For most electric utilities, outage management is a top priority and concern. Take, for example, an electric utility located in the middle of the United States' infamous Tornado Alley.' After a series of devastating storms and tornados hit, the utility experienced serious damage to its transmission and distribution systems. However, by combining meter data with its outage management system, the utility was able to complete all repairs to its transmission and distribution systems within a month. In addition to repairing its transmission and distribution systems in record time, this type of system efficiency helped the utility enhance its customer service as well as prevent the potential for significant revenue loss.
Through proper data management and the use of data analytics, utilities can maximize the value of all the data that their sensors are providing them to draw insights, identify current or potential issues, and enhance operations.
There is no denying that we live in an age of information. What really matters, however, is what we do with this information. After all, the information on its own is just that - data. Utilities are inundated with data. As utilities adopt communications systems to improve their operations, these networks are delivering a growing volume of data from both the utility's infrastructure as well as external sources such as news and weather aggregators. As a result, utilities are struggling to manage and determine how to best use this surge of information. However, through the use of data analytics, utilities can now better manage this information and, ultimately, improve system efficiency.
There are three steps to optimizing the value of data analytics:
- Collect the data
- Analyze the information
- Convert data into actionable insights
1. Collect the data
Communication networks provide data about power usage, the utility's infrastructure and even outages. While this information is useful, utilities are now asking, "What else can this information tell me? Is there an opportunity to use this information to improve system operations?" It benefits utilities to think about the other sources of data that they could be tapping into for a more comprehensive view of their system and operations.
Another key benefit is that data collection improves coordination, collapsing the walls between different utility departments. While areas such as customer service may have had limited interaction with operations, for instance, data collection and analysis enable every department to see the big picture. The actions of one department often affect the entire utility and data analysis helps to showcase this. Through the use of data collection and data analysis, every department is able to work together to improve operations for the utility as a whole as well as benefit its customers.
Utilities and their customers are craving basic data and visualization such as charts, graphs and online dashboards. However, with data analytics solutions, utilities can quench this thirst and realize even greater value hidden within this information. If one department in a utility begins to implement data analytics, other departments will see the results, embrace it and the walls will come down.
However, while sensors on the communication network provide utilities with this data, collecting the information is just the first step.
2. Analyze the information
As the example above revealed, sharing data across departments within a utility can often address problems such as customer-related issues. While this type of data analysis is certainly useful to utilities, the real challenge lies in transforming this data into information that will benefit the utility, its customers and improve operational efficiency.
Utilities have two main options for how to analyze this data: they can either build a system in house or they can choose to source an outside data analytics vendor. There are certainly challenges and benefits with both options. When building a system internally, utilities have more control. More specifically, they have the complete ability to customize their data analytics system and do not have to determine the right vendor to partner with. On the other hand, this also poses certain challenges and obstacles, particularly for smaller utilities. For instance, a system might require buy-in across several departments within the organization as well as require numerous resources to maintain it. For smaller utilities, they might not have access to these resources, making this option less advantageous.
The second option is to work with an outside vendor. Data analytics is an evolving space; if a utility sources an outside vendor to supply and manage its data analytics system, software updates, for example, are seamless to implement. In addition, for many utilities and especially IOUs, they might have internal constraints to deal with.
Very often, they cannot take the risks required to advance their own data analytics campaigns. Smaller utilities oftentimes do not have the resources necessary to build a system in-house so working with an outside vendor might be the best option in those situations.
Regardless of which option you choose, implementing data analytics allows utilities to continuously review, monitor and verify data. And the benefits are limitless. One major benefit is that utilities no longer need to continuously monitor data on their own. Data intelligence provides a series of routines to assure multiple checks and balances of the data. By using routines that verify data, utilities can expect to save both time and money.
This data intelligence also allows the utility to assign the appropriate action to automatically adjust any perceived discrepancies in the data. Utilities can pre-select responses and organizational tactics for different types of incoming information. This continuous and instant monitoring allows utilities to run more efficiently and better serve their customers. Data analytics can also immediately alert customers to certain occurrences or issues, helping improve response rates and enhance customer service. Customers can receive automated notifications and alerts at the very moment something is wrong. This type of automated notification can cut response rates and increase operational efficiencies, enhancing customer services as a result. In this age of technology, this rapid response is not only wanted but is expected by customers.
Given the ever-changing nature of the electric industry, data analytics provides flexibility through vast customization options to address the varying skill sets and needs within a particular utility. In addition, such agility allows for enhanced integration of complex networks. Through the use of data intelligence, utilities can solve nearly any data-related issue while also incorporating a sophisticated platform that can address more complex needs.
For utilities, another significant benefit of data analytics is revenue forecasting. With the ability to continuously bring in meter data every fifteen minutes, instead of just once a month or more, utilities can track their earnings in real time. Additional benefits include pulling customer information, better managing the business, segmenting sales data via customer classes, and estimating budgets to conserve costs and improve operations.
3. Convert the data into actionable insights
With the massive influx of data that utilities receive on a daily basis, a key part of data management is being able to sort through all of this information and pull in actionable insights. To truly benefit from such a large amount of data, utilities need to determine what data is required to best improve operations, reduce costs and enhance customer service.
One key example is a utility with a failed transformer. Prior to data analytics, the utility would automatically install a larger transformer, assuming that the previous transformer failed due to its load. However, by using data analytics, the utility was able to determine that the transformer did not fail due to demand and was, in fact, too large for its system. Based on this data, the utility was able replace the transformer with one at the appropriate size. Many utilities are even able to downsize their transformers on a broad scale. Data analytics can also enhance customer service for utilities. With data analytics, utilities can prevent customers from losing power during an unscheduled outage by predicting potential transformer failure. Transformers never fail at the time most beneficial to the utility to replace and often fail at the most expensive time of day and at the largest impact to the customer. Ultimately, the ability to gather and analyze this type of information can help utilities enhance their customer service, preventing customers from losing power by predicting transformer failure.
Reap the Benefits of Data
The combination of data management and analytics enables utilities to take a system-wide view of their operations, allowing them to run more efficiently and lower costs. It also allows utilities to better serve their customers by turning data into actual intelligence. With the right data analytics solution in place, utilities can manage their data and, most importantly, use this information to improve their utility and benefit the customer experience.
In addition to providing benefits to both the utility and its customers, data analytics provides environmental and societal benefits. Through the use of data analytics, utilities can not only monitor customer usage but also educate customers on their consumption. More specifically, data analytics can provide customers with regular alerts on their energy usage. By bettering informing customers about their energy consumption, they will become more aware of the amount of energy resources they use. This enables customers to be more knowledgeable about their consumption and can even promote customers to self-initiate conservation.
Ultimately, if utilities want to truly maximize the benefit of the data they are receiving from their sensors, data analytics is key. By collecting the data, analyzing its information and pulling actionable insights, utilities can gather information from grids, infrastructure and external sources to improve operations, reduce cost and inefficiencies and enhance customer service. Every utility has unique challenges, but the solution lies in data for many.
About the Author
Brian is an 18-year utility industry veteran whose entire career has been focused on finding solutions to the challenges utilities face across their enterprise. Prior to joining Verdeeco, a Sensus company, Brian worked for the SAS National Utility Practice where he focused on providing utilities with analytic products such as load forecasting and energy trading risk measurement. Brian is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Georgia and received his BSAE degree from the University of Georgia.
