AMR customers typically hold a set

of accounts sequenced in a particu-

lar order for maintenance. Often the

historically assigned sequence is not the

most efficient one possible. By collecting

accurate GPS coordinates for existing

meters, SL-serco can create a faster

sequence, or route, to follow based on

the location information. Better routes

save time on maintenance projects.

As the concept of the connected

world continues to grow in critical

industries, utility companies will be

uniquely positioned to collect and ana-

lyze vast amounts of data like consumer

usage rates, energy production, smart

grid monitoring and event response for

things like outages. The amount of data

will grow, so software must grow along

with it. Connecting devices, assets, pro-

cesses, etc. will enable utility companies

to improve service and business prac-

tices.

LOOKING FORWARD

FOR UTILITY COMPANIES

By using an advanced-technology

solution for collecting data and making

the most of accurate GPS locations, util-

ities can transform their work processes

with off the meter efficiency. The com-

bination of BYOD work settings, data

analytics and better software has opened

up a host of possibilities for utility

companies across the board. Changing

needs at both an industrial and con-

sumer level will require that these com-

panies continue to grow and implement

cutting-edge technology as energy usage

and grid connectivity become even

more important. Deploying some of

the new mobile apps and other project

management software available on the

market today can put these companies

in a position to maximize manpower,

streamline project workflows, increase

efficiency and, ultimately, better manage

and complete project deliverables.

1601pg_35 35 1/6/16 1:50 PM


uch has been made in recent years

about the transformative effects the

Internet of Things (IoT)the growing

array of networked devices that includes

everything from smart appliances to heart

monitoring implants to driverless cars

will have on society. Utilities have already

played a leading role in the successful

deployment of some of these technologies,

which puts them in a unique position to

take advantage of the next generation of

the IoT as it advances. Id wager that util-

ities are the most critical player in leading

this transformational change as more and

more IoT devices are connected, benefiting

not only consumers, but also cities, busi-

nesses and the planet.

UTILITIES ALREADY ARE LEADING

IoT SERVICE PROVIDERS

Estimates show that there will be 50

billion connected IoT devices by 2020. For

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