Jim Robb

Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning & Environmental Affairs

Northeast Utilities

2012 Summer Seminar

August 5-7, 2012

Smart Energy vs. Dumb Utility

2 © 2012 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Good Old Days…

CORE

BUSINESS

• Manage the energy delivery system

• Safe, reliable cost-effective

• Facilitate “social/energy” policy

• Environmental priorities/

externalities

• Energy Efficiency Programs

• Etc.

3 © 2012 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

Who Moved My Cheese?

CORE

BUSINESS

• Manage the energy delivery system

• Safe, reliable cost-effective

• Facilitate “social/energy” policy

• Environmental priorities/

externalities

• Energy Efficiency Programs

• Etc.

4 © 2012 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Manage the energy delivery system

• Safe, reliable cost-effective

• Facilitate “social/energy” policy

• Environmental priorities/

externalities

• Energy Efficiency Programs

• Etc.

EXPANDING

EXPECTATIONS

• Increasing Reliability

Expectations

• Transportation Fuel

Delivery

• Energy Usage

Information

• Product/Service

options

• Information services

• Carbon Footprint

reductions

• Customer interaction

technology

• Etc…

Future Shock: Emerging Realities

CORE

BUSINESS

5 © 2012 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Manage the energy delivery system

• Safe, reliable cost-effective

• Facilitate “social/energy” policy

• Environmental priorities/

externalities

• Energy Efficiency Programs

• Etc.

EXPANDING

EXPECTATIONS

• Increasing Reliability

Expectations

• Transportation Fuel

Delivery

• Energy Usage

Information

• Product/Service

options

• Information services

• Carbon Footprint

reductions

• Customer interaction

technology

• Etc…

The Management Challenge

CORE

BUSINESS

• Limited visibility into

changes

• Pace of change

• Lack of control

• Long vs. short PLCs

• Regulatory realities

6 © 2012 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

NU’s Wakeup Call

• 30+ inches of heavy wet snow on October 29

• Full tree canopy

• Multiple municipal elections on November 1

• Ever growing estimates of trouble spots

• ~ 60% of customer base out

• 11-12 day restoration with 4x normal complement of crews

7 © 2012 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

“Back to the Future …”

• Digitized commerce – can’t

transact

• Digitized entertainment – can’t

keep kids occupied

• Digitized communications (VOIP

vs. “analog land line) – can’t

communicate

• ATMs, digital fuel pumps, etc. –

can’t get money, gasoline, etc…

“A long time ago…”

• Blankets and fireplace for

warmth

• Read/play Monopoly by

candlelight

• Cook on the grill

Impact of Prolonged Outage

8 © 2012 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

Smart Energy – Back to Basics?

• Vegetation

management

• Undergrounding

• Back up generators

• Planning and drilling

• Crew management

• IVR/Call Center

• Clear accurate billing

Reliab

ilit

y & Resiliency

Restoration

Cu

sto

mer

& Marketer Interactions

FUTURE

STATE

9 © 2012 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

Or forward to a Brave New World

(that has such technology in it)?

• Vegetation

management

• Undergrounding

• Back up generators

• Town Center Micro-Grids

• Self-healing/Fault

Location, Isolation, and

Restoration

• Planning and drilling

• Crew management

• Outage detection

• RT damage reports

• RT Restoration estimates

• Damage Forecasting

• State/Municipal

communications

• IVR/Call Center

• Clear accurate billing

• Remote load control

• Accessible usage data

• Standard Open architecture

• Cyber-secure

Reliab

ilit

y & Resiliency

Restoration

Cu

sto

mer

& Marketer Interactions

FUTURE

STATE

10 © 2012 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

Two Policy/Strategy Issues:

• Vegetation

management

• Undergrounding

• Back up generators

• Planning and drilling

• Crew management

• Outage detection

• RT damage reports

• RT Restoration estimates

• Damage Forecasting

• State/Municipal

communications

• IVR/Call Center

• Clear accurate billing

• Remote load control

• Accessible usage data

• Standard Open architecture

• Cyber-secure

Relia

bili

ty &

Resiliency

Restoration

Custo

mer

& Marketer Interactions

FUTURE

STATE

Good Spinach... … or technology

enablement? • Town Center Micro-Grids

• Self-healing/fault Location

isolation and restoration

AND… at what cost?

11 © 2012 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

What’s a reasonable price to pay?

JBRobb “Experience”

• College in Midwest early

80’s (PSI customer)

• Adult “formative” years in SF

(PG&E customer “pre- and

post- Diablo Canyon)

Cents/kwh

10-12

<9

>13

“A Bargain”

“Expensive”

“About Right”