Smart Grid Trends 2014-2018

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Introduction
Findings in this report are based on in depth interviews with U.S.
electric and water utilities regarding their current and future smart
grid efforts. All information and data has been pulled from the
Energy Acuity (EA) Grid database, a resource actively tracking both
planned and implemented smart grid projects and programs, utility
profiles, and analyst conversations with utility executives regarding
the inner workings of their smart grid roadmaps.
Energy Acuity defines smart grid not only as automated, two-way
communication based technologies that allow for the remote control
of electricity networks, but also as software and services that can
assist utilities in achieving a holistic, real-time view of operations. As
such, technologies addressed in this report include: Advanced
Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Meter Data Management (MDM),
Customer Information System (CIS), Outage Management System
(OMS), Distribution Management System (DMS), Distribution
Automation (DA), Demand Response (DR), Mobile Workforce
Management (MWFM), Asset Management, and Data Analytics.
Through comprehensive phone interviews, Energy Acuity has
attempted to analyze utility experiences with these ten technologies,
as well as to identify planned projects in these areas between 2014
and 2018.
Overall, the next four years will see continued investment in these
individual technologies, as well as their integration and
assimilationallowing data from each to flow freely into one
another, creating a comprehensive real-time look at operations, and
eventually moving toward analytics-based predictive forecasting
within the utility enterprise. Some utilities are already experiencing
early wins in these areas, while others are observing both the
products available and the experiences of early implementers
identifying best practices in an attempt to understand how to
maximize business value behind smart grid investments.
Utilities interviewed include smart grid pioneers, having undergone
the implementation of smart technologies prior to the American
Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), as well as Smart Grid
Investment Grant (SGIG) recipients and utilities yet to maneuver the
smart grid route. While the industry and fully integrated smart grid
systems may be considered young, and while some prominent
examples of unsuccessful rollouts may hinder new entrants, utilities
interviewed were generally optimistic about what the technology has
the potential to provide, their ability to adjust internally, as well as
their relationships with vendors.
As a whole, utilities will continue to engage with smart technologies
at the speed of business valueexpanding on pilots or moving
toward territory wide rollouts as it becomes necessary to benefit
reliability and customer satisfaction.
Advanced Metering Infrastructure
Whether received with enthusiasm from consumers With the completion of 92 U.S. electric AMI projects and Despite the decrease in electric AMI projects between
eager to take control of their energy consumption, or pilots in 2012 down to 52 in 2013, Energy Acuity set out 2012 and 2013, water presents a new opportunity for
with resistance from customers troubled by safety, to determine where opportunities in the U.S. smart growth in the smart meter industry.
privacy, and health concernsadvanced metering metering industry will be most prominent between
infrastructure (AMI), also known as smart meters, is 2014 and 2018 . According to Energy Acuitys Grid Up from 38 to 58 completed water AMI projects and
the technology most commonly associated with Smart Database, as of December 2012: pilots in 2013 vs 2012, smart water metering will
Grid. Only 34% of U.S. Electric Cooperatives (Co-Op) had continue to expand in the 2014-2018 timeframe. With
advanced meters installed. over 50,000 water utilities in the U.S., smart water
While the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act Only 33% of U.S. Investor-Owned Utilities (IOU) had metering is poised for exceptional growth over the next
(ARRA) accelerated the deployment of advanced advanced meters installed. four years.
metering at 65 U.S. Electric Utilities, the industry as a Only 5% of U.S. Publicly-Owned Utilities (POU) had
advanced meters installed.
whole has seen a significant decrease in growth as the Still, only near 100 of over 2,000 U.S. electric
Smart Grid Investment Grant awardees have all nearly municipalities have an advanced metering
Increasing these percentages will require utilities large
closed out their AMI funding. Without a grant to help infrastructure. This, paired with approximately 70/193
and small to overcome regulatory, budgetary, reliability
facilitate a utilitys ability to afford a smart meter U.S. electric IOUs, and about 300 of close to 900 U.S.
and customer-based hurdles. A proven AMI cost-benefit
rollout, AMI is an extremely costly, and in some cases electric cooperatives having smart meters in place
analysis is the first step for any utility looking to invest
unjustifiable, business expense. suggests thatwhile the electric AMI industry has
in smart meters; however, for some U.S. utilities AMI
slowedelectric smart metering opportunities will
may never make economic sense.
continue to present themselves in 2014-2018 and
beyond.
Completed U.S. AMI Projects & Pilots 2012-2013 Number of U.S. Utilities With Advanced Meters Installed 2012
Percentage of U.S. Utilities with Advanced Meters Installed 2012
350 40%
100 92
298 34%
90 300 35% 33%
80 265 31% 30%
30%
70 250 25%
216 24%
58 Electric IOU 25% POU
60 52 200
50 Water POU 20% IOU
38 150
40 Co-Op 15% Co-Op
30 90 96
100
62 60 64 10%
20 45 5% 5%
50 3%
10 5%
0 0
0%
2012 2013 2010 2011 2012
2010 2011 2012
AMI Interviews
In order to learn more about U.S. utility experiences Of the 30 utilities with planned AMI investments, 77% We were one of the first utilities
with, and plans for, advanced metering infrastructure, will involve electric metering, suggesting that electric
Energy Acuity conducted in-depth phone interviews smart meter rollouts will remain a prominent smart to make the investm ent and being
with professionals at 70 different U.S. electric, water, grid investment over the next four years. Of these one of the first we learned a lot,
and multi-service utilities. planned electric rollouts, utility ownership includes:
57% Publicly-Owned/Municipalities and the industry learned a lot. I
Utilities interviewed range from smart grid pioneers 30% Investor-Owned
having completed smart meter rollouts prior to Smart 13% Cooperatives hope other utilities have gained
Grid Investment Grant fundingto utilities with AMI from some of the trials and
still years out on their roadmaps. Sixteen percent of interviewees indicated no plans for
AMI investment, mostly citing small service territories tribulations weve gone through.
Of the utilities interviewed on smart metering, 65% are and budget constraints as the reasoning behind not
electric only utilities, 21% are electric and water moving toward smart metering. AMI Investments 2014-2018 by Project Type
utilities, and 14% are water only utilities.
While inaugural implementers of the technology
20%
Forty-three percent of these utilities indicated plans to indicated experiencing many trials and tribulations with Electric

invest in AMI between 2014 and 2018, while 41% had
already completed or were near completing smart
meter rollouts.
Utilities Interviewed on AMI by Service Type
AMI, those looking to invest for the first time feel 57% Water
confident that the technology, vendors, and successes 23% Electric & Water
from previous rollouts have matured enough to
encourage them that the benefits will be worth the
expense and the inevitable difficultiesboth internal
and externalpresented by introducing the advanced
and business-altering technology. Electric Utilities Investing in AMI 2014-2018 By Utility Type

14% Electric Only

Utilities Interviewed AMI Status 2014-2018
13%
50% Investing 30%
Electric & 43% 41% IOU
21% Water 40%
Multiservice POU
Investment
65% Water Only 30% Co-Op
Complete/Nearly
57%
20% 16% Complete
Not Investing
10%
*All water and electric & water utilities interviewed are publicly owned 0%
Meter Data Management
An AMI implementation cannot succeed without the
tools to manage, store, and correlate the many interval
data sets that smart meters provide. Meter data
management systems (MDMS) are an essential
component to any smart meter rollout and offer utilities
a tool for basic coordination of their myriad meter
reads.
To better understand the market for meter data
management (MDM) between 2014 and 2018, Energy
Acuity conducted thorough phone interviews with 44
U.S. electric utilities to determine current and forward-
looking plans for meter data management systems.
Interviews on MDM were conducted with:
29 Publicly-Owned Electric Utilities
8 Cooperatively-Owned Electric Utilities
7 Investor-Owned Electric Utilities
Of those interviewed, 41% indicated plans to invest in a
meter data management system (MDMS) between
2014-2018, while 52% had completed, or were near
completing, their implementation of an MDMS.
Electric Utilities Interviewed on
MDM by Utility Type
40
30 29
20
8
10 7 5
0
IOU Co-Op POU
Utilities with complete investments generally noted While 52% of utilities interviewed indicated that their
satisfaction with their MDMS vendor, though most felt investment in MDM was essentially complete, many
they would pursue more advanced analytics solutions acknowledged that their system undergoes frequent
than what their system currently provided for them upgrades, providing new and better ways for utilities to
(see page 13 for Data Analytics investments). segment and utilize interval data from smart meters.
For most interviewees with an MDMS implemented,
The utilities interviewed planning to invest in MDMS their relationship with vendors was viewed as a long-
include: 14 POUs, 2 IOUs, and 2 Co-Ops. These numbers term, essential component to having a successful smart
represent a large opportunity for MDMS within meter rollout.
municipalities from 2014-2018.
Overall, as smart meter implementations continue to
Three utilities did indicate having no plans for MDM, occur in the U.S. over the next four years, MDMS
noting that they will not make a move to smart systems will remain an essential smart grid investment.
metering within the 2014-2018 timeframe, but that
they could move toward AMI closer to 2020.
Utilities Interviewed MDM Status 2014-2018
60%
_______________________________ 50%
52% Investment
Complete/Nearly
Weve had no problems. Its 40%
41%
Complete
Investing
30%
been excellent and I will say that
20% Not Investing
to anybody who has an interest. 10% 7%
0%
We take a lot of pride in the
Utilities Investing in MDM 2014-2018 by Utility
relationship we have with our Type
[MDMS] vendor because we 15 14
know we are going to work 10
POU
IOU
together for a long, long time.
Co-Op
ooooooooooooooooooooooooovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvoo 2 2
0
Customer Information System
Integrating a utilitys advanced metering infrastructure fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbff Of the utilities looking to invest in CIS, 65% are
(AMI) and meter data management system (MDMS) At what point do we continue publicly-owned, 23% are investor owned, and 12% are
with their customer information system (CIS) can be a cooperatives.
daunting task, often requiring considerable software going down the hom egrown path
upgrades or moving toward the installation of a new CIS While most interviewees have planned CIS investments
altogether.
or should we jump ship into for the 2014-2016 timeframe, two utilities have a CIS
something thats more replacement on their roadmap for 2017 and 2018.
Despite the enormous scope of implementing an
entirely new CIS, many utilities interviewed by Energy mainstream? Within the next five In general, utilities interviewed are utilizing customer
Acuity indicated plans for replacing legacy CIS systems years were going to have to information systems that are decades old and are not
in the 2014-2018 timeframe. Of the 49 utilities equipped to deal with interval smart meter data.
questioned, 17 are looking to invest in their CIS over the seriously discuss what were Twenty utilities indicated no plans to invest in CIS over
next four years. the next four years, commenting on the overwhelming
going to do. nature of such an effort. Despite the large scope of such
Several utilities considering a CIS investment are still dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd a project, CIS upgrades and replacements will continue
utilizing homegrown, mainframe solutionsnoting that to play a prominent role in smart metering rollouts and
a new CIS may be an inevitable expenditure as the projects in 2014-2018.
industry as a whole continues to move toward vendor- Utilities Interviewed CIS Status 2014-2018
supplied CIS solutions.
Year of Planned CIS Investment by Utility Type
Utilities Interviewed on CIS By Ownership 4.5
Not Investing 4 4
35 4
30 12 POU
30 3.5
POU 20 Investing 3 Co-Op
3 IOU
25
Co-Op
2.5
20 Investment 2
IOU Complete/Nearly 2
17
15 Complete
10 1.5
9 1 1 1 1
10
1
5 0.5
0 0
POU Co-Op IOU 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Outage Management System
Percentage of Utilities Interviewed on OMS by
The implementation of newer and more advanced Utility Type Despite 48% of utilities interviewed indicating no
outage management systems (OMS) are a crucial planned OMS investments over the next four years, 8 of
component to smart grid. Integrating OMS with a the 42 utilities interviewed indicated they were looking
utilitys AMI allows utilities to identify outage locations 19% to find the best way of integrating their OMS with AMI,
in real-time, yet many utilities are struggling with the POU and noted this integration as an essential project on
best way to perform this integration. 55% Co-Op their 2014-2018 roadmaps.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 26% IOU
We are able to optimize the Interviewees with an already built integration between
their AMI and OMS noted that they will place an
system and identify trouble spots emphasis on proactive outage communication over the
Utilities Interviewed OMS Status 2014-2018 next four yearsproviding customers with outage
and we have visibility that we notification via calls, texts, and emails, while also
didnt have before. We used to 25
20 Investing
providing more accurate and better informed estimated
20 times of restoration. For those experiencing early
have to wait on the custom er call, 15 success in this area, proactive communication between
15
Investment the utility and its customers will become an expectation,
now we are able to assess the 10 Complete/Nearly
7 not an exception.
Complete
conditions of an event in real- 5 Not Investing
ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
time. Before we always dealt with 0
Were still trying to work
delay.
through the details of how this
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Utilities Investing in OMS 2014-2018 by Utility Type
Energy Acuity conducted interviews with 42 U.S. integration should happen. We
electric utilities regarding their current and future plans
for their OMS. Utilities interviewed include:
could integrate the AMI directly
13%
23 POUs IOU
11 Co-Ops
into the OMS, the other school of
40%
POU
8 IOUs thought is that maybe the AMI
Co-Op
Of those interviewed, 15 utilities indicated plans to 47% integrates through our CIS which
invest in OMS over the next four years. Forty-seven
percent of these utilities are publicly-owned, 40% is already integrated with our
cooperatively-owned, and 13% investor-owned. OMS.nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
Distribution Management System
According Energy Acuitys interviews, advanced
distribution management systems (DMS) and their
capacity to integrate multiple smart grid systems
(SCADA, OMS, GIS, AMI) will dictate a large portion of
smart distribution upgrades over the next four years.
In an effort to explore U.S. utility experiences with and
plans for DMS, Energy Acuity spoke with 26 electric
utilities to uncover their DMS strategies from 2014-
2018.
By utility type, those interviewed are 54% POUs, 31%
IOUs, and 15% Co-Ops. Sixty-two percent of
interviewees indicated plans to invest in DMS between
2014 and 2018. While 19% indicated no plans for DMS
technology, most attributed this to a small service
territory or uncertainty of the technology.
Still, interest in the technology remains high between all
three utility types interviewed with planned
investments from:
7 POUs
5 IOUs
4 Co-Ops
While the technology may be considered young by
some, others indicated moving toward DMS for load
flow studies and forecasting, increased Volt/Var Control
(VVC), and the capacity for Fault Location Isolation &
Service Restoration (FLISR). Of the utilities interviewed
with already-implemented distribution management
systems, many are beginning to pilot conservation
voltage reduction (CVR), and cite success with CVR
pilots thus far.
Of the utilities planning investments in DMS between
2014 and 2018, five utilities will look to begin their DMS
project in 2014, five in 2015, four in 2016, and two in
2018.
0ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
DMS is on the 10 year-out cycle
for us. When we look at it, we
just dont feel its ready for
prim etim e so to speak. We are
going to let others cut their teeth
and try to learn from them.
dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Utilities Interviewed on DMS by Utility Utilities Interviewed DMS Investment Status Year of Planned DMS Investment by Utility Type
3.5
Type 2014-2018 3 IOU
16 3
14 POU
14 Investing 2.5
19%
12 2 2 2 2 2 Co-Op
10 2
8
8 Investment 1.5
6 19% Complete/Nearly 1 1
4 62% 1
Complete 1
4
2 Not Investing
0.5
0
POU IOU Co-Op 0
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Distribution Automation
Distribution Automation hardware such as feeder
monitors, remote fault indicators, and automated feeder
switches, capacitors, and regulators will continue to be
prominent smart grid technologies from 2014-2018.
To get a better understanding of potential distribution
automation investments over the next four years,
Energy Acuity conducted interviews with 40 U.S.
electric utilities regarding planned investments in DA
from 2014 to 2018.
By ownership, utilities interviewed include 26 POUs, 9
IOUs, and 5 Cooperatives. Through these conversations,
32 utilities indicated a planned investment in
distribution automation technologies between 2014
and 2018. Of those interviewed, only five utilities were
complete or near completion with their DA efforts
territory-wide.
hardware for reliability purposestypically having
automated only their worst performing circuitsfew
utilities have installed automated devices throughout
their entire service territory. For most, the continued
installation of distribution automation devices will
occur only at the speed of business valueincreasing
their number of automated circuits where it makes the
most sense from a reliability standpoint.
dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd
We look at DA expansion just
like any other reliability
improvem ent. Where we have a
circuit or an area that would
benefit from a reliability
standpoint and the solution would
The ownership breakdown of the utilities that indicated
planned investments in distribution automation
between 2014 and 2018 includes:
59% Publicly-Owned Utilities
25% Investor-Owned Utilities
16% Cooperatively-Owned Utilities
While many U.S. investor-owned utilities have begun
distribution automation projects due to regulatory
mandates and reliability requirements, larger
municipalities will present opportunity for the
expanded growth of distribution automation
technologies in 2014-2018.
Utilities Interviewed DA Status 2014-2018
3 Investing
5

While many utilities have partially automated be an automated device, then Investment
Complete/Nearly
distribution systems due to Smart Grid Investment
Grant Projects and other installations of smart well do that. 32
Complete
Not Investing
dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd
Number of Utilities Interviewed on DA By
Utility Type Three utilities interviewed indicated no intentions to Utilities Investing in DA by Utility Type
30 26 invest in distribution automation in the 2014-2018
25 timeframe, two being small publicly owned utilities, and
5
20 the third a small electric cooperative. These utilities
15 noted that SCADA improvements are likely the only POU
9
10 advanced distribution technology they will look to IOU
5 8 19
5 invest in over the next four years.
Co-Op
0
POU IOU Co-Op
Demand Response
Traditional demand response (DR) programs such as
capacity markets, direct load control, and base
interruptible programs have long helped utilities avoid
costly ramp-up of additional generation plants to meet
peak demand. More recently, however, AMI enabled
time responsive demand response programs have
become prominent investments for U.S. utilities.
dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd
Part of the AMI business case
was to have interval data to
support a three-tier tim e-of -use
rate. We have not implem ented
that, but it could potentially be
part of our next rate case.
dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd
Energy Acuity interviewed 40 U.S. utilities on their
experiences with and plans for both traditional and
time based demand response programs from 2014 to
2018.
Utilities Interviewed on DR by Utility Type
7 8
POU
IOU
21
Co-Op
12
Of the 40 utilities interviewed, 33 utilities indicated
Percentage of Utilities Investing in DR by Utility Type
plans to invest in demand response programs and
technology between 2014-2018.
18%
Utilities interviewed noted the prominence of more POU
traditional commercial and industrial DR programs IOU
49%
over residential efforts, often focusing the reduction of Co-Op
peak energy usage on their largest accounts. 33%
Still, interviewees range from having just begun
residential time-of-use (TOU) pilots, to having some of
the most successful TOU programs in the country. While seven utilities did report having no intentions for
DR programs in 2014-2018, respondents mainly
attributed this to already low electric rates as well as no
Sixteen publicly-owned, 11 investor-owned, and 6
intentions for AMIthe technology enabling dynamic,
cooperatively owned utilities noted their intention in
invest in demand response technology over the course TOU, and critical peak pricing efforts.
of the next four years. While six cooperatives discussed
plans for demand response, these efforts will be mostly Utilities looking to embark on residential pricing
programs for the first time have concerns about
centered on irrigation load control.
customer engagement and acceptance, and are looking
into web portals and other applications to help connect
Utilities Interviewed DR Status 2014-2018
18 with their customers on TOU rates. Interviewees with
16 already successful residential pricing programs will
16
look to expand upon the number of customers
14 participating.
12 11
Investing
10 As AMI rollouts continue to expand over the next four
Not Investing
years, so too will residential time-based demand
6
6 5 response programsallowing utilities and their
customers to capitalize on the benefits of interval smart
4
meter data.
2 1 1
0
POU IOU Co-Op
Mobile Workforce Management
Mobile workforce management (MWFM) solutions
allow utilities to gain better visibility and control of
their field resources, ultimately decreasing lag time in
service requests and increasing customer satisfaction.
Integrated MWFM solutions can allow utilities to view
real-time situations in geographic information and
outage management systemsmaximizing crew
dispatch, decreasing outage times, and avoiding costly
issues with sending incorrect or ill-prepared crews to
resolve issues.
In order to better understand market trends for MWFM
over the next four years, Energy Acuity interviewed 35
U.S. utilities on their plans for mobile workforce
management between 2014 and 2018.
Interviewees included:
57% POUs
23% Co-Ops
20% IOUs
Overall, MWFM solutions were recognized as important satisfaction with the solution itself and with their
at nearly every utility interviewed. A utilitys capability relationship with their vendor.
to control its distribution grid through smart
technologies also necessitates a capacity for real-time As utilities move to automate more and more of their
crew control and monitoringallowing a utility to not internal processes, MWFM solutions will continue to
only progressively examine its distribution system, but have a strong presence in utility operations and
to have the same capabilities for its workforce. investments over the next four years.
Of those interviewed 8 POUs, 5 IOUs, and 3 Co-Ops
indicated plans for investing in MWFM in 2014-2018
suggesting that the technology and its benefits are of Utilities Interviewed MWFM Status 2014-2018
interest to the various utility types across the industry. 10 9
kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk 9 8
8 POU
We are certainly looking into 7 IOU
6 5
mobile workforce managem ent. 5 Co-Op
4 3 3
We have outfitted all of our field 3 2 2
2 1
engineers and most supervisors 1
0
with the hardware. Its definitely Investing Investment Not Investing
Complete/Nearly
one of the more important things Complete

Utilities Interviewed on MWFM by Utility Type on our list. Percentage Investing in MWFM By Utility Type
25 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
20
20
While 4 utilities indicated having no intention of 19%
15 POU
investing in MWM, they noted the reasoning behind this
IOU
10 8 7 as having both small staffs and small service territories. 50%
Co-Op
5 31%
Several interviewees had complete or near complete
0 implementations of MWFM solutions, and most noted
POU Co-Op IOU
Asset Management
Enterprise asset management solutions provide a oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Many publicly and cooperatively-owned utilities
unified approach to monitoring and measuring the An overarching asset interviewed had not yet invested in any asset
conditions of a utilitys diverse and disparately located management solution, utilizing spreadsheets and their
assets. managem ent system is in the Geographic Information System (GIS) as a means of
tracking assets. Investor-owned utilities interviewed
The implementation of smart technologies requires
works. On our roadmap, we are tended to have more advanced asset management
utilities to have a more unified approach to asset looking at a unified asset solutions, but different divisions of the utility
management than ever before, and as such Energy (generation, transmission, distribution) utilize
Acuity conducted comprehensive interviews with 33 managem ent solution in the 2015- individual asset management solutions rather than a
U.S. utilities with installed smart grid hardware as a 2016 tim eframe. unified software and approach to asset management
means of better understanding their approach to asset throughout the entire utility.
management. Those interviewed included: lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
58% POUs Planned investments in asset management include five
30% IOUs Utilities Interviewed Asset Mgmt Status 2014-2018 utilities in 2014, five in 2015, four in 2016, and one
12% Co-Ops utility had a unified asset management solution on their
3 Investing roadmap for 2018.
Of the 33 utilities interviewed, 15 were looking to invest
in asset management solutions between 2014 and 2018, 15 Investment
including 6 IOUs, 6 POUs, and 3 cooperatives. These Complete/Nearly
15 Complete
numbers reflect the importance of asset management Not Investing Investments in Asset Mgmt By Year & Utility Type
across the utility industry.
4.5
4
4 IOU
Utilities Interviewed on Asset Mgmt by Utility
Type
Utilities Investing in Asset Mgmt by Utility Type 3.5 POU
3
19 3 Co-Op
20
20% 2.5
15 2 2
IOU 2
10
10 POU 1.5
1 1 1 1
40% 40% 1
Co-Op
5 4
0.5
0 0
POU IOU Co-Op 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Data Analytics
Utilities Interviewed on Data Analytics by
Foundationally, smart grid provides utilities with the Utility Type what can be accomplished through data analytics.
ability utilize communications platforms to gain real-
time operational data from deployed smart devices. Others felt that analytics is the biggest unsolved project
Yet, simply receiving and storing this data does not 1 within the utility, noting uncertainty not only in
actualize the potential benefits smart grid solutions can 4 POU choosing vendors, but in understanding themselves
offer. By utilizing analytics, utilities can appropriate IOU what exactly they hope to achieve through analytics.
data from smart devices in a way that allows them to Co-Op
better understand events, trends, analysis, and Nearly every utility interviewed cited a goal of moving
9
ultimately provides the capacity to calculate the to be predictive rather than reactive in their
outcome of events that, in the past, have been operationsa feat which they believe can only be
unpredictable and uncontrollable. attained through analytics.
Utilities Investing in Data Analytics by Utility
Type
Analytics may be the single most important facet of
utilizing smart technology to its full potential, and yet, 9% dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd
most utilities are unsure where to begin with data The biggest puzzle for us from
POU
analytics. In an effort to better understand the role of
IOU
data analytics in the smart grid industry over the next
36%
Co-Op
the AMI/DA side is looking at how
four years, Energy Acuity interviewed 14 U.S. electric 55%
utilities with developed smart grid programs.
we want to manage the analytics
part of it. Weve got all of the
Utilities interviewed included:
64% POUs data, weve got a way to store it,
Year of Analytics Investment by Utility Type
29% IOUs 4.5 but we dont have the ability to
4
7% Co-Op 4
3.5 3 2014
manipulate the data to do the kind
Of those interviewed, 79% were looking to invest in 3
data analytics solutions between 2014 and 2018. For 2.5
2015 of analytics we would like to do.
2
others, analytics is a puzzle whose solution is more than 2 [Analytics] is probably our
four years out at the utility. 1.5 1 1
1 biggest outstanding decision.
Even two investor-owned utilities interviewed, 0.5 dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd
considered by many to be analytics pioneers, remarked 0
that they are only beginning to scratch the surface of POU IOU Co-Op
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In the meantime, heres a quick overview of what you can expect to find in the ea|Grid database:
Industries: Utilities: Smart Grid Projects: Utility IQ: Financings:
Energy Infrastructure IOU Type: Firsthand conversations Companies Involved
Demand Reduction POU o Data Acquisition/ with utility executives Stage of Development
Smart Grid Co-Op Communications
Planned utility investments Financing Sector
o Demand Response
Energy Storage NERC Region o Distribution Management / in smart grid Investment
Utilities Peak Demand Automation Tracking smart grid, asset Related News
Transmission Net Generation o Meter Installations / AMI management, MWFM, CIS, M&A, Alliances:
o Pilot Program/Study/Demo
Distribution Wholesale Purchases and more Companies Involved
Project Status
Company Profiles: Retail Sales Analyst Notes: Event Type
Location
50,000 Tracked Sales for Retail Project updates via primary Financial Terms
# of Units
5,500 Detailed Profiles Retail Revenue research Related News
Development Notes on Transmission,
Industries Resale Revenue Client Support & Trainings:
Timeline/Key Dates
Projects Total Revenue Smart Grid, & Energy Personal Client Relations
Companies Involved/Roles
Executive Biographies Total Consumers Storage Projects Manager
Project Contacts One-on-one Trainings
Manufacturing Operation Search Request for Proposals:
Related News Type:
Products Customer Search Group Trainings
Investment o
Supply Agreements Green Program Search Energy Storage Live Chat Support
Projected $ Savings o Smart Grid
Email
News Generation Details Search o Transmission/Distribution
Transmission Projects:
Service Providers Advanced Meters Search o Wholesale Power Direct Telephone
Voltage
Parent/Subsidiaries Energy Storage Projects: Deadlines Feedback Opportunities
Miles
Financings Type: Issuers
o Capacity
M&A, Alliances Battery Location
o Flywheel Substations
Executives: Contacts
o Fuel Cell Status
Biography o CAES Links
Percent / Segments
Contact Information Project Status Email Notifications
Operating
Location Location Supply Agreements:
Miles
Companies Involved/Roles Companies Involved Energy Acuity, LLC
Key Dates
Capacity Supplier/Purchaser Details 1422 Delgany Street
Companies Involved /
Related News Agreement Type Suite 300
Roles
Development Timeline Capacity Denver, CO 80202
Related News
Investment Financial Terms