Sessions

Initiate is the hub at DISTRIBUTECH to hear about new technology, innovation, and up and coming talent in the energy sector. There will be 25 amazing startup companies pitching for a chance to win an award from Duke Energy and Clarion Energy Events. Stop by booth #3755 on the POWERGEN side to hear pitches and content centered around energy innovation.

A business capability is the organization of the people, processes, tools, data, and expertise, to provide a business function/service. A business capability model then is categorization by capability area of business functionality and the decomposition of those into more detailed functions/services, software applications, and technologies, and in this instance, with definitions applicable to utilities. What is surprising is that Business Capability Models are often not well understood or used in the utility industry. This presentation will share how the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) leveraged numerous expert references such as the APQC process classification framework, the Project Management Institutes project management guidance, EPRI's own Utility Data Management Framework, and several others, and then worked with internal subject matter experts and utility experts to create a generic, publicly available model. Attendees will learn about the systems used to inform this model, how input from utility experts also informed the content, and how the model was tested at the participating utilities to ensure that the capabilities described met the expectations of utility business leaders.

Initiate is the hub at DISTRIBUTECH to hear about new technology, innovation, and up and coming talent in the energy sector. There will be 25 amazing startup companies pitching for a chance to win an award from Duke Energy and Clarion Energy Events. Stop by booth #3755 on the POWERGEN side to hear pitches and content centered around energy innovation.

To register for this session, click here!

The industry is undergoing a fundamental change faced with unpredictable climate change and move towards electrification, non-traditional energy sources and providers. But the investments in infrastructure have failed to keep pace leading to catastrophic results in some cases. Electricity has also gone from a novelty to a necessity in the last 100+ years, and we’ve seen a varied response, often dependent on geography, socioeconomics, and the partnerships and vision of individual utilities to address the challenge of re-imaging the very nature of the grid. Utilities must establish a comprehensive and strategic vision to re-building the grid with resiliency, sustainably and with affordability in mind. Integrating modern technologies within existing infrastructure, testing them in real time while maintaining current services. These organizations, historically slow moving and risk adverse must learn to turn (and innovate) fast. At the same time, some utilities are well ahead of the curve, topping the leader board in supporting sustainable energy. However, these frontrunners also serve as our frontline, dealing with the pain of first-time issues and new challenges unique to early adopters. Join us for an insightful panel discussion that will explore the challenges and some real-world examples of how utilities, state and local governments are rising to meet these challenges head on.The industry is undergoing a fundamental change faced with unpredictable climate change and move towards electrification, non-traditional energy sources and providers. But the investments in infrastructure have failed to keep pace leading to catastrophic results in some cases. Electricity has also gone from a novelty to a necessity in the last 100+ years, and we’ve seen a varied response, often dependent on geography, socioeconomics, and the partnerships and vision of individual utilities to address the challenge of re-imaging the very nature of the grid. Utilities must establish a comprehensive and strategic vision to re-building the grid with resiliency, sustainably and with affordability in mind. Integrating modern technologies within existing infrastructure, testing them in real time while maintaining current services. These organizations, historically slow moving and risk adverse must learn to turn (and innovate) fast. At the same time, some utilities are well ahead of the curve, topping the leader board in supporting sustainable energy. However, these frontrunners also serve as our frontline, dealing with the pain of first-time issues and new challenges unique to early adopters. Join us for an insightful panel discussion that will explore the challenges and some real-world examples of how utilities, state and local governments are rising to meet these challenges head on.

Sponsored by Microsoft

Join Jon Guidroz, Director of Business Strategy at Microsoft; Brian Hurst, VP & Chief Analytics Officer at Exelon; and Nipesh Patel, Director of Sales at Itron in the Utility of the Future Knowledge Hub (booth #1041) on Monday, May 23 from 1:00 pm-1:30 pm CT as they discuss "Digital Partnerships that Deliver Analytics Outcomes." They will speak to the partnership and the growing value of analytics integrated into the meter to support utility outcomes in outage management, customer engagement, DER and EV integration, distribution automation, and much more.

The future of energy in Texas and the US is one of carbon-free promise, but numerous challenges face us in designing and operating an electrical system to meet the growing demand for power while ensuring resiliency, reliability, and security. How do we manage these challenges within a changing regulatory regime and with an evolving threat environment? Deepa Poduval, Vice President & Global Advisory Leader at Black & Veatch kicks off the Leadership Summit with a short introduction. Following his remarks will be a conversation with former US Secretary of Energy and former Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, Massoud Amin, professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, and Julia Matevosyan, Chief Engineer at ESIG Energy. This give-and-take discussion will offer a candid assessment of the policy, technology, and cybersecurity issues that are crucial to the bulk power system’s future.

Even though 2020 was not the best of times, that was when Duquesne Light launched its innovation center. This session will address the unique but complementary roles that senior leadership, front-line workers, and external innovators should play to drive innovation. Topics will include how the board of directors and senior management must set the direction for innovation; the “nuts and bolts” for managing innovation; how to measure success; and how to involve employees and measure the culture for innovation. If Duquesne Light could successfully launch an Innovation Center at the worst of times, surely our fellow utilities and innovators can learn something from that experience!

The complex challenges caused by the energy transition are rarely limited to one team or department. Solving them requires integrated, intelligent solutions and technologies that empower teams across multiple functions with real-time insights and information. In this session, Accenture and Avanade will demonstrate the impact that Azure AI can have across T&D, with a specific focus on the following areas: Operations: Including resource management and predictive asset maintenance Storm response: Using AI to predict weather-related outages Customer experience: Managing expectations and call center communications

Initiate is the hub at DISTRIBUTECH to hear about new technology, innovation, and up and coming talent in the energy sector. There will be 25 amazing startup companies pitching for a chance to win an award from Duke Energy and Clarion Energy Events. Stop by booth #3755 on the POWERGEN side to hear pitches and content centered around energy innovation.