EnergyBiz - January/February 2008 - (Page 37) discussing IT issues, from left to right, Chuck Bremer, dave Harkness, mike Carlson, Gene Zimon and Bob Arnett. phOTOs By cLiFF chEnEy LeaDeRshIP RoUnDtaBLes Pursuit of Intelligence ciOs PREPARE FOR UNCHARTED WATERS BY WARREN CAUSEY Utilities face unprecedented challenges engendered by fears of global warming, aging workforces, fuel costs and legal requirements to do things that in many cases may just not be possible, or at least not very easy. ¶ Increasingly, the executive suite is turning to chief information officers to solve many of these problems. Options include substituting technology for people in the field by automating grids; substituting demand response on a voluntary or even mandatory basis for hard-to-build generation; and using technological asset optimization to obtain the most from existing assets. Bob Arnett COBB ENERGy Chuck Bremer AMEREN Mike Carlson XCEL ENERGy Dave Harkness PNM RESOURCES Gene Zimon NSTAR Utility CIOs are in the unenviable position of having produced miracles and marvels in the past. Now, there is an extremely pressing need for even more. To explore a variety of pressing issues, EnergyBiz recently sat down with five CIOs representing four of the largest investor-owned utilities in the country and the affiliate of one of the largest electric membership cooperatives. Their comments follow, edited for style and length. Getting Information to the decision makers EnErgyBiz Utilities nationwide are anticipating a massive spending boost to build new generation, transmission and distribution. What are you doing to provide the utility leadership www.energycentral.com E n E rgyB i z 37 http://www.energycentral.com
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