It’s an unfortunate state of affairs that power outages are becoming increasingly frequent across the country, while the cost of maintaining our grid networks is skyrocketing. With utilities facing mounting pressures from aging infrastructure, renewable energy mandates, rising demand, and extreme weather—all while regulators push back on rate increases and executive compensation—utility firms are caught between a rock and a hard place.
How can utilities balance these competing demands while maintaining a reliable and resilient grid for the future without spending a fortune? The answer lies in data. Data management, to be precise. In this article, we’ll explore the challenges faced by the utility industry and how advanced data management may be the answer everyone is looking for.
The Current State of Data Use in Power & Utilities
Despite collecting vast amounts of data, many power and utility companies aren’t even close to tapping into its full potential. This underutilization hinders their ability to meet growing data-sharing needs, which creates a ripple effect of inefficiencies.
Several key issues contribute to this:
Data Quality Problems: Inefficiencies arise as a result of inconsistent and mismatched data, especially with the integration of renewables.
Inadequate Data Strategy: Many utility firms lack a strategy to meet current and future needs, including emissions reporting.
Weak Data Controls: Insufficient controls lead to security vulnerabilities.
Lack of Leadership Focus: A disconnect exists between recognizing data’s value and taking action, with firms often lacking Chief Data Officers (CDOs).
Recent Regulatory Changes and Their Implications
Beyond the data issues that utilities are facing, they also have to contend with a number of key regulatory shifts that are reshaping the arena.
Decarbonization Initiatives
An increased focus on decarbonization is fairly evident, with policies like Renewable Energy Standards (RES) mandating a certain percentage of electricity generation from renewable sources. Carbon pricing mechanisms, such as cap-and-trade systems or carbon taxes, are further spurring the transition to cleaner energy.
California’s cap-and-trade program, for example, has significantly influenced emissions reductions in the state. Policies like these are steering utilities toward investing in renewable energy technologies, updating their infrastructure to accommodate distributed generation, while having to comply with increasingly stringent emissions targets.
Energy Efficiency Standards
Energy efficiency is another regulatory priority, with stricter standards being imposed on utility programs. Demand-side management (DSM) programs that encourage customers to reduce energy consumption are becoming increasingly prevalent. This includes initiatives like rebates for energy-efficient appliances, home energy audits, and smart thermostats.
Grid Modernization Investments
Modernization efforts are also underway, driving investment in smart grid technologies and improved grid resilience. The integration of advanced sensors, data analytics, and automation systems is going to be essential to the management of an increasingly complex grid, especially with the influx of intermittent renewable energy sources. Leading the way here is the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Modernization Initiative—a collaboration between public and private partners to develop the concepts, tools, and technologies needed to secure the future of the national grid.
Decentralization and Customer Empowerment
Net metering policies that allow customers with distributed generation (like rooftop solar) to sell excess energy back to the grid, are becoming more commonplace. Energy storage incentives, such as tax credits or rebates, are also encouraging the adoption of battery storage systems, further allowing customers to manage their energy usage. These changes are a direct challenge to traditional utility business models, requiring utility firms to adapt to a more decentralized energy strategy.
Electrification of Transportation
The electrification of transportation is also accelerating, with incentives for electric vehicles (EVs) and the expansion of EV charging infrastructure. This presents both a challenge and an opportunity for utilities, requiring them to upgrade their infrastructure to support the increased demand for electricity while also offering new services and programs related to EV charging.
Given the changes afoot in the utility sector—and the complexities involved—companies are having to invest in new technologies and potentially rethink their business models to maintain service reliability and financial sustainability. This includes not only upgrading infrastructure but also implementing powerful data management capabilities to track, analyze, and report on performance related to these new requirements
The Importance of Data for Power & Utilities
High-quality data is the lifeblood of any business and utilities are no exception. From daily safety procedures and regulatory compliance to grid reliability and financial reporting, utility industry data needs to be collected, managed, and analyzed as efficiently as possible.
When managed correctly, data offers any number of advantages.
AI-Powered Innovation: Data is the foundation of AI-driven technologies that allow utility companies to make more accurate forecasts of energy demand and deploy predictive maintenance strategies which minimize downtime and optimize resource allocation. Further to this, data-driven insights can significantly improve worker safety by identifying potential hazards and improving the general safety of work processes.
Streamlined Operations: Integrating data across disparate systems streamlines workflows, eliminating redundancies and manual processes. This integration reduces time spent on reconciliation, freeing employees to focus on higher-value tasks rather than manual data handling, resulting in increased productivity.
ESG Compliance: Data is also central to fulfilling the increasingly stringent regulations and reporting mandates related to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). Accurate and comprehensive data is required for emissions reporting, tracking progress toward sustainability goals, and demonstrating compliance with environmental regulations. Powerful data management practices are crucial for utilities to not only meet these requirements but also to proactively identify opportunities to improve their ESG performance.
Key Challenges and Opportunities in Data Utilization
All that said, utilities face a complex set of challenges when it comes to data use. Many struggle with legacy systems and data silos as a result of mergers, acquisitions, and infrastructure upgrades, often leading to inconsistent and unreliable data. Establishing centralized data governance is crucial, including defining data ownership—creating a “single source of truth” that ensures data quality.
To this end, utility firms need to adopt a formal, executive-level data strategy that aligns with business goals and addresses both IT and operational needs. This should include measuring data quality, engaging stakeholders, and identifying ESG trends. Power and utilities also need to embrace new technologies like AI, machine learning, and predictive analytics in order to access the full potential of their data and the insights it contains.
Some of the major questions a utility firm will need to answer before establishing their data strategy include:
- How are we measuring data quality?
- Are key stakeholders (senior leaders, IT) involved?
- Have we identified relevant ESG trends?
- Do we have the right data strategy for both operations and business users?
- Does our strategy support analytics?
- How can we use data as a valuable product?
- Who reviews data quality results?
Data-Driven Investment Decisions for Grid Reliability
Needless to say, the level of investment in grid infrastructure has a direct impact on its reliability. Different investment levels influence key reliability metrics like SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index) and SAIFI (System Average Interruption Frequency Index). By visualizing asset health and failure risks through data-driven analysis and predictive modeling, utilities can gain a clear understanding of the current state of their infrastructure—and the specific problems it will face in the near future.
This data can be used to model how different investment levels impact reliability, making the trade-offs clear to regulators and stakeholders. It’s key for demonstrating the value of investments and justifying funding requests. While reducing investment may lower short-term costs, it can accelerate infrastructure degradation, leading to more frequent outages, emergency repairs, and ultimately, higher long-term expenses. Strategic investments, however, can improve reliability, reduce downtime, and optimize maintenance schedules.
The Role of Digital Tools in Transforming Utility Operations
Traditional reporting and compliance processes in the utility industry are often hampered by manual data entry, multiple reviews, and cumbersome frameworks. These tedious processes are not only inefficient but also prone to human error, increasing the risk of inaccuracies and non-compliance.
Digitizing reporting and compliance offers major benefits, including reduced time spent on document preparation, improved data accuracy, streamlined workflows, and faster turnaround times. Deploying a phased approach to digital transformation, with a long-term vision, manageable implementation phases, and a focus on talent acquisition, allows utilities to build a carefully planned and powerful data-based system.
Thread – The Engine at The Heart of Data-Driven Strategies
As utility firms turn to digital technologies to help improve the reliability of their infrastructure, the number of data points is expanding rapidly, with the sheer quantity of information generated quickly outstripping the capacity of manual systems to handle it. Thread offers a solution to the data challenges utility firms face, providing a comprehensive platform designed to transform utility data management and inspection workflows.
Centralized Insights – A Single Source of Truth
Our UNITI Workspace platform allows utilities to not only manage the increasing volume of inspection data but also to use it for proactive decision-making. Thread provides centralized insights, offering a high-performance data repository for all inspection workflows, eliminating data silos and providing a unified view of asset health. This cohesive view is crucial for understanding the interconnectedness of assets and identifying potential cascading failures, allowing utilities to move beyond reactive maintenance and embrace a more strategic, predictive approach.
Integrated Tools – Seamless Compatibility
UNITI Workspace offers integrated tools, ensuring smooth compatibility with industry-leading platforms like IBM Maximo and Esri ArcGIS. This interoperability maximizes the value of existing investments and allows for easy data flow between systems. By integrating with these platforms, Thread ensures that inspection data is readily available to those who need it, whether they are field crews, analysts, or managers. Streamlining workflows and eliminating the need for manual data transfer, we significantly reduce the risk of errors and improve operational efficiency.
Collaborative Intelligence
The utility sector’s shift from isolated, “legacy knowledge holder” decision-making is a key move. Historically, expertise resided with individuals, leading to fragmented understanding and slow responses. Modern data management, however, allows a transition to collaborative intelligence. This creates an operational environment where decisions are informed by a collective, comprehensive view, rather than individual insights. It’s a shift that promotes transparency and accelerates strategic decision-making.
Streamlined Workflows – Data Automation for Efficiency
Streamlined workflows automate processes to reduce redundancies and improve team efficiency. By automating routine tasks such as data entry and report generation, Thread frees up valuable time for field crews and analysts to focus on more complex and strategic activities. This increased efficiency allows utilities to get more value from their existing resources and improve overall productivity. Field crews can spend more time on inspections and repairs, while analysts can focus on strategic planning.
Turn you data into an asset of real worth with Thread
Partnering with Thread, utilities gain a technology that is truly working for them, transforming data management and inspection workflows into scalable, efficient, and future-ready systems. We provide utilities with the opportunity to move beyond reactive maintenance and embrace a proactive, data-driven approach to asset management.
This shift is vital for managing the financial and regulatory pressures facing the industry and ensuring a reliable and resilient grid for the future. To find out more about Thread and how our UNITI Workspace can transform the effectiveness of every operational aspect of your utility firm, you can contact our team here.
