Microgrids provide game-changing solutions for developed and developing electricity grids. They can be implemented in phases, starting with reducing demand and adding onsite generation and storage, and advancing to independent grid operation. Microgrids address energy poverty by providing reliable access for the 1.4 billion people living without electricity and 1 billion with unreliable access. The United Nations is working to achieve universal energy access by 2030 through initiatives like microgrid projects and solar trailers in Haiti. Microgrids benefit both developed and developing areas by improving reliability, integrating renewables and storage, enabling consumer participation, and improving quality of life, especially in disaster situations.
4. About the Panel #TECLive Christine Hertzog is a consultant and focused on navigating the electricity ecosystem of emerging technologies and markets, and author of the Smart Grid Dictionary, which explains smart grid terminology used by utilities, regulators, manufacturers, and more. Joe Sugg is Assistant Vice President of University Operations for Santa Clara University, where he manages a smart microgrid initiative for the University campus and has been a leader in creating a more sustainable campus facility. Steve Luker is Chief Technology Officer for Boeing Energy, and has over 20 years of experience in large-scale power and light project development. He’s previously been President of Balance Energy Solutions, and CTO for Lockheed Martin Defense Systems. Liam Dohn is a Project Manager responsible for developing the microgrid business within Siemens Energy. Previously, he has worked with the Siemens in-house strategy consultancy, and as a Finance Manager in GE’s in lighting and distribution businesses. Katherine Hamilton is a director with Quinn Gillespie and Associates and a longtime clean energy advocate, advisor, and expert witness, with a background designing overhead and underground electrical systems.
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Editor's Notes
Smart Grid solutions are gamechangers for utilities – you will need to transition from limited ratepayer engagement models to multi-channel consumer engagement and enlightenment models. Most business focus on growth models. Utilities have always been able to grow without selling more because consumers use more anyway. Now how will you adjust to no growth or reduced usage. And if you are thinking that the status of your utility will never change, just remember: “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Benjamin Franklin
These are the components of our Consumer Focus Strategy. Our topic today focuses on communications and education for internal and external audiences, and these activities are tightly integrated to Change Management. As we’ve said before, the Smart Grid is transformational, and the transformations that occur within a utility are as vitally important as the transformations that consumers will face with electricity. Therefore, we always start with Change Management as the first step in the Consumer Focus Roadmap to create the right foundation for the technology, process, people, and cultural changes to support consumer-centric operations. We’ll talk more about some of the other components of the Consumer Focus Strategy at upcoming seminars in July and August, so just offer this very brief overview of the Consumer Focus model. Benchmarks are key to fully assess your investments in any introduction of new technologies or services, because you can create a snapshot of before and after the project is completed. Benchmarks give you a foundation to set specific goals or key performance indicators to monitor overall program progress and achievement of goals. The Consumer Focus Model offers the end state vision of how you want to communicate, educate, engage, and enlighten consumers. Its akin to having a destination for a vacation trip. You may not know exactly what restaurants you’ll be dining at on that San Francisco vacation trip, but you know you’re going to San Fran, and that alone drives a lot of decisions. Budget, project plans with risk mitigation and the proper technology foundation are the other important elements to address to ensure successful transformations.
The Change management team has to first focus on a communications plan for internal audiences, and then build the external plan. These are some of the most important considerations to build internal and external communications plans. We’ll explore each of them in more detail in following slides. Risk Communications - This approach is based on research into risk perception factors that are common among people – regardless of gender, culture, age, ethnicity and so on. Message layers – communicating Smart Grid project benefits generally challenge the short attention spans of most humans. This process of consistent message building blocks overcomes that problem Resource Alignment – your careful planning about messages can be blown away by an unprepared messenger. Our methodology addresses that concern. Communication touchpoints – we have an abundance of channels to deliver messages, and our approach helps you identify and master the relevant ones for any internal or external communications plan. Communications plans are translated into tasks with deadlines, resources, dependencies, and budgets, and must be documented in the project plan for your Smart grid initiative. It’s the only way to track that your messages are aligned with project milestones, and is an easy way to manage accountability.
Smart Grid solutions are gamechangers for utilities – you will need to transition from limited ratepayer engagement models to multi-channel consumer engagement and enlightenment models. Most business focus on growth models. Utilities have always been able to grow without selling more because consumers use more anyway. Now how will you adjust to no growth or reduced usage. And if you are thinking that the status of your utility will never change, just remember: “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Benjamin Franklin
Devolution, from a biological perspective, means a degeneration. From a civics perspective, it means a descent down or a transfer of power. Your communications plan, a key tool in effective change management tactics, is equally applicable to internal and external audiences. We’ve consulted with clients in a range of industries, and the trend is unmistakable – companies want to build opportunities to add products and/or services to increase the revenues per customer. While many utilities currently enjoy a natural monopoly for delivery of electricity, the potential is there for intermediation. Therefore, utilities that want to not only survive but thrive in this disruptive environment introduced by Smart Grid solutions need to organize operations to build trusted advisor relationships with consumers that create significant barriers to entry for competing energy service providers.