Perspective

Conversation with Siemens’ vice president and “evangelist” for next generation grid software.

Innovative Approach to System Reliability: “On the weather-prone outer Cape Cod region of Massachusetts, Eversource developed an innovative solution to deploy a microgrid on a 13-mile circuit with a battery as the sole source of supply. Eversource is a member company of the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies.”

“In Washington and Oregon, there is a larger push for decarbonization of our gas stream. We’re looking at purchasing RNG and providing both to all customers, and also providing that as a separate program for people who are interested in taking RNG at a slightly higher price.”

“The impact of internal fraud goes beyond dollars, leading to wide-spread reputational harm. Fraud is not a new problem for utilities but is rapidly growing.”

“The utility, a stakeholder that often flies a bit under the radar, will be an essential part of a sustainable zero-emission vehicle future.”

“Utilities have a unique opportunity to make strategic upgrades and investments to address not only concerns around grid resiliency and cybersecurity, but growing social equity concerns and competitive threats on multiple fronts.”

“What we see are two big trends. Number one is electrification of the economy to meet sustainability targets. We believe electricity will become the backbone of the energy system. The second one is electricity needs to come from carbon-free generation.”

“The core challenge for our society and country is to develop charging infrastructure. This one we need to solve first and then talk about more sophisticated challenges.”

Conversation with PwC’s US Energy, Utilities & Mining Consulting Leader about a new report on the road to cleaner energy.

“Resilience is increasingly top of mind – despite the growing frequency and severity of extreme weather events and fires – but it is cybersecurity, rather than physical security and grid hardening, where utility industry participants see the greatest risk currently.”