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NEWS
Utilities - The Silent Heroes of
the Power Industry
For people in many parts of the world,
electricity is easy to take for granted. We
flip a switch and it’s there.
But that reliability is no accident: it’s the
result of round-the-clock efforts by armies of
dedicated men and women. During the COVID-19
pandemic, power industry utilities have been
working tirelessly to keep hospitals, government
services, and communications systems powered up
and running. I think of them as the invisible first
responders, always there, behind the scenes — and
I’m proud to have the chance to work with such an
inspiring group of people.
The way utilities have responded to the COVID-19
crisis has revealed many things about the
capabilities of the industry today:
Power industry are dedicated.
I believe the culture at utilities is among the best in
the world, from the corporate level to individual
employees. In the fight against COVID-19, the
best and brightest have hunkered down in their
operations centers, working long, hard hours to
keep the grid running. Instead of going home,
many teams are napping in RVs parked at their
facilities, staying on-site so they can pick up the
next shift and, in some cases, working all night to
power-up new field hospitals.
flexible payment plans or payment relief measures,
such as waiving late fees and suspending collections
activities, because they know people and businesses
are going through tough times.
Power industry are fueled by
reliability.
Utilities have recognized the value of building
a digital platform on top of their electric grid
to provide real-time monitoring and control
in addition to managing critical assets. These
platforms have been key to providing dependable
service during the pandemic. They were built
with zero compromises on redundancy, reliability,
security, or disaster recovery — setting the standard
for industrial private networks. They have allowed
utility staff to work remotely, providing the
platforms for fault detection, isolation, recovery,
and other operations essential to keeping service
flowing.
Power industry are social partners.
Utilities have always been committed to the
communities they were created to serve — and
that really shone through with this pandemic.
Some have decided to keep providing service even
when customers aren’t paying, putting public safety
ahead of the bottom line. Others are working in
partnership with governments and customers on
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