| The
information systems (IS) department at most utilities
continues to have little influence on the purchase of a new
energy management, SCADA and/or distribution management
systems. IS personnel generally are left out of the
application and linkage planning process, and even the final
selection stage. If you work in an engineering department you
may not view this as a problem. You may respond, "That's the
way we've operated in the past." I would argue that this is a
major area of concern that must be addressed immediately.
Simply stated,
operations and engineering staffs can no longer afford to be
reclusive in accomplishing its mission. The old days of
harboring operating data behind mental walls are quickly
disappearing. This should not be viewed as a negative
development, but as a drastic, even formidable, shift that
must take place to change the culture within the utility.
In fact, this
awakening should be viewed as a positive development. Almost
like the utility's own Berlin Wall coming down. Breaking down
the barriers between technical and business departments will
open up a whole new world of internal communications. And IS
professionals can use the operating data to assist other
departments in driving the overall business.
Of course, we don't
want to break down the data firewalls in our haste to free up
the data. In fact, if anything, we want to strengthen them.
There are clear and effective ways in which to provide
read-only information files to data requesters. IS
professionals are in the business of data security, linkage
development and data warehousing. These professionals need to
be accepted into the operations and engineering picture in a
bigger way than has been the case over the last 30 years.
As most of us
realize, the operations and engineering groups have been
custodians of the vault of mission critical performance data
for the organization, the sine qua non in the performance of
core utility processes and activities. These groups are
responsible for the development and provision of accurate,
mission critical data on the day-to-day performance of a
utility. As operations and engineering staffs break down
departmental walls, employees and managers in the other
departments soon will recognize the importance and criticality
of their work.
Today's progressive
utilities are able to offer customers a broader base of
products and services by sharing internal operating data among
employees in many departments. Remember, the wealth of
information on what is happening with the utility's
electricity flow, from point of production to point of
consumption, is important to more than control center
personnel and its related engineering support staff. In
today's utility environment, the more information that can be
supplied to end-users in other departments, the more effective
the overall business will become.
Information such as
customer-usage patterns and demand curves, load flows,
electricity "make-buy" decision-making, power contracting,
transmission routing options, and the like, is extremely
valuable to Marketing, Finance, Rates and Business Development
departments. The up-and-coming users or requesters of
operational information are located in these departments.
These users now have a "need to know" and can help justify the
business case for that new or upgraded energy management,
SCADA or distribution management systems you've be striving to
get approved. Without their cooperation, your business case
will not be successful.
International Utilities Open to
Change In the current round
of worldwide electric utility studies now underway at
Newton-Evans Research Co., responses from officials in more
than 40 countries, representing close to 200 control centers,
shed light on some interesting issues and bring into focus
some solutions to this topic.
- The international
community is moving ahead to the U.S. in its efforts to
bring IS into the decision-making process.
- International
utilities are more likely to use engineering consulting
services.
- International
utilities plan to link CIS and the EM/SCADA systems to other
utilities.
- About a quarter
of U.S. utilities have automated OASIS interactions.
- Only about 12% of
U.S. utilities have automated the NERC tagging process.
U.S. utilities are
emphasizing links to trouble call systems and GIS interfaces.
|
