This article describes my experiences designing, developing and operating a business intelligence and advanced data analytics platform for a US ISO organization.
I want you to imagine the challenges you would face if your car’s dashboard was covered with cardboard and you couldn’t see any of the gauges, speedometer and warning signals that are there to help you operate the vehicle safely, while driving the vehicle. How would you know things like:
- How fast am I traveling
- How many miles have I travelled
- How much gas is in the tank
- Are any of my tires low on air
- Is there a warning light for my oil pressure
- When should I expect to arrive at my destination, based on rate of speed
You get the idea – you can’t see your dashboard so you would not be able to answer these questions; you’re driving blind with regard to this information, and that can’t be good.
But this is precisely the situation a utility or other energy industry entity faces when they don’t have a business intelligence or data analytics platform in place to help answer questions that require inputs from multiple transactional systems and digital devices that produce the data needed. In 2010 I was assigned the task of designing and developing just such a platform, from scratch! Having served as Enterprise Architect from 2004-2010 in the same organization I was already very familiar with the systems and applications used by the organization, which turned out to be a “critical success factor” in my ability to build the business intelligence and data analytics platform that remains in use today.
I must admit, the current energy transition and distribution of electricity supply resources (DER) has increased the volume and frequency of data that a utility needs to maintain grid and business operations. Regulators are beginning to ask utility executives some very challenging questions that would be very difficult to answer without a robust business intelligence and data analytics platform. The blackouts that affected Texas in February 2021 have raised awareness into the risks that can occur within a wholesale electric market and regulators want to know, “what are the risks of an extended cold weather event” and other information to assess impacts on consumers. In other words, it’s becoming harder to manage an electric utility without having access to the data needed to answer regulators questions and help manage utility operations. Some of the example questions that an advanced data analytics platform can answer include:
- How many customers will be affected if a severe weather event, i.e. tornado, occurs in Location L?
- What is the average electricity bill for consumers served by Utility U compared to Utility Z?
- What is the projected impact on electricity supply from the April 2024 Solar Eclipse?
- How much capital is at risk if Company G defaults on its FTR obligations?
My recommendation to executives in the Utility and Energy industries (Electric and Gas) is to take the time and make the investments needed to create an advanced data analytics platform, with Business Intelligence functionality, to enable the types of analysis needed to respond to regulators and help guide business operations, planning and strategy to address the challenges coming from the energy transition, climate change and other factors/forces that are making the utility and ISO/RTO business more challenging than ever.