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Strategy & Planning

Energy People: Ben Fowke

We talked with Ben Fowke, who leads Xcel Energy

Ben Fowke and Steve Mitnick discuss Xcel’s rapidly growing wind resources. They made up 17 percent of the energy provided to Xcel’s customers in 2015, generating more power than nuclear and nearly as much as natural gas. By 2020, Xcel projects that 24 percent of its energy will come from wind.
Byline: 

Ben Fowke, with Steve Mitnick

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Challenging Common Excuses for Ignoring Grid Analytics

Heart of Digital Transformation Strategy

The three barriers to grid analytics – fear, uncertainty and doubt – can be overcome. Indeed, if utilities want to remain competitive, they should be. Where companies have moved ahead with successful implementations, the benefits are manifest.
Byline: 

Craig Cavanaugh

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Architecture for the Integrated Grid

Built to Last Means Built to Change

To realize the full value of distributed resources and to serve all consumers at the highest standards of quality and reliability, the grid needs to expand its scope. What is needed is an intentional architecture that enables communication and coordination between devices and systems, regardless of their manufacturer.
Byline: 

Karen George

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Facilitating Innovation

Making Regulation a Better Surrogate for Competition

There are some ways, though perhaps modest, for regulators to move their utilities along and encourage appropriate risk taking.
Byline: 

Jeffrey Goltz

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AMI to IoT

Lesson in Change

In today’s Internet of Things, businesses face a strikingly similar picture to what utilities saw in the early days of the smart grid. Consider what those lessons have in store for us today.
Byline: 

Darren Highfill and Brad Bauch

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Is Customer Activism for Real?

New Business Model, A Balancing Act

The attention given to the new electricity customer seems to overlook the fact that electricity is basically a commodity. And that the average residential customer may in fact be satisfied with electric service and price.
Byline: 

Kenneth Costello

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