Perspectives

As advanced technologies and new opportunities continue to improve our operational efficiency, productivity and resiliency across the electric utility sector, electric utility leaders are growing increasingly aware that with heightened opportunities comes heightened risk, particularly when increased connectivity through digitization of operational devices brings new vulnerabilities into play.

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) genie is not going back into the bottle; leaving the world to contemplate how best to manage this most potent, yet controversial, tool. The water sector’s response has many parallels with reactions to AI more broadly: we are certain AI has benefits, are less sure about how to realize them, and wary of unintended consequences.

Utilities have traditionally followed load, investing in assets when demand required it. Today’s wholesale energy markets are starting to push them in a different direction. Instead of load, utilities are being forced to follow their customers, and load doesn’t always come along with them. That’s leading to a wholesale energy market that pivots on decentralized energy production. Essentially, wholesale energy markets are becoming as decentralized and disaggregated as generation itself.

Imagine customers, third parties and even utilities participating in a market in which their investments in renewable energy and other distributed energy resources could be monetized. The uptake of clean energy would dramatically accelerate, creating new opportunities for innovation and an open, inclusive energy economy. It’s the next evolutionary step to profoundly transforming the energy industry into something where everyone can win and it’s happening now.

Few appreciate the cost of water like commercial facilities and industrial manufacturers. Many of them are selling a product that requires water as part of the larger infrastructure setup that ultimately results in consumer goods. Take for instance food and beverage makers, for whom water is the good. Or paper and pulp companies, whose dry products rely almost exclusively on water.

The energy ecosystem is changing, driven by the advent of distributed clean energy, increased competition from new technologies and service providers, the evolving expectations of customers, and new opportunities for serving those customers.

Planning for today's distribution networks is a little like driving down a foggy road at night. knowing what's ahead and having more visibility makes a ride like that easier, but the clarity those two conditions provide is lacking for utilities and other players in the power sector as they travel toward a modernized grid.

From C-suites and state capitals to international governments and the United Nations, leaders of the world’s most influential economies are codifying the role of renewables in an increasingly sustainable power generation mix.

As electrification of fleets emerges as the next frontier in the EV market, Joe Halso — legal counsel for the environmental advocate Sierra Club — lauded Minnesota regulators and electric utility giant Xcel Energy for refusing to stay on the sidelines.

Rising demand for clean and sustainable energy has made this one of the most dynamic and exciting moments in the history of power supply. It's also one of the most vexing.

Surging growth in renewables and efforts to increase resilience will drive millions of dollars in new transmission investment over the next five years, according to Black & Veatch’s 2019 Strategic Directions: Electric Report survey.

The sweeping survey that underpins Black & Veatch's 2019 Strategic Directions: Electric Report sharpens the focus on a power industry at a pivotal time of change punctuated by increasingly popular, clean renewable energy sources and a murky regulatory climate.

Hydropower producers have difficult decisions to make about where to invest in their assets. On the one hand, they need to invest in facility and equipment upgrades and unit availability and reliability. On the other, variable capital costs, rising operations and maintenance costs, and permit and licensing requirements are concerns.

At the core of digital transformation, or digital water, is aggregating, mapping and analyzing data for greater insights and actionable information. One goal of digital water is to provide predictive analytics by optimizing plant performance and identifying process exceptions before they become costly problems.

From food safety and regulatory compliance to packaging and supply chain logistics, the food and beverage industry is constantly hunting for solutions that balance profitability and sustainability. With market share increasingly on the line – particularly for large consumer goods companies – food and beverage companies are being squeezed to analyze every cost.