Innovation in the Utility Industry

Innovation in the Utility Industry

Innovation in the Utility Industry

Today, both public and private generators and distributors of electricity, gas, and water are facing many challenges: an uncertain economy, operating under significant environmental and operational regulatory regimes, and increasing competitive pressures. Regulatory oversight and the entire notion of corporate governance has been brought to the forefront due to recent events, leading to the disclosure requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, requiring increasing visibility and transparency of operations. In addition, there is a paradigm shift occurring in the industry, as single jurisdictions, stovepipe systems, and individual services are transforming into multi-jurisdiction, enterprise-wide systems, and bundled services as a result of new market and technology opportunities.

The IT systems currently in place were designed to meet the needs of a different era, and innovation in necessary in order to gain real business advantages. Technological developments such as mobile computing, cellular and wireless networks, the Internet, and new standards such as XML provide enterprise-wide opportunities for operational improvements, tying together stovepipe systems and multiple jurisdictions. Responding to these challenges presents opportunities for innovation. In many states regulatory restructuring has split the utility industry's vertically integrated value chain, moving
regulated monopolies into competitive markets, creating new opportunities for growth and acquisitions. Collecting accurate operational data enables credible communications to regulators, customers, and financial markets and also provides information that can improve internal management.

There are innovative ways that utilities are reacting to these demands, creating new systems that leverage existing IT investments to directly address business challenges, and meeting goals of revenue growth and increased profitability.

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