On The Grid

Whenever we talk about "the future of the energy industry" we very often mean changing business models, assets, and technologies; but an often overlooked aspect is the future of the energy industry workforce. As the industry evolves and takes on a different role in the lives of energy customers, a whole host of new skill sets are required to make the grid operate.

To acquire the new talent necessary to create a grid of the future, how can we create and broadcast an environment that a new generation of professionals will want to participate in? This week we are discussing these issues with Gerardo Delgado, an energy lawyer who counsels Illinois Commerce Commissioner Sadzi Oliva. We also complain about the Warriors just a bit.

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Every now and then we like to take stock of where the industry is and where we appear to be going. Keeping tabs on trends is a pastime for us at Zpryme so we brought in the head honcho, CEO Jason Rodriguez to talk trends with us and give a peek into what our plans are going forward.

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Today we have ABB's VP of Smart Grids and Grid Modernization Gary Rackliffe to talk about digital maturity. Not every utility is on the same road to digital maturity because not every utility has the same size, customer and asset issues, or regulatory environment. However, there are some best practices when strategizing for digitization, digitalization, and enterprise integration. That's where Gary and Erin come in! Enjoy this discussion on what to keep in mind and who to look to when designing your digital roadmap.

The full report: https://etsinsights.com/reports/building-the-21st-century-digital-grid/

The interactive infographic: https://etsinsights.com/media/infographics/the-digital-maturity-curve/

This episode was sponsored by ABB

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ETS has come and gone but while we were there, we managed to meet up with Carol Johnston, VP of Product Management at Clevest, to talk about Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). There were numerous discussions and presentations at the event, but we wanted to go beyond the novelty and discuss the promise and current live applications of the technologies.

We went over the results of a survey we did around this topic and how it fits our preconceived notions about what the technology can do in this space. AR and VR are new to the energy space but they're already making waves!

You can find the paper at: https://etsinsights.com/reports/hands-on-transformation-to-the-digital-future-augmented-and-virtual-reality-in-utility-operations/

This episode was sponsored by Clevest

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Last week was ETS19, the biggest week in energy (maybe we're a little biased). Thought leaders from all over the industry came to tell their stories and how we can work together to overcome the hardest challenges facing the industry.

Just like last week, Nancy Bui-Thompson, an elected member of the board of directors for SMUD sat down with some of the most prominent leaders at the event to discuss their journeys. Gil Quiniones, CEO of NYPA and Thought Leader of the Year for ETS19 stopped by to talk about how the work he's done in New York models what he believes the future of the industry should look like.

Nancy also talked with Arlen Orchard, CEO of SMUD, about using your position to make your community better. Though both of these men come from different backgrounds and work on opposite coasts, they have a similar message of inclusiveness and community that demonstrates why they are respected leaders in our industry. Hope you enjoy these interviews!

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Today we have John Baksa from Hansen Technologies on the show following our Energy Thought Summit Conference. There was a lot of discussion about data at the conference and John goes through what he's interested to see utilities doing, or not doing, with data.

We also play a game of data prescriptions and come up with some do's and don'ts. Make sure you're taking notes!

This episode was sponsored by Hansen Technologies

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At ETS19, many thought leaders were brought together to discuss some of the most pertinent issues in the energy industry. One of the most provocative and engaging keynotes was Steve Westly, Founder of the Westly Group discussing misconceptions and imperatives for the utility of the future.

To expand upon that talk, Nancy Bui-Thompson, member of the board of directors at SMUD sat down with Steve at the event to get some of his thoughts on the transformation of the utility recorded for all of you to listen to!

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Today Tom Willie, CEO of Blue Pillar, joins the podcast to discuss what commercial and industrial businesses are doing behind the meter as they think of ways to lower their energy footprint and reduce costs. This inevitably leads into a discussion about the relationship between utilities (or energy service providers) and C&I customers and how it needs to change along with other important aspects of the energy environment.

This episode was sponsored by Blue Pillar.

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Today on the podcast we have Sitetracker VP of Sales Irene Scher to talk about Transmission and Distribution planning: how to address legacy systems in an increasingly digital grid and how to plan for new technologies and systems. We also discuss reliability and safety issues coming the forefront in discussions around infrastructure.

This podcast was sponsored by Sitetracker.

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As we get closer to ETS we're talking to thought leaders who have big ideas to share about the future of the energy industry. To that end, we interviewed Kim Shumway from Allconnect to talk about how to use data to tailor energy content to customers and avoid miscommunication in customer engagement. She also talked about looking to leaders outside the energy space to help better reach customers where they spend most of their time — their mobile devices.

To find out more about ETS go to https://ets19.co/

This episode was sponsored by Allconnect.

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