Solutions > Collaboration
 
Collaboration Minimize
A recent report from Vermont Law School’s national smart grid project pointed out that “partnerships are key to a successful smart grid deployment.” Collaboration among electric utilities, government, industry and academia is vitally important for creating a smart grid that will result in cost savings, empowered customers and environmental benefits.

Researchers at VLS' Institute for Energy and the Environment are studying the legal, policy and regulatory hurdles to upgrading the U.S. electric system with smart grid technology.

In addition, statewide partnerships can spur progress and innovation. For example, collaboration among Vermont's utilities, government, industry and academia has resulted in federal stimulus money for the rollout out of a statewide smart grid and broadband system. According to VLS, the linking of broadband for underserved areas and a smart grid communications network are achieving state policy objectives in an efficient manner.
Joint Collaboration Minimize
Culture of Cooperation-Collaboration-Coordination
A key objective of the Smart Energy Source initiative is that of leveraging knowledge and skills of all stakeholders. Given the complexities of the electric industry today in areas of regulation, power supply, technology advances, geopolitical pressures and changing demographics it creates a significant challenge for organizations independently to assure that the leadership talent needed today is effective to meet these forces.

Jointly recruiting, retaining and developing staff for these challenges are essential for success. A recent report on Transforming Your Organization, from the Center of Creative Leadership indicates that when organizations change their leadership culture, they are rewarded with significant, sustainable outcomes, including:

  • An accelerating ability to implement emerging, successive business strategies.
  • Greater speed and flexibility, allowing the organization to move faster in response to change and challenge.
  • New, stronger core organizational capabilities.
  • Achievement of bottom-line results.
  • Improved ability to create shared direction, alignment and commitment throughout the organization.
  • Growth of not only individual capabilities, but waves of individuals all growing capabilities in a leadership collective.
  • The development of talent and culture while implementing the business strategy.
  • Genuine organizational innovation for not only products, but also the organizational systems required to sustain innovation.
  • Effective cross-boundary work and the collaboration required for dealing with complexity and change.
  • Increased engagement within the top leadership

Organizational Relationship and Common Strategies
A framework that facilitates cooperation, collaboration and coordination is essential if we are to meet the challenges and opportunities related to renewable energy sources and the connection to new automated features like that of advanced metering, smart grid applications and end use efficiencies. Smart Energy Source enables partners to answer critical questions and facilitate advances in this new energy environment:

These common strategies of research, sustainability, reliability and investment are targeted at addressing many of the forces that are challenging the energy sector today:

Surveillance/Research—it has been stated that “we are drowning in information and starving for knowledge.” A key priority for the Smart Energy Source initiative is to actively screen the vast amount of information and data to create relevance to the overall goals and objectives. This will also include the continual surveillance of new emerging technologies.

Sustainability—The current energy landscape is facing multiple challenges and forces; rising power cost, the need to develop and implement renewable energy replacing fossil fuels, the abundance of operational data, fast-evolving communications technologies, changing demographics, shrinking time frame for decisions , real-time response to grid performance and intense political pressure. Each of these threatens the current energy business model. The SES joint business plan addresses each of these and provides the foundation for a new sustainable model.

Reliability—Consumers and our overall economic health depend upon reliable service and a high level of reliable service that provides the power quality for a digital age. Maintaining high standards of reliability and efficiency is a strategic priority within the proposed business model. This also includes high standards of reliability in safety.

Investment—Smart Grid/Energy investments are becoming more and more costly and complex. The SES business plan provides means for all stakeholders to leverage resources and spread the investment risk. Investment risks go beyond that of the actual capital cost but also to that of intellectual property and necessary skills to optimize the value proposition.
Collaboration | Systems Operation Center | Business Analytics | Energy Efficiency | Billing Services | Alternative Energy | Advanced Metering Infrastructure | Vendor Managed Inventory
[   Privacy Statement   ]     [   Terms of Use   ] [  Login  ]    [    ]    [   © 2011 SES is a joint partnership between CREC, OSU, City of Stillwater and C.H. Guernsey.   ]
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional      Valid CSS!