Editorial Note: This is the second in a series of three articles by Brandon Raso about the impact that location intelligence is having across the operations of electrical utilities. Location intelligence uses next-generation GIS technology and analytics to deliver actionable insights that utilities could not previously access.
Kids ask a lot of questions. Sometimes the sheer volume of questions is overwhelming. That is particularly true when it comes to watching movies, when nothing is safe from a deluge of questions: “Why did Thanos become a bad guy?” “Who would win in a fight between Hulk and She-Hulk?” “Why can’t anyone lift Thor’s hammer?” and, of course, “In Avengers: Endgame when the good guys win and reverse Thanos, and then half of the universe vanishes, but then all of those people reappear exactly where they were when they disappeared, what happens to people who were in airplanes that were flying? Would the people reappear outside of the airplanes and then fall to the ground and go splat? And what about people who were in cars and trains? Would they get run over? And what about…?” Getting through each Marvel movie is a gauntlet of questions like those, but nothing prompts questions more than when kids see the movie end and the credits start to roll. Then it’s a million versions of the question: “What happens next?”
That question keeps coming to mind as I see the progress that utilities are making with grid modernization initiatives, which are bringing automation to operational processes across transmission, distribution and customer support. My first article for EE T&D discussed a compelling example of this involving field crews using mobile devices with location intelligence applications to bring far greater efficiency and accuracy to infrastructure projects. These first-order benefits of grid modernization are significant across the organization:
- A safer, more reliable grid
- Far greater efficiency through more accurate data and process improvements
- Enhanced safety for workers and the public
- Effective management of DERs
- Enhanced services and flexibility for customers
- And much more
But those first-order benefits are not the end of the story. If we ask ourselves, “Then what?” we get to an even more exciting phase of second-order benefits that are made possible through Advanced Grid Management. Advanced Grid Management utilizes the technology and insights from modernized grid infrastructure to achieve previously-impossible real-time insights that make decision-making across the organization faster and smarter.
Sandy Simon, who works for a Boston-based consulting and systems integration company, wrote an excellent introduction to Advanced Grid Management for EET&D in 2019, and it is a must-read because it provides such an effective introduction to this topic while also providing critical advice for those that are already thinking deeply about this issue. One key point she makes in her discussion is that ADMS (Advanced Distribution Management Systems) is not a synonym for Advanced Grid Management:
ADMS has vaulted to the top of utility executives’ priority lists based on its promise of integrating existing real-time systems with advanced visualizations and functionality that streamline operations ensuring utilities are better positioned to meet reliability and resiliency goals. ADMS is also viewed as a cornerstone to the utilities’ ability to respond and participate in a changing market in a way that keeps them relevant to both consumers and emerging players. Most utility organizations place ADMS front and center. However, ADMS is only an element of what should be a utility’s overall Advanced Grid Management program.
Simon’s article was prescient because ADMS has increasingly been the reflexive answer to the question of “Then what?” when people in the utility industry look to the future. ADMS has tremendous benefits, but it’s only part of the story. Advanced Grid Management is much more than that because it will transform how every department in a utility makes decisions and takes action. Sandy’s article does an excellent job of mapping out examples of those areas of transformation, including integrated processes, enhanced analytics and more. When I talk through these concepts with people in the industry, I distill that information into two words: optimizing and forecasting.
Once the foundation of grid modernization is in place, Advanced Grid Management enables utilities to do real-time optimization that has never been possible before, while also doing forecasting that liberates them from being in a purely reactive mode for so many aspects of their operations. That is a game-changer for managing load. It’s a game-changer for running a cost-effective grid and for preparing for and responding to emergencies, including wildfires and storms. It is transformative for predictive maintenance on critical infrastructure and ensuring reliability of the grid. It is groundbreaking for managing bi-directional energy customers with DERs are buying from the grid and selling back to the grid. And for preparing for the wave of retirements from a graying workforce.
Advanced Grid Management is about seeing what’s truly happening now and also seeing what is likely to happen next. Both of those are holy grails that have never been within reach for utilities, but they are now within reach for utilities pursuing robust grid modernization initiatives. The key is to have a strategy for Advanced Grid Management that thinks bigger than just one slice of what is possible with the foundation that is being built.
Brandon Raso is the director of utility design and engineering at Locana, a location and mapping technology company. Raso has more than 15 years of experience delivering GIS solutions in the utility industry, including his current role working at Locana where he helps utilities leverage location intelligence to solve complex construction and operational challenges Before joining Locana, Raso was the GIS and mapping technology supervisor at Puget Sound Energy. Before entering the private sector, he had a successful decade-long career in the U.S. Navy in sea combat operations. He earned his degree at the University of Utah.
