FERC vs NERC: A grid control showdown over cyber security

WWW.INTELLIGENTUTILITY.COM /// JULY/AUGUST 2011
24
Utility
Mobility
Integrating
mobile
solutions
+ + Utilities describe their challenges,
successes and lessons learned
By Kate Rowland
AN INTEGRATED MOBILE WORKFORCE MAN-
agement platform—tying in field management,
outage management, customer information, geospatial information
and other systems—provides utilities with the
ability to transform the way field work is performed. It can
improve restoration times, increase customer satisfaction
and increase overall productivity, thereby lowering cost.
These were the goals of the mobile dispatch project launched
by Exelon Business Services’ two electricity distribution
companies, ComEd and PECO. The project was featured
in the January/February 2011 issue of this magazine, and a
subsequent Intelligent Utility Realities webcast in April took
a deeper dive into this project, as well as new mobile workforce
management projects implemented by JEA (formerly
Jacksonville Electric Authority) and Vectren Corporation.
The challenges faced were different in scope, the
successes notable, and the lessons learned definitely worth
sharing here. Edited for length and style, panelists Jackie
Scheel (manager of water and sewer customer service responses
for JEA), Mark Browning (director, IT ComEd
Solutions, Exelon) and Rich Schach (vice president of
energy delivery, Vectren) offered numerous utility insights.
A few are shared here.
ILLUSTRATION BY KEVIN HOWDESHELL