Spring is the season of renewal. The sun shines longer. The temperatures warm. Flowers bloom. It’s also a great time to brush up on trends, and we’ve identified 5 webinars that will educate you and perhaps provide the lightbulb moment that leads to innovation in your utility.
For more updates on the electric utility industry, subscribe to our blog
1: Five Trends in Outage Communications Your Utility Can’t Ignore
Utilities are insourcing, outsourcing and reinventing aspects of outage communication in constantly shifting ways. This webinar by specialized information provider Chartwell on April 17 will help you understand how improved outage management system models (OMS) will impact OMS communications over the next five years. Join Chartwell Senior Research Manager Russ Henderson and Southern California Edison (SCE) Senior Manager Tomaso Giannelli to explore the major trends in outage communications and how utilities like SCE are leading the charge.
To register click here.
2: Power and Energy Projects Webinar Series
Do you deal with utility contracts? Do you want to know more about them? This two-part webinar series, on May 16 and May 30, by the American Public Power Association will give you an overview of the most impactful risks affecting public power and energy construction projects. Judah Lifschitz, a trial lawyer with expertise in the power and energy segment and principal and co-president of Shapiro, Lifschitz & Schram, will help you develop an understanding of the most common problem areas in contracts, claims and disputes in public power projects. In addition, you’ll learn how to anticipate them and techniques for avoiding them. Plus, hear “real world” examples of major claims and disputes involving power and energy projects and how they were resolved.
3: Will XaaS Transform the Utility Industry as We Know It?
In this webinar, Michael Hartnack, research analyst with Navigant, explores the impact the “as a service” (XaaS) model is having on utilities as they transform from unidirectional power providers to energy network managers, operational controllers, and technology providers. Historically offered by software vendors in the form of software as a service (SaaS), the XaaS model for grid-specific software applications, data management, and business processes could provide greater advantages than imagined to many parts of a utility’s core business. Originally broadcast on March 5, you can still listen to this webinar that is aimed at utility business and IT decision makers and strategy teams.
4: DER Utility Model Constructs: What Are the Options and How Will They Work?
The proliferation of smart grid technologies, the explosive growth of rooftop solar, and new efficiency and reliability demands on utilities, regulators in a few states are starting to rethink the traditional ownership and operation model of the distribution grid. What would these new models look like? Tune in to this webinar from the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) on May 9 to find out more about what is and what is not considered a distribution system platform, distributed energy resource (DER) integrator, DER deployer, and energy services company. Learn more about the boundaries, the pros and cons of various models, and the most promising and interesting real-world utility constructs in play. Janet Gail Besser, managing director of regulatory innovation and utility business models, SEPAA, will lead a lively discussion on how to prepare for the evolving future of distribution networks.
5: Distributed Energy – Achieving Power Resilience and Sustainability Through Innovative Business Models
This webinar, held by POWER magazine in advance of its inaugural Distributed Energy Conference and available on demand until August 15, will help you understand the importance of microgrids and how they are disrupting traditional power business models worldwide. The webinar features a discussion of the technology as well as case studies of successful microgrid projects, including one in Maryland that uses an innovative business model to achieve resilient power and sustainability. From case studies, you’ll also learn how “island mode operation” allowed one facility to separate from the electric grid and continue to operate at, or near, normal capacity for extended periods during power outages and how a utility used a microgrid control solution to manage a suite of on-site energy technologies. Panel experts include Adam Forni, senior research analyst at Navigant and moderator Darrell Proctor, writer and associate editor for POWER.
