Utilities are responding to smart grid strategies: survey

A research study has indicated that global utility executives have embraced smart grid strategy as a platform for fundamental business process transformation initiatives that span the entire energy value chain across generation, T&D and customer service operations.

The study, designed to analyse the smartgrid strategies of leading utilities around the world, has been sponsored by Ventyx and conducted by The McDonnell Group.

Of those interviewed, 87 percent indicated the formal establishment of a smart grid initiative at their company, with the majority indicating that these efforts had been formalised in the past year and roughly one third indicating formalisation in the past two to three years.

"The utility industry is responding to regulatory and business improvement opportunities from smart grid strategies," said Ventyx VP of marketing, Andy Bane.

The executives in this study see an opportunity to fundamentally realign the relationship between supply, demand, efficiency and environmental objectives in support of intelligent utility enterprises, said Bane.

The study sample included five of the top 15 utilities in North America by residential revenue, two of the top five US public power utilities, three of the six largest global utilities by total end consumer count, as well as utilities that serve customers in more than half of the states in the US, three Canadian provinces and several European countries.