Utilities today are undergoing one of the greatest transformations in their history. Many global, political and economic pressures on today's electric utilities are resulting in regulatory requirements and financial incentives that create the need for utilities to evolve from a semi-connected, silo-based, reactive organization to a fully connected, integrated, proactive organization. For decades, the underlying technology that comprises the utility's generation, transmission and distribution architectures has remained relatively constant. Similarly, the original analog communication systems that were deployed to support the field worker's voice needs as well as basic telemetry requirements are now reaching their end of life.
Within each electric utility, a vision has been or is in the process of being created to transform the organization into a 'smart utility'. At the heart of the smart utility is an intelligent communications network — a communications network capable of connecting workers, customers and the utility infrastructure. An intelligent communications network provides the framework for utilities to automate all areas of their business to achieve a new level of operational efficiency. The resulting productivity increase will allow the utility to achieve a new level of cost-efficiency for production and delivery as well as improve cash flow and customer service levels — while maximizing the return on investment for the utility enterprise.
In the utility today, there are most likely a series of business unit initiatives that rely on multiple communication platforms, creating "silos" of information that present little opportunity for connectivity to support other "smart utility" initiatives. As a part of the development of a "smart utility" strategy, utilities need to develop a plan for a cohesive enterprise-wide intelligent communications network capable of supporting and creating synergies with multiple automation initiatives.
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