Grid Modernization

The landscape of the traditional electric utility industry is changing (some might say we’re experiencing earthquake-level seismic shifts). Customers demand more: more choice, more control, more information, more reliability, more renewables, and so on. To meet these new customer demands, as well as to keep pace with the capabilities available for operating and maintaining an electric grid, electric utility companies understand the need to significantly improve their ability to adapt to changing technologies and markets. 

There is no “silver bullet” to address the changes impacting the US utility industry, because, at its core, there is no single factor or element at which to take aim. Rather, the need for grid modernization is being driven by the aggregation of various effects of the industry’s numerous components. The challenges associated with these often-disparate elements require a coordinated strategy to address them in a manner that achieves the greatest synergy. Identifying the key industry trends and drivers behind the need a grid modernization strategy is easy (renewal generation, advanced grid technology, energy storage, microgrids, electric vehicles, aging infrastructure, energy demand growth, data analytics, and policy and regulation, as well as many others); developing the strategy to expertly address these trends and drivers is not so easy and requires some of the best minds in the business.