Proven Strategies for Transforming Disparate Data into Insights
In today’s rapidly evolving energy landscape, Independent System Operators (ISOs), Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) and utilities face unprecedented challenges in managing vast amounts of data.
The intricacy of grid modernization and growing consumer demand for safe, reliable power have increased the need for timely, accurate and complete information. Organizations need more sophisticated data management strategies and best practices to securely and effectively manage massive data volumes, ultimately improving operations, reliability and service.
Taking an enterprise approach to Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) means managing data across an entire organization in a holistic way, ensuring consistency, quality, security and accessibility by defining standardized processes, as well as prioritizing integration, governance and interoperability. By embracing this pathway, ISOs, RTOs and utilities can extract value from previously unwieldy data stores and make better decisions to meet the dynamic demands of the modern energy sector and deliver superior value to consumers.
Today’s Energy Market
Utilities, ISOs and RTOs must ensure a reliable electricity supply for consumers- powering homes, businesses and industries. These organizations face the complex task of balancing supply and demand, maintaining infrastructure and adapting to evolving regulatory landscapes. ISOs and RTOs serve as crucial intermediaries, managing the bulk electric system across large geographic areas while facilitating competitive electricity markets.
These organizations are responsible for maintaining grid reliability, providing balancing services and ensuring that electricity is generated and delivered at the lowest possible cost while meeting future and real-time demand.
As the energy sector continues to transform with the integration of renewable energy sources and advanced technologies, the effective management of data becomes increasingly essential for all stakeholders in the market.
ISOs, RTOs and Utilities Face a Data Deluge
The energy sector is grappling with unprecedented data volume, variety and velocity surge, presenting significant challenges for ISOs, RTOs and utilities. One of the most pressing issues is the siloed nature of data, leading to a lack of full situational awareness, hindering effective decision-making and operational efficiency. The proliferation of distributed energy resources further complicates predictive models, challenging grid management and reliability.
Siloed software systems make it challenging to turn data into actionable insights, creating significant time and resource burdens for teams already stretched thin by growing demands. Traditional processes are not optimized for integrated, efficient management of massive amounts of data across the utility. This leads to missed opportunities for cost-effective improvements in grid reliability, sustainability and operational efficiency.
In addition, ISOs, RTOs and utilities also have external stakeholders looking for access to data about their organization and publicly available data that the ISO, RTO or utility makes available for consumption. For example, this can include developers evaluating economically viable opportunities to build, deploy and offer battery storage on the wholesale market.
Moreover, the aging infrastructure of the U.S. electricity grid requires substantial investments in modernization, including the adoption of smart grid technologies. Yet investments in modernization introduce new challenges in data acquisition, processing and security.
Cybersecurity concerns also mount as the grid becomes more digitized and interconnected. The sheer scale of incoming data often overwhelms organizations, especially those with siloed systems and applications. This fragmentation hampers the ability to gain a comprehensive, real-time view of grid operations.
Data Management Strategies for Success
By implementing the right approaches, ISOs, RTOs and utilities can maximize systems and applications capable of processing and maintaining massive amounts of data. They can effectively deploy advanced analytics platforms, real-time monitoring applications, predictive maintenance tools and sophisticated market management solutions. They are driven by data-based decisions, respond to issues, identify patterns and predict future outcomes that drive operational improvements, enhance decision-making, and deliver better customer service. Strategies that can make an immediate impact include:
Systems Integration
Integrating disparate systems is crucial for creating a unified view of operations. Organizations can gain a comprehensive understanding of grid performance and customer needs by consolidating data from various sources such as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Outage Management System (OMS), Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS), Network Model Management, Market Management System (MMS), AMI and Customer Information System (CIS). This integration enables accurate forecasting, improved issue management and enhanced and timely decision-making capabilities.
IT and OT Applications Integration
Bridging the gap between IT and OT is essential for maximizing the value of data. Utilities can create a more holistic approach to data management by aligning these traditionally separate domains, enabling real-time insights and more efficient operations. This integration facilitates better coordination between business processes and grid operations, improving service delivery and resource allocation. For example, accessing and processing real-time data from OT-based sensors makes IT applications for predictive asset maintenance and replacement applications more accurate.
Data Pipelines
Establishing robust data pipelines is critical for ensuring the smooth flow of information from various sources to analytical platforms, including cloud-based platforms. These pipelines should be designed to handle the volume, variety and velocity of data generated by modern grid operations. Implementing secure cloud-native/cloud-ready technologies can significantly enhance the ability to store and analyze massive amounts of data at extremely low costs, providing real-time and day-ahead visibility for long-term system planning.
Data Governance
Implementing strong data governance practices facilitates maintaining data quality, integrity and security. This includes establishing clear policies for data collection, storage and usage across the organization. Proper data governance ensures compliance with regulatory requirements, enhances data reliability and facilitates more effective decision-making processes. Make sure to include policies that outline how data should be accessed, monitored, archived and protected.
Interoperability
Ensuring interoperability between different systems and data formats ensures organizations can work together without major technical barriers to share information and coordinate actions. It supports more efficient grid management, improved market operations and enhanced collaboration across the energy ecosystem. By enabling different utility systems and technologies to communicate and exchange data seamlessly with each other, including various devices and platforms spread across the energy grid, organizations at every level improve their management of energy resources. Leveraging industry standards enables interoperability and better data governance outcomes, especially across large programs and stakeholders.
Data Clarity Means Business Success
The application of data analytics in the energy sector provides tangible value by extracting insights from massive databases. Four key use cases where data-driven approaches deliver significant improvements include:
- Predictive Maintenance
By analyzing sensor data from grid assets, utilities can predict equipment failures before they occur, reducing downtime and maintenance costs. This proactive approach enhances reliability and extends the lifespan of critical infrastructure. - Load Forecasting
Advanced analytics, especially those that incorporate DER-related forecasts, enable more accurate short-term and long-term load forecasting, helping ISOs and RTOs optimize grid operations and market performance. This leads to improved resource allocation and reduced costs for consumers. - Distributed Energy Resource Integration
Data-driven insights facilitate the integration/interconnection analysis of DER sources into the grid. Management of intermittency of renewables on the grid, while challenging, is being done by utility operations. However, residential DER resources and their aggregated impact on the grid, including providing operators visibility and control over them, is still a work in progress. - Customer Engagement
Utilities leverage data analytics to provide personalized energy management solutions to customers. This includes tailored energy-saving recommendations, time-of-use pricing insights and proactive communication during outages or high-demand periods.
TRC Can Help Utilities Begin Their Data Management Journey
TRC is uniquely positioned to assist utilities in navigating the complexities of data management in the modern energy landscape.
With our deep industry expertise and cutting-edge technological capabilities, we offer comprehensive solutions tailored to the specific needs of each utility. Our team of experienced professionals can guide organizations through every stage of their data management journey, from initial strategy development to implementation and ongoing optimization.
We leverage best practices and innovative approaches to help utilities unlock the full potential of their data assets, driving operational efficiencies, enhancing grid reliability and improving customer satisfaction. By partnering with TRC, utilities can accelerate their digital transformation and position themselves for success in an increasingly data-driven energy sector.
What sets TRC apart from competitors:
- Extensive experience in utility operations and grid management
- Cutting-edge data analytics and AI capabilities tailored for the energy sector
- A holistic approach integrating IT and OT systems for comprehensive solutions
- Strong focus on cybersecurity and regulatory compliance
- Proven track record of successful implementations across utility environments
