We are in conversation with Rodger Smith, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Utilities. He and his teams work tirelessly to establish new ways to mitigate Mother Nature's wrath by helping utilities keep customers aware and, in the aftermath of severe weather, help them get electric power restored as quickly and as painlessly as possible.
EET&D : Rodger, I think it is probably fair to say that utilities have placed a renewed focus on outage and storm management recently. What’s your take on the situation?
Smith : Well, as we all remember quite well, the U.S. East Coast was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, followed closely by a major Nor’easter, in October 2012. Together, the two events became known as Superstorm Sandy – the second-costliest hurricane in U.S. history.
Combined with other severe storms within the same timeframe across North America, Superstorm Sandy, as well as 2011’s Hurricane Irene, resulted in a renewed focus on the resiliency of the electric grid, including questions about what can be done to better harden it against outages, and what utilities can do to better prepare customers for major outages when they do occur.
Obviously storm and outage management have always been a focus for utilities, but those major storms really forced them to push the pedal to the metal, so to speak, on how they’ll better manage their future operations.
EET&D : I believe we both attended a panel discussion – including representatives from several utilities – at DistribuTECH in January focused on the lessons learned from Superstorm Sandy. What was the biggest thing that struck you about that particular session?
Smith : One of the main things that grabbed my attention was the packed room and engaged audience – which illustrated just how important outage management and storm preparation are for today’s utilities.
A White House report1 released last year noted that severe weather is the leading cause of power outages in the U.S. These severe weather events have prompted all utilities, even those that felt they already had strong storm preparation mechanisms in place, to reevaluate their approaches. While utilities can’t promise their customers that they’ll be able to completely avoid power outages during severe weather, technology and lessons learned from previous storm experiences can help utilities prepare for the next big storm, which is exactly what the session at DistribuTECH offered attendees.
Confirming those same sentiments, we surveyed utility employees at the show and 95 percent of respondents said they believe storm and outage management planning and preparation is either important or very important for today’s electric utilities. Respondents also unanimously said that their utility has invested in storm management and outage preparation over the past year, and more than half (54 percent) described their investment as ‘heavy’ or ‘strong.’
Bottom line, storm management is very much top-of-mind for the utilities industry these days.
EET&D : So what would you say is the best way for utilities to approach storm and outage management?
Smith : If we look for a moment at the ‘Three Ps’ of best practice – planning, preparation, and prevention – the latter P, prevention, is the most challenging. Complete storm-based power outage prevention would require rebuilding much of the electric grid, which is financially impossible. Planning and preparation, on the other hand, are continually aided by lessons learned, as well as the adoption of new technology and in-application data analytics. Nearly all respondents (96 percent) that took our survey at DistribuTECH said that their utility had taken steps to plan for storms in the past year, and 55 percent said one of those steps was making sure their outage management systems and processes are up-to-date.
Smith : Utilities have access to more data than ever before, thanks to their smart grid investments. But are they doing all that they can to analyze the data available to them? By meshing weather forecasts and recorded damage from previous, similar storms, they can better predict potential damage, and do their best to prepare for it by pre-placing the right people and resources in areas most likely to sustain the most damage. It’s clear that many utilities are already taking these steps, as 59 percent of our DistribuTECH survey respondents said that their utility integrates forecasts and damage reports to help prepare for storms.
Further, investing in strong outage management and distribution network management tools will provide utilities with full visibility across their entire grid to more swiftly determine outage issues while at the same time enabling them to operate safely, securely, and efficiently. Robust tools enable self-healing, autonomous restoration wherever possible, bringing customers back online quickly.
The key to success, however, is effective communication.
EET&D : Why would you say communication is so important?
Smith : Communication is critically important because no utility can prevent one hundred percent of outages, one hundred percent of the time. So, when outages inevitably occur, utilities not only must address the issue from an operational standpoint to get the lights back on quickly, but they must also ensure there is constant communication with stakeholders and customers to keep them up to date on the current status and progress.
For the most part, utilities understand this and are working toward it, but there’s ample room for improvement. As a supporting point, 34 percent of respondents in our DistribuTECH survey cited customer and stakeholder communication as one of the most important components to managing and responding to outages. Of course, we’d like to see that percentage be higher, but the good news is utilities agree there is room for improvement: Not even half of respondents (49 percent) rated their utility’s communication with customers before storm-related outages as good or very good and only 59 percent said their communication during a storm was good or very good.
For utilities that feel their internal or external communication needs improvement, I think it’s best to look at some of their peers as examples. The best utilities go above and beyond by being proactive communicators with customers, using the information they’ve gathered from weather alerts and previous storm data to distribute alerts on potential outages that may occur. Proactive communication is a good customer service practice and demonstrates that the utility is truly looking out for its customers’ best interests.
Simply put – when the lights go out, customers want to know what the problem is and when their power is going to be restored. Effective communication helps keep customer expectations in check and reduces the amount of calls coming into the call center.
EET&D : Along those lines, it seems that social media and mobile channels have become a primary form of communication for most people today. Would you say that utilities are jumping on the bandwagon, too?
Smith : For the most part, I would say that utilities are moving in this direction, but I don’t think the industry is completely on board yet.
We’ve talked to many utilities about their use of social media and the majority have agreed that ignoring these channels is no longer an option; utilities have to be in the social space because it’s where customers go for information. To me, if utilities aren’t communicating where their customers are, they may as well not be communicating at all.
Nearly a third of respondents (31 percent) at DistribuTECH said their utility provides weather forecasts and outage updates to customers via their social media channels (primarily via Facebook and Twitter). Furthermore, about a quarter (23 percent) said they send weather alerts and instructions to customers via email and text messages. Obviously there’s still work to be done, but again, it’s great to see utilities moving into the social space.
EET&D : Can you give some examples of how utilities can use social media and mobile channels to their advantage in the event of a storm?
Smith : Of course. In the event of a storm, utility customers can use their smartphones to upload photos of neighborhood damage and downed lines to social media sites, which provides utilities with real-time information that they can then use to dispatch the appropriate resources and personnel needed to resolve the issues.
Pepco, for example, uses social media for 24/7 outage communication, as well as other customer outreach. A customer that tweets at Pepco about an outage will receive a response asking for the exact address of the outage, enabling the utility to provide specific details and an estimated restoration time. The utility also uses Twitter to send proactive messages, such as ones alerting customers that crews are working to restore power in various areas.
That’s just one example of many, but it points to the fact that utilities are putting more of a focus on real-time communication and transparency with their stakeholders and customers. More and more service-driven interactions will come through social media channels in the future, where consumers see greater possibilities for 24/7 two-way communication and rapid problem resolution.
This is a big deal because utilities have typically been a little slower to adopt these kinds of changes compared to other industries. Using social media effectively is new territory for many utilities, but those that embrace it will likely see improved communication and customer relationships.
EET&D : What do you see as the greatest challenge for utilities moving forward?
Smith : That’s a tough question and it’s truly difficult to identify just one challenge. I think the main thing that utilities will need to focus on is using all the data available to them and transforming it into real, tangible business value – both from an operational and customer service perspective.
I think another challenge for utilities today will be to find ways to treat customers as individuals, rather than as one large group. Customers expect the right information on the right channel at the right time from their utility companies, from crisis communication (such as outage management) to customer education (such as energy efficiency or safety tips). Utilities are beginning to rise to the challenge, moving to a more proactive communication approach.
Obviously, storms and outages are unavoidable and storm-related challenges will continue to test utilities’ resilience. However, new technologies and information sources continue to emerge as potential assets for storm preparedness and response, and I, for one, am looking forward to seeing how utilities can capitalize on these resources to better serve themselves and their customers.
EET&D : It’s been a pleasure speaking with you Rodger. By the amount of activity at DistribuTECH I can well imagine that you’re run off your feet. It’s also really good to know that companies like Oracle are at the forefront of working with and applying smart technology to look after customers both before and after a serious weather event.
1 Economic Benefits of Increasing Electric Grid Resilience to Weather Outages, Executive Office of the President, The White House, August 2013.
