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While enjoying the sun over lunch today (I really think we need to have a CIM user group meeting in Portland in July) I browsed an article in the Oregonian. A BPA study reports developers want to deliver over 4,700 MW of new wind generation here in the Northwest. On the MAX this morning I was reading the IEEE power & energy magazine's review of Thomas Ackerman's book, Wind Power in Power Systems. How many articles have I read recently about wind integration challenges? And yesterday another young planning engineer - in the next aisle here - announced he was departing to work for another local employer...a wind turbine manufacturer, based in Germany.
At the Vasteras meeting Jay Britton offered an astute comment during the "Ask-the-Experts" session. He noted that typically utilities have justified new IT systems on the basis of reduced operational costs - but in reality the investment provides the ability to manage new levels of complexity. This was in the context of a question about who would pay for the streamlining of the utility IT enterprise around emerging standards like CIM. (Obvious benefits - but who pays?) Part of the value CIM offers is improved ability to adapt to business changes and increased business complexity.
I have to say, every time I take a broader look at the industry, I am convinced that we are in a time of significant industry change. And complexity is growing. The planning and operational challenges ahead of us are huge.
Isn't it great to be part of a team of experts that are working on these challenges? Modeling the industry, right down to its DNA. |
