Utility Horizons - Second Quarter 2013 - (Page 40)

EDUCATION Matters By Dr. Mani Vadari, President | Modern Grid Solutions | Contributing Editor The Changing Face of Education Regulatory Over the last 25 years or so, key changes such as the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, state renewable portfolio standards and FERC rulings have changed – almost completely – how utilities work and how they deliver services to their customers. Several states have enacted RPS standards already, and several others are seriously considering them. Add to these, state bills like Ohioʼs SB 221, where they have enacted penalties for utilities not meeting their energy efficiency and peak reduction targets, and youʼll see a very different utility operating profile from just a few years ago. Technology Technology is accelerating. New technologies are flowing into utilities at unprecedented rates and utility automation levels have been rising steadily over the last few years. Examples of these pervasive trends include substation automation and distribution automation; phasor measurement units, smart meters, Volt/VAR control, and demand response. Moreover, new or improved automation systems like EMS, DMS and OMS abound across the utility landscape. The new technologies are also invading non-operational areas like field force automation, customer segmentation, and online asset management – the latter in the form of condition-based inspection and maintenance. Workforce The workforce mix is changing. Practically every utility is trying to do more with less, driving the need for utilities to bring in more automation and new technologies. There is also a significant gap between highly experienced but sometimes tech-averse veteran employees and the younger, less experienced and much more technologically aware newcomers. The big gap here is in not just a matter of experience and knowledge of power system operations, but also how these technologies can be leveraged to streamline utility operations and improve service to customers. All of this portends a rather large set of challenges that will require a different kind of workforce – and a different kind of training – for the Utility of the Future! The Intelligent Workforce Meets the Utility of the Future The electric utility industry is arguably in the throes of the most dramatic set of changes it has seen since passage of Public Utilities Holding Company Act (PUHCA) in the 1930s. These changes are coming from all directions. Moreover, as utilities struggle with this evolving set of new rules, perhaps the most substantial impact is descending upon the workforce, which is having to deal with all of these changes in a rapid-fire manner, just as a large and increasing portion is moving towards retirement. The statistics are now familiar, not just among humanresources professionals, but increasingly across the entire utility industry: Almost 40 percent of utility workers will become eligible for retirement in the next five years. In 2006, the following statement appeared in an article in a leading utility industry magazine… “Assuming only nominal growth, by 2010 the industry will need to hire some 10,000 new skilled workers each year”.1 While the actual loss of skilled utility employees was substantially slowed by the financial meltdown of 1 M Burr, ‘Baby Boom Blues’, Public Utilities Fortnightly, vol. 144, July 2006, pp. 28-30. 40 • UTILITY HORIZONS • Q2 - 2013 www.UtilityHorizons.com  http://www.UtilityHorizons.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Utility Horizons - Second Quarter 2013

Utility Horizons - Second Quarter 2013
Publisher’s Message
Contents
The Queue
Automation Rising!
Inside Tracks
Focal Point
Automation and Innovation at Epcor Water Services
BLeading Edge: Advanced Technology Perspectives
Consumer Engagement: The Future Goes Mobile
Demand Response: Why the Future Is in the Cloud
Building Paths to Smarter Water Management
Bullet-Proofing Your Scada System Against the Evil-Doers
Education Matters
Standard Bearings
Regulation De Rigueur
On the Horizon
Purviews
Intersections
Eventualities
Thinking It Through With Sparky Flamedrop
Loose Ends

Utility Horizons - Second Quarter 2013

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