Utility Horizons - Second Quarter 2013 - (Page 42)

EDUCATION Matters... Figure 3: Knowledge, Skills & Abilities (KSAs) for the New Utility Workforce change the role of the customer service rep from just dealing with the customer’s bill to broader questions on energy management, efficiency and others as the utilities strive to better understand their customers . Smart meters will also allow them to become pro-active about customer outage notifications and provide more accurate Estimated Time of Restoration (ETOR) figures. • Automation Expansion: The advent of distribution automation, new approaches to distribution management, and technologies such as synchrophasors allow both transmission and distribution operators to move from a reactive mode into much more proactive one, where they deal with a host of centralized and distributed control mechanisms driving towards optimized utility operations. • Customer Service: Members of the new utility workforce will also need to become their utility’s brand ambassadors, helping improve the image and reputation of the local utility. Vigorously representing the utility brand within their respective service territories will also improve their ability to interact with customers.2 Examples like these abound in all areas of utility operations as utility employees and managers move from mostly tactical responsibilities to more strategic ones. The involved personnel will also need to understand the impact of their actions on the utility’s bottom line. The strategic effects these efforts had on the reputation of their respective utilities as well as on senior utility management during the 2011 Nor’easter and Hurricane Sandy in 2012 are good examples here. WANTED: Knowledge, Skills & Abilities (KSA): The intelligent workforce of the future will need new knowledge, skills and abilities. They will use new technologies like mobile computing to access data from varied sources – some human and some technological in their origins – and make decisions having more far reaching consequences than ever before. For example, the field force of the future will have instant access to as-built GIS drawings; be in real-time contact with the system operator; be fully aware of the energization status of the feeder including renewables; and still be able to fix the problem properly the first time, minimizing downtime for customers while optimizing physical and human resource utilization for the utility. PG&E had taken one of the first steps forward in this direction by hiring a Chief Customer Officer whose primary focus was to improve the customer intimacy with the utility. One could argue on its effectiveness, but the idea was novel when it was first implemented. 2 42 • 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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