Modernizing Utilities Without Starting Over: What Works And What Doesnt

Balancing the apparent opposites of spending to modernize and not spending to avoid rate increases is what utility oversight is about, many commissioners agreed. Utility regulators across the U.S. face a paradox that demands resolution, panelists at the American Clean Power Association’s CleanPower 2025 conference said. Access more insights for the aerospace and defense, chemicals and specialty materials, engineering and construction, industrial manufacturing, mining and metals, oil and gas, power and utilities, and renewable energy sectors. The authors would like to thank Akash Chatterjee, who provided research and analysis expertise in the development of this report.

Richard has led large‑scale Rawland Builds, New Site Builds, and nationwide infrastructure initiatives, developing processes that enhance efficiency, safety, and overall service quality. Richard DeHaven is the Director of Operations at Think Power Solutions, bringing more than 25 years of experience in telecommunications, construction, and utility infrastructure. With balanced experience of more than 25 years in both Technology and Management all over the world, Siva Vysyaraju serves as the Chief Information Officer. In her down time, Amy, who resides in Florida, enjoys fitness, spending time at the beach, and going to Disney with her son.

Distributed energy resources (DERs) affect planning and operation of distribution systems, and introduce challenges around voltage control, bidirectional power flows, system protection, net-load disaggregation, and system stability. The Building Energy Optimization Tool provides capabilities to evaluate residential building designs and identify cost-optimal efficiency packages at various levels of whole-house energy savings along the path to zero net energy. Distributed Generation Market Demand (dGenTM) model simulates customer adoption of distributed energy resources for residential, commercial, and industrial entities in the United States or other countries through 2050. Electric Vehicle Infrastructure—Projection (EVI-Pro) tool estimates how much EV charging infrastructure is needed in a designated area to meet a given demand. NLR provides energy and demand forecast resources for utilities, technology adoption estimates, and load profile and shape analysis for multiple end uses and load sectors. Distribution Unit Cost Database contains unit cost information for different components that may be used to integrate distributed energy resources onto distribution systems.

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The bulk power system is constrained due to fossil fuel plant https://www.swampthingroots.com/author/swampthingroots/ retirements and lengthy project timelines for new power plants to connect to limited transmission infrastructure, now stretching to five years. Because DER can generate, store, or flexibly draw or discharge power to the grid, the demand from households is becoming increasingly variable. This is the case utilities should make to regulators to secure backing for DER integration plans.

• Though not all of that will be built, the delays complicate project deadlines and financing arrangements.
• Immediately prior to joining Think Power Solutions in 2024, Amy was in a strategic, executive sales leadership role at Osmose which included creating and running an advisory board comprised of industry executives.
• As founder & former CEO of Think Power Solutions, he drove transformative advancements in construction, vegetation, utility, and field services.
• ReV model is a detailed spatio-temporal modeling assessment tool that empowers users to calculate energy capacity, generation, and cost based on geospatial intersection with grid infrastructure and land-use characteristics.
• This includes data on capital expenditures, operation and maintenance expenditures, capacity factors, and levelized cost of energy for DER technologies.

However, utilities often struggle to quantify the benefits or improvements in resilience from these grid investments, making it difficult to justify costs and prioritize initiatives effectively. By integrating weather-driven insights, utilities can ensure reliable service and improve recovery efforts during natural disasters. Weather-driven resilience involves the analysis of both historical weather data and forecasts to identify vulnerable infrastructure, optimize investments in grid hardening, and develop proactive strategies to mitigate future risks. Customer Affordability, Incentives, and Rates Optimization (CAIRO) model estimates the impact of utility rate and program design decisions on customers using detailed customer load data and forecasted power system scenarios. Utilities face the challenge of designing rate structures that incorporate DERs, EVs, and energy efficiency measures while ensuring cost recovery and affordable pricing for customers.

Consulting Group Works

Her extensive experience with utilities includes business development, client relations and working directly for Florida Power & Light where she implemented and ran commercial demand site management programs. He is focused on delivering solutions to complex and critical challenges within the industry and brings a strong passion for making a difference with some of our largest power, utility, and renewable energy businesses and their customers. His projects include operational improvement, business transformation, M&A, and green field strategy design. It is used by project managers and engineers, policy analysts, technology developers, and researchers to investigate questions about the technical, economic, and financial feasibility of energy projects. With decades of experience in energy systems integration and grid modeling, NLR has developed extensive resources for utilities to leverage in their planning and grid modernization initiatives. Richard’s strategic approach to operations supports Think Power Solutions’ commitment to delivering reliable, high‑quality services and sustaining long‑term organizational growth.

• Costs not recovered through the contract go into the utility’s rate case, but recovery of those costs is not likely to be allowed “because negotiating the contract was the utility’s responsibility and not a ratepayer problem,” she added.
• Regulators need to remember that “utilities are already planning significant spending to meet customer demand, and investments to reduce climate risk and prepare climate resilience have benefits that massively outweigh the upfront costs,” she added.
• As a result, though, if “affordability is the paramount target, it will be difficult to achieve.”
• Balancing the apparent opposites of spending to modernize and not spending to avoid rate increases is what utility oversight is about, many commissioners agreed.
• A similar strategy is underway in Serbia, where ElektroDistribucija Srbije is modernizing one of Southeast Europe’s largest distribution networks, which serves 3.8 million customers.

One of the most common missteps is viewing AI as a standalone solution rather than an operational capability. Based on firsthand experience working with utilities at various stages of transformation, several recurring pitfalls consistently emerge. Today, those capabilities are expanding outward. Modernization now has to be faster, more modular and significantly less risky. This approach aligns with today’s realities.

One of the biggest misconceptions about modernization is that it must begin with large-scale physical upgrades. The project demonstrates how visibility becomes the foundation for broader grid transformation Powered by ADMS, the system enables real-time monitoring, automated network reconfiguration and centralized operational control. By centralizing and contextualizing data across the network, ADMS improves state estimation, load flow analysis, and fault detection while enabling faster restoration decisions.

Consumers can better manage their own energy consumption and costs because they have easier access to their own data. Modernizing the grid to make it “smarter” and more resilient through the use of cutting-edge technologies, equipment, and controls that communicate and work together to deliver electricity more reliably and efficiently can greatly reduce the frequency and duration of power outages, reduce storm impacts, and restore service faster when outages occur. The Office of Electricity (OE) is working with its public and private partners to strengthen, transform, and improve energy infrastructure to ensure access to reliable, secure, and clean sources of energy.

Industry Intel

Finally, DER can also provide revenue, resilience, comfort, and clean air benefits that can redress inequities disproportionately impacting LMI customers. Through improved efficiency, self-generation, demand flexibility, and home and vehicle storage use, households can offer highly https://www.daegu2011.org/research-report-on-chinas-urban-rail-transit-industry-2013-2017/ distributed and diversified resources that can be orchestrated to meet peak demand while providing grid services. Yet technical, operational, and regulatory barriers impede widespread adoption, highlighting the importance of developing the capabilities to overcome them. These paid apprenticeships would provide additional support to help LMI communities overcome job barriers, with a combination of training and mentorship.67 DERstribution registered apprenticeships in LMI communities could create talent pipelines to highly skilled jobs locally with credentials recognized nationally.

Without real-time insight into grid conditions, modernization investments risk delivering limited value. Many utilities still operate with fragmented network visibility and legacy systems that provide delayed or incomplete operational data. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Starting small, proving value quickly and scaling deliberately lowers risk, builds confidence and accelerates ROI—often in weeks rather than years.

• Utilities are now combining real‑time sensor data with historical performance to predict failures before they occur.
• Some feeders support critical infrastructure, but others experience recurring congestion or frequent faults.
• Utilities also benefit from a modernized grid, including improved security, reduced peak loads, increased integration of renewables, and lower operational costs.
• NLR can support utilities in defining and navigating this “handshake” between transmission and distribution.
• By integrating weather-driven insights, utilities can ensure reliable service and improve recovery efforts during natural disasters.

When AI is positioned as a support layer rather than a replacement, adoption accelerates. In practice, the most successful implementations actively involve frontline employees, particularly customer service agents and field teams. Utilities that struggle often underestimate the time needed to map workflows, align data sources and train both staff and leadership. Upfront investment is still required for integration, data readiness, security reviews and internal change management. Although modern approaches are far more cost-effective than legacy transformations, they are not plug-and-play.