Navigating the Evolution of Grid-Tied Technologies with Innovative, Collaborative Solutions with Ryan Gerbrandt, COO of Anterix [Power Perspectives Conversations at DISTRIBUTECH 2024]

In an era marked by quickly evolving technological challenges, cybersecurity threats, and the utility industry leading a clean energy transition, professionals in the power industry find themselves at the forefront of a complex and rapidly moving landscape. And as told by Ryan Gerbrandt, Chief Operating Officer at Anterix, broadband technology at utilities is uniquely poised to drive innovation and future-readiness to the next level.

While sitting at the centrally located booth that Anterix attained during the recent DISTRIBUTECH 2024 Conference in Orlando, Gerbrandt pointed directly to the neighboring companies with booths of their own, some of which would ostensibly be considered competition but which he saw as peers, collaborators, and key participants in a ‘rising tides’ approach that he finds will bring the landscape of the digital utility to new levels. Indeed, the Anterix Active Ecosystem includes more than 100 technology innovators whose products and services are enabling utilities to achieve their grid modernization goals via 900 MHz private wireless broadband networks.

“Modern solutions are not going to be single-vendor and vertically integrated like they used to be. "This shift fuels our commitment to fostering collaboration and partnerships across the ecosystem." – Ryan Gerbrandt

At DISTRIBUTECH, Anterix's COO emphasized the role of collaboration in driving progress and highlighted numerous opportunities for flexible and innovative utilities, particularly those leveraging broadband technologies his company is championing.

 

Fully Embracing Broadband Opportunities for the Power Sector

Reflecting during the final day at DISTRIBUTECH, Gerbrandt noted that the dramatic evolution of utility technologies showcased at the conference represents a vital pathway as the sector addresses new risks and opportunities. Naturally, he saw the prominent role of telecommunications in transforming the grid, with broadband being paramount among them. Compared with previous years at the conference, according to Gerbrandt, telecommunications had finally taken the main stage at DISTRIBUTECH 2024, including an entire speaking track focus. That focus confirms not only the urgency felt by the broader industry, but the buy-in that the utility leaders are seeing themselves.

Overall, the conversations at DISTRIBUTECH confirmed a growing recognition of the critical role that wireless broadband plays in addressing major issues faced by today’s digital, flexible, and distributed energy industry: driving the next generation of smart meters, enabling the growth of distributed energy resources, mapping flexibility and demand-response needs, and so much more. “It underscores the maturation of our understanding of the pivotal role that broadband plays,” Gerbrandt confirms, “and it highlights the fundamental and critical expansion of broadband’s significance in addressing the defining issues we encounter in the energy industry.”

The Anterix booth bustling at DISTRIBUTECH 2024

 

Driving Home Use Cases

Anterix's DISTRIBUTECH showcase overflowed with modern broadband solutions, demonstrating how telecommunications is now central, not peripheral, to the utility industry's advancement. Gerbrandt pointed to more than 40 categories for private networks distributed in Anterix's booth, spanning physical and cybersecurity, resilience, clean energy, grid edge, metering, and wildfire mitigation.

And while that abundance of use cases may sound like a lot, Gerbrandt called it intentionally comprehensive. “Our goal,” he stated, “is to create a solution that fully immerses utility participants in our offerings,” spanning across the Anterix booth. 

Overview of 900 MHz private wireless broadband at the Anterix booth

A specific example comes from utilities’ need for technologies to assist with wildfire mitigation. After seeing too many risks, disasters, and costs, California utilities have gone all-in on identifying the tools that can help prevent wildfires. As a key example, Gerbrandt and his team have been working with San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) from the laboratory to the field journey of being able to de-energize falling lines before they risk igniting nearby vegetation. Thanks to this innovative technology, SDG&E has now seen a line fall and become de-energized in less than 1.5 seconds, a landmark achievement in preventing wildfires.

Regardless of the specific use case, digital infrastructure plays a key role in any vital utility operation today.

“Whether addressing wildfires, resiliency, cybersecurity, or the clean energy transition, if I don’t have the right digital infrastructure in place, it becomes very complicated.” – Ryan Gerbrandt

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI): What Can and What Can’t It Do?

From the opening keynote to speaking tracks to the demonstrations on the conference floor, attendees were inundated with messages about how artificial intelligence, or AI, was a dominant theme this year. And while previous DISTRIBUTECH conferences would feature some overarching, forward-looking discussions of the role of AI, this year’s gathering demonstrated quite clearly that most utilities and their vendors are studying how and where to implement AI as soon as possible.

While Gerbrandt agreed that the possibilities in the future with AI indeed are exciting, and that these are tools the Anterix team will continue to integrate and embrace, he noted that the industry, at least today, may need to stop short of calling it a complete AI takeover. While AI and machine learning are gaining traction in the industry, there is still uncertainty about their practical applications in utility operations, with Gerbrandt confirming that it all starts with data and getting that right first:

“Anything AI or machine learning, or even analytics, requires tracing back and ensuring you have reliable and high-volume information. AI is a data application at the end of the day.” - Ryan Gerbrandt

 

Prioritizing Cybersecurity Through the New Ecosystems

Digitizing the utility sector cannot happen safely without simultaneously also putting an intense emphasis on cybersecurity, Gerbrandt said. Referencing the recent FBI testimony about bad actors’ successful initial penetration of critical U.S. infrastructure, Gerbrandt emphasized the importance of focusing on cybersecurity for new systems integrated into the grid, as well as the power of broadband technologies to be a key cybersecurity boost to the wider grid when implemented correctly.

“One of the key aspects of a private network is the level of control it provides,” according to Gerbrandt. “Utilities are not just getting the physical air-gapping capability; they're layering on best-practice cybersecurity solutions on top of it. So, we have some Ecosystem members at DISTRIBUTECH showing their zero-trust architectures and hardware encryption methods. Additionally, there are fascinating analytic systems that monitor traffic and analyze payloads. By constructing this new network from the ground up, it's so much easier to build security in, as opposed to bolting it on.”

Instead of looking at communication networks as another area that risks cyber-attacks, Gerbrandt notes:

“A utility that embraces its own broadband network can flip the script and make that network an asset in its system-wide cybersecurity strategy.” – Ryan Gerbrandt

The Anterix team poses at DISTRIBUTECH

 

Painting the Collaborative Picture: With Other Vendors, Utilities, & More

Returning to the need for collaboration and joint learning, Gerbrandt discussed how proud he was that Anterix played a key role in co-founding the Utility Broadband Alliance. At a time just a few years ago when organizations like Anterix felt the industry wasn’t as properly up to speed on what broadband can and should do to achieve utility goals including reliability, resilience, affordability, and flexibility, this Alliance’s formation represented key stakeholders’ recognition that progress would remain slower than it needed to be unless they took collective action.

"We recognized the necessity of fostering a broader understanding of broadband's significance within the industry," explained Gerbrandt. "Our aim was to address why it's so vital and to initiate a platform for utility professionals to exchange insights and lessons learned."

That perspective of uniting towards the common needs and ultimate goals was prescient, with the prominence that the broadband topic reached at DISTRIBUTECH 2024 serving as evidence. Utilities and vendors alike have reaped the benefits of collaboration among various stakeholders in developing modern solutions for complex challenges. And, as Gerbrandt noted, the shift away from single-vendor approaches toward collaborative models involving partnerships and ecosystems was the driving factor behind that rapid expansion.

Collaboration is also the name of the game when Anterix begins any engagement with a utility, serving not just as a provider of tools that utilities install and forget about, but instead filling the role of key long-term partner with utilities. Starting from the beginning of a utility’s broadband journey, Gerbrandt and his team find most success comes from starting at the very beginning as educators all the way through implementation, monitoring, upgrades, and the entire journey. Technology companies are becoming comprehensive support providers, and Gerbrandt and his team emphasize that the most progress comes from building enduring relationships and supporting utilities end-to-end in their transformational journeys.

 

Looking Ahead

Looking toward the horizon, the future of the power industry beckons with promise and innovation. Anticipated trends in big data, AI, and analytics signal a resurgence in leveraging data-intensive applications to drive efficiency, cost savings, and reliability enhancements. As industry professionals chart a course forward, they do so with a keen eye on the transformative potential of collaborative solutions and the collective pursuit of a resilient and secure energy landscape.

“We’re seeing the resurgence of leveraging data-intensive applications and integration of advanced technologies to drive efficiency, cost improvements, and reliability enhancements,” said Gerbrandt, and once again noting the need for collaboration and how it really is the “relationships and the community that drive progress,” he continued.  “I'm incredibly proud of our efforts through the Anterix Active Ecosystem and our partnerships with utilities, as they facilitate the convergence of ideas. I firmly believe that the most impactful innovations will emerge from this  collaborative model.”

To learn more about private wireless broadband and the Anterix Ecosystem partners,  we encourage our readers to read some of the submissions shared in a recent Energy Central Special Issue created in partnership with Anterix, titled: “Where the Rubber Hits the Road: Private LTE Networks and the Grid Applications Utilities Are Really Pursuing.”