Executive Summary
Utilities are evolving in a complex and changing energy landscape, balancing the demands of modernization with large-scale technology transformations. This benchmark explores how utilities are tackling these issues, including balancing organizational priorities, aligning IT and OT responsibilities, using agile methods, optimizing the use of vendor partners, and ensuring organizational readiness. It also highlights best practices to help achieve successful projects.
Key Challenges and Priorities:
- One of the biggest challenges utilities face is the simultaneous end-of-life of multiple interconnected systems, leading to significant organizational change. At the same time, Advanced Distribution Management Systems (ADMS) are atop priority and the center of many transformation efforts. However, implementing ADMS requires careful consolidation, particularly of data architecture, to streamline operations and prepare for renewable energy. There is no set sequence for rolling out ADMS features, as each depends on other systems’ readiness and data quality. Therefore, every utility follows a different roadmap, and unexpected dependencies often disrupt plans.
- Utilities find that relying on the “one throat to choke” model—where one vendor takes full responsibility for project outcomes—often leads to hidden costs and misalignment with operational needs. Major large consultancies lack the technical and operational expertise to properly sequence projects, define current business processes, and develop practical use cases, further complicating these large transformation efforts.
- Utilities also have key priorities in mind. They want to simplify the user experience with new systems, making transitions as easy as possible. They aim to get long-term value from these systems beyond go-live. They also want to avoid repeating their peers’ mistakes, overspending and lengthy delays. Success for many utilities means meeting their commitments to regulators while controlling costs and outcomes.