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24 Oncor’s AMI

34 Transformer Maintenance

38 Strategic Vegetation Management

T H E O F F I C I A L P U B L I C A T I O N O F

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IntelliRupterÆ PulseCloser, available in voltage ratings of 14.4 kV through 38 kV, features PulseClosing Technologyôóa unique means for verifying that the line is clear of faults before initiating a closing operation. Pulseclosing is superior to conventional reclosing. It greatly reduces stress on system components, as well as voltage sags experienced by customers upstream of the fault.

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PowerGrid International™: ISSN 1547-6723,

is published 12 times per year (January,

February, March, April, May, June, July, August,

September, October, November and December)

by PennWell Corp., 1421 S. Sheridan Rd., Tulsa

OK 74112; phone 918.835.3161. ©Copyright

2013 by PennWell Corp. (Registered in U.S.

Patent Trademark Office). All rights reserved.

Authorization to photocopy items for internal

or personal use, or the internal or personal

use of specific clients, is granted by PowerGrid

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4 | May 2013www.power-grid.com

MAY 2013 VOLUME 18.05

30 A Holistic Data Analytics Strategy is Critical for Smart Grid ProjectsRobert Sherick of Southern California Edison and Steve Ehrlich of Space-Time Insight examine four things utilities need to consider as they launch smart grid projects: volume, complexity, governance and security.

46 Products

47 Calendar/Ad Index

48 From the Pages of Electricity History

24 Case Study: Oncor’s AMIRichard Schertz of Oncor and Greg Leon of EDX Wireless explain how the Texas T&D utility solved a problem after its AMI project was operational in many urban areas: The same system design would not work in sparsely populated regions.

38 Strategic Vegetation Management Contributes to Improved ReliabilityKevin Jones of ACRT Inc. lists three easy steps to achieve a successful utility vegetation management program.

Caption

Green Button GROWS

Chris Irwin of the Department of Energy shares how some 16 million customers across more

than 20 utilities are using the Green Button to make sense of their electricity usage data.

Caption 20

From the Editor 6

Notes 8

How to Generate Better 16Intelligence, More Wind Power

and Increased Profits With Advanced Business Analytics JJ Jamieson of Versify Solutions Inc. writes that

variable energy resources need to be backed by a dispatchable source of generation. Enter advanced

business analytics software.

34 Transformer Maintenance Key to Grid ResiliencyNihit Bhardwaj of Siemens writes that power transformers are one answer to many utility problems.

42 How to Master Big Data for the Next-generation UtilityAndy Bane and Paul K. Bower of Ventyx say it’s easy to master big data with the “Four V’s.”

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EDITOR IN CHIEF Teresa Hansen

918.831.9504 [email protected]

SENIOR EDITOR Kristen Wright


ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jennifer Van Burkleo


ONLINE/ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jeff Postelwait


GRAPHIC DESIGNER Deanna Taylor


BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR Angie O’Dea


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Richard Baker 918.831.9187 [email protected]

PENNWELL CORP. IN EUROPE PennWell International Limited

The Water Tower, Gunpowder Mill Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 1BN, United Kingdom

phone +44.1992.656600 fax +44.1992.656700

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CHAIRMAN Frank Lauinger

PRESIDENT/CEO Robert F. Biolchini

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION (CFO)

Mark C. Wilmoth

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Phone 918.835.3161 Fax 918.831.9834 [email protected] http://pennwell.com

POWERGRID International is the offcial publication of


EDITOR IN CHIEF TERESA HANSEN

FROM THE EDITOR

Are You a ‘Friendly’ or an ‘Unfriendly’?

The International Energy Agency predicts the global solar market

will grow more than 10 percent annually until 2021. Solar is the

fastest-growing energy source in the U.S., according to the Solar Energy

Industries Association (SEIA). SEIA’s “U.S. Solar Market Insight 2012

Year in Review” states the U.S. installed 3,313 MW of solar photovoltaics

in 2012—an industry record. California became the first state to install

more than 1,000 MW in a year, according to SEIA, with growth across all

market segments: residential, commercial and industrial and utility-scale

solar. More than half of 2012 solar installations represented large utility-

scale projects, but more home and small business owners are taking

advantage of solar panels’ falling prices and installing small-scale solar at

a record rate, according to the report. The report reveals nearly 83,000

California homes were fitted with solar panels in 2012 for 488 MW. A

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) employee said that on average, 400

SDG&E customers installed solar panels each month during 2012. That

average grew to 700 during the first three months of 2013.

Anticipating this shift, software companies developed algorithms

to help predict supply and demand fluctuations and power electron-

ics manufacturers developed new technology to help grid operators

deal with intermittent production. Several manufacturers have been

working on solar inverter technologies. Technology challenges are

being addressed and advancements will continue. I’m not confident,

however, that utilities are preparing in other areas affected. I received

an article pitch this week that describes “the conflict between utilities

and solar that’s brewing (raging in some places) around the U.S.” The

expert who offered the article is the CEO of a clean power finance

company touted as one of the only companies in the solar finance

sector that works with utilities to channel their capital into distributed

solar assets so utilities can access new revenue streams. The CEO

thinks solar represents a threat or major new opportunity for utili-

ties. He refers to utility holding companies’ attitudes toward solar like

military parlance; on military maps, you have reds, yellows and blues

(unfriendlies, neutral/unknowns and friendlies). He even named a

friendly and unfriendly utility.

Using military parlance might be a little extreme, but utilities can resist

or embrace solar; they can’t ignore it. The stats I mention reveal that cus-

tomers aren’t as entrenched in the current paradigm as utilities. Customers

will choose based on needs and budgets. Utilities must be ready to serve

these customers or they might be labeled “unfriendly” and be left behind.

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NOTES


EnerNOC LAUNCHES GREEN BUTTON INITIATIVE OPEN DATA PROJECT

GDF SUEZ ENERGY RESOURCES AGREEMENT WITH VIRIDITY ENERGY

STRENGTHENS DEMAND RESPONSE CAPABILITIES

26 that will result in production-ready

products and fledgling businesses.

EnerNOC maintains a repository that

includes more than 50 billion

energy readings from the

thousands of commercial

and industrial sites on its

platform worldwide and

has invested more than

$160 million in its technology

and network infrastructure.

Details on EnerNOC’s Green Button

initiative participation are available at

http://open.enernoc.com. For Green

Button information, go to http://green

buttondata.org.

demand response events. The compa-

ny serves commercial, industrial and

institutional customers in 12 markets:

Delaware, Texas, Massachusetts, Maine,

Maryland, New York, New Jersey,

Pennsylvania, Illinois, Connecticut,

Ohio and Washington, D.C. The com-

pany serves some 80,000 accounts for

customers with a peak demand ranging

from 50 KW to more than 200 MW, with

an estimated peak load totaling nearly

10,000 MW.

Viridity Energy will use the retail

electricity supplier’s supply and trading

capabilities to monetize actionable load

opportunities for customers. Both com-

panies will take part in a pilot project

that targets several large commercial and

industrial power users that use standby

generation, battery storage and automat-

ed control and measurement technology.

EnerNOC Inc., a provider of cloud-

based energy management software,

announced its newest EnerNOC Open

project, Open Data. As part of its partici-

pation in the Green Button Initiative and

to encourage open source collaboration

that advances energy management inno-

vation, the company has scrubbed and

anonymized one year of granular energy

data from 100 large buildings.

Developers and engineers can access

the data for noncommercial purposes

such as research, integration testing and

hackathons.

Green Button is an energy industry

initiative that responds to a White House

GDF Suez Energy Resources NA, one of

the country’s largest competitive retail elec-

tricity providers to commercial, industrial

and institutional customers, announced

an agreement with Viridity Energy to pro-

vide comprehensive, customized demand

response solutions.

Through this agreement, large ener-

gy users will have access to customized

decision-making tools that align opera-

tions with load-management strategies and

provide opportunities to reduce energy-

related costs. The market knowledge and

supply expertise of GDF Suez Energy

Resources combined with the customer

load-optimization capabilities of Viridity

Energy will give buyers the potential to

mitigate peak energy costs and decrease

capital expenditures.

“Using electricity at the right time can

really make a difference in a company’s

bottom line, particularly for large energy

users,” said David Coffman, vice presi-

dent of marketing for GDF Suez Energy

Resources. “By leveraging our and Viridity’s

call to action to provide customers with

easy access to their energy use data in a

simple format. The release of EnerNOC’s

Open Data project is timed with

the start of the EnerNOC-

sponsored Boston

CleanWeb Hackathon and

Data Jam that began April

5 that brings together entre-

preneurs and developers to

tackle problems at the intersec-

tion of energy, sustainability and the

Internet. The hackathon is a three-day

sprint to build prototype applications

and business ideas. The data jam is

a 90-day marathon culminating June

capabilities, we

plan to bring big

benefits to these

commercial and

industrial customers through practical,

economic energy management strategies

customized for them.”

Eric Alam, senior vice president of

western region sales at Viridity Energy,

said GDF Suez Energy Resources is a

strong retail electricity provider that

understands the value of load flexibility

and how it can be monetized for its

customers.

“Viridity Energy specializes in provid-

ing the tools necessary to unlock that

value, and together we bring a new

approach to overall energy management

through the convergence of supply and

demand-side strategies that lowers energy

costs in a powerful way,” Alam said.

GDF Suez Energy Resources will be a

key strategic advisor to Viridity Energy

in evaluating and analyzing custom-

er load and behavior for year-round

1305PG_8 8 5/3/13 4:01 PM

http://open.enernoc.com

http://greenbuttondata.org


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� Reduce strain on transmission and distribution

� Manage grid-level storage needs

� Improve power quality and efficiency

� Integrate renewable energy resources

�� Moderate peak demand

EnerSys® OptiGrid™ Stored Energy Solutions is a complete, packaged solution that combines the right battery chemistry, power

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PG&E EMPLOYEES VOLUNTEER DURING APRIL

stuffing backpacks for students, build-

ing playgrounds and installing solar

panels on Habitat for Humanity homes.

ABOUT POINTS OF LIGHT

Points of Light, the largest organization

in the world dedicated to volunteer

service, mobilizes millions of people to

take action that is changing the world.

Through affiliates in 250 cities and

partnerships with thousands of nonprofits

and corporations, Points of Light engages

more than 4 million volunteers in 30

million hours of service each year. It brings

the power of people to bear where it

matters most. For more information, visit

http://pointsoflight.org.

ABOUT HANDSON NETWORK

The volunteer-activation division

of Points of Light Institute, HandsOn

Network, includes 250 community

action centers that deliver 30 million

hours of volunteer service each year

and extend to 16 countries around the

world. These centers focus on helping

people plug into volunteer opportuni-

ties in their local communities, partner-

ing with more than 70,000 corporate,

faith and nonprofit organizations to

manage volunteer resources, and devel-

oping the leadership capacity of volun-

teers. Annually, the network delivers

volunteer service valued at $626 mil-

lion. For more information, visit http://

handsonnetwork.org.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) in

April launched its first Month of Service

program, which featured more than 100

employee volunteer projects throughout

Northern and Central California as part of

National Volunteer Month.

PG&E partnered with HandsOn

Network and Points of Light, a leading

volunteer organization, on the projects.

PG&E CEO Tony Earley officially launched

the program April 4 with nearly 80

employee volunteers at Candlestick Point

State Recreation Area in San Francisco.

Volunteers removed graffiti, cleaned the

shoreline, planted native vegetation and

conducted other park renovations.

“For more than a quarter of a century,

one of the most significant ways we have

served our communities is through our

volunteer program,” said Ezra Garrett,

PG&E vice president and chief sustainabil-

ity officer. “Last year alone, PG&Eers gave

more than 41,000 volunteer hours to com-

munities throughout our service area. And

each year, these numbers continue to grow

as our employees generously give their

time to support our neighbors in need.”

Anchored by PG&E’s annual Earth

Day clean-up and restoration projects

in partnership with the California State

Parks Foundation, the Month of Service

also featured other volunteer activities

that cater to the broad range of employ-

ee interests. Volunteer activities includ-

ed restoration of state parks, neigh-

borhood emergency response training,

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eTWACSTM

Create Your Intelligent InfrastructureTM � ��

Capacity, reliability, and�� It’s easy to get hung up on what technology is better, faster, or newer when making smart grid decisions. A truer measure of success is whether the technology you select works reliably and effectively.

That’s why utilities that want a flexible and powerful smart grid system need eTWACS. Aclara’s eTWACS collects over 99 percent of meter reads and handles a wealth of additional data, including interval reads, load control, outage data, billing, and on-demand reads. How? The eTWACS protocol increases capacity through parallelism and concurrent communications. With eTWACS, data moves simultaneously through substations and over distribution feeders and buses without missing a beat.

Want to know more? Contact Aclara and find out how eTWACS can turn your power lines into data superhighways.

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NOTES


EYE ON THE WORLD

Energate Inc., North America’s leading provider of consumer

demand response and home energy management solutions for

utilities and their customers, announced the rollout of its Consumer

Engagement for the Smart Grid (CESG) program.

Qualified Ontario consumers can opt into the program via

participating local distribution companies (LDCs) or directly through

Energate online to receive a fully funded Energate Foundation smart

thermostat and home energy gateway, with additional innovations

to follow. The foundation delivers vital energy information and

control based on time-of-use pricing with easy to use options to

help save on energy costs while delivering value to the province’s

smart grid and demand response goals.

The objective of the $7.8 million CESG project is to stimulate

consumers’ engagement in home energy management by leveraging

and extending the

smart grid into homes. As part of

the CESG program, participants will receive

real-time usage data via Energate’s Foundation, which

provides whole-house energy consumption information

along with a fully programmable smart thermostat.

Foundation keeps track of savings over a 30-day period

and helps users better manage their energy costs

through multiple complementary consumer-friendly

options such as home energy dashboards and mobile applications.

It also can be set up to display the past 24 hours of electricity

consumption, as well as seven-day averages to provide trending

feedback to consumers. As a result, consumers can monitor usage and

reduce or shift consumption from peak to nonpeak periods based on

time-of-use rates.

Qualified Ontario homeowners who deploy Foundation also will

be able to participate in Phases 2 and 3 of the CESG project that

provide innovations that could include advanced mobile apps, more

advanced home energy management features, and extended moni-

toring and control of other energy-using appliances. Participants will

provide feedback to Energate, Ontario’s Ministry of Energy and the

LDCs on the value of these advanced technologies in achieving their

personal goals and preferences.

“PowerStream is committed to customer satisfaction,” said

Brian Bentz, president and CEO of PowerStream. “The program

with Energate allows us to test advanced technologies with our

customers to better understand how they view this smart grid

opportunity.”

Up to 1,000 homes in Ontario will be equipped with these

advanced technologies as part of the CESG demonstration and

feedback program. Homeowners can indicate their interest by

reviewing the qualifications and signing up at http://energateinc.

com/cesg. Participants will be selected based on qualification

criteria, regional program limits and the terms of a participant

agreement.

Participating LDCs include Cambridge & North Dumfries Hydro,

Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro, Waterloo North Hydro, Hydro One,

Hydro Ottawa, Peterborough Utilities, PowerStream and Veridian

Connections. Additional LDCs also may propose to participate in

the project.

1,000 Ontario homes to be equipped with Energate smart grid technology

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http://www.pacificwood.com

http://energateinc.com/cesg

http://energateinc.com/cesg


FIELD SERVICES

Software and services keeping you connected and compliant

TRAINING

SYSTEMPROTECTIONDATABASE

Visit www.enoserv.com/PG

PROTECTIVERELAY TESTING

SOFTWARE

May 2013 | 13 www.power-grid.com

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Panel, SCADA Add-In,

Master/Slave Alarm Suppression,

Remote Alarm Annunciation, Load

Curtailment, Virtual RTU, System

Configuration Status, MultiSpeak and

Dynamic Voltage Reduction.

Easley Combined Utilities, a citizen-

created, not-for-profit, locally owned

and controlled utility in South Carolina,

has commissioned a new supervisory

control and data acquisition system

from Survalent Technology, a provider

of smart grid solutions for control

rooms.

The Easley City Water and Light Plant

was created in 1911, and the city’s first

electricity supply was generated in 1912

to operate pumps at the water treatment

plant. It is a member of ElectriCities

of North Carolina

(ECNC), Piedmont

Municipal Power Agency

(PMPA) and South Carolina

Association of Municipal Electric

Association (SCAMPS).

The new system features Survalent’s

highly available, open-architecture sys-

tem based on Windows Server. It includes

several of Survalent’s open system appli-

cations, including: WorldView, SCADA

Explorer, Command Sequence, Event

Data Recording, IED Wizard and Control

EASLEY COMBINED UTILITIES

COMMISSIONS NEW SCADA SYSTEM

1305PG_13 13 5/3/13 4:01 PM

http://www.enoserv.com/PG



NOTES


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cations market in 2012. China will drive

the growth of the overall BRICS smart

grid communications market, but lucrative

opportunities also will develop in Brazil

and Russia by 2020. Among the five BRICS

countries, India will grow the fastest with

a projected compound annual growth rate

of 30 percent.

Communications for advanced metering

infrastructure, enterprise and operations

architecture, and distribution automation

will make up the lion’s share of the BRICS

market, accounting for 76 percent and

72 percent of the market in 2012 and

2020, respectively. Communications sys-

tems that enable customer systems and

distributed energy resource integration,

however, will see significant gains during

this period.

Report site: http://smartgridresearch.org

The smart grid communications mar-

ket among BRICS countries—Brazil,

Russia, India, China and South Africa—

will reach $9.5 billion by 2020, accord-

ing to the Zpryme report “Smart Grid

Communications: The BRICS Outlook.”

The report states the BRICS smart grid

communications market will experience

rapid growth during the next eight years,

which Zpryme expects to follow three

distinct phases:

1. The deployment of smart meters

to establish a two-way communica-

tions system between utilities and

subscribers;

2. The addition of new sensors and

other devices at key junctures of the

network to help utilities develop val-

ue-added services to leverage their

smart grid infrastructure; and

3. The development of new services and

software to optimize smart meter

deployments and the overall grid.

Countries such as Russia and Brazil

have major events such as the World Cup

and Olympics as key drivers of overall

electrical infrastructure investments.

China, on the other

hand, must develop

an advanced grid

that can support

the rapid expansion

of its economy.

Alternatively, South

Africa and India

are determined to

develop and provide reliable power to all

their citizens. Thus, South Africa and India

see the smart grid as a key pillar of their

electrical upgrade plans.

In the report, Zpryme examines the

smart grid communications market in

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South

Africa. In addition, the report highlights

46 key vendors that serve the communica-

tions market.

Several network technologies

can be used for communications

in the transmission, distribution

and customer domains in the

smart grid, but none suits all

the applications. An integrated,

two-way communications and

networking platform is necessary

for the smart grid. Methods of

providing these communications

include cellular communications,

power line communications,

broadband over power lines,

ZigBee, radio frequency mesh

network, long-term evolution,

wireless broadband (4G) and

satellite communications, among

others.

Smart grid communications

infrastructure connects many

electric devices and manages the

complicated device communica-

tions. It is constructed in a hierarchical

architecture with interconnected individu-

al subnetworks and

each taking respon-

sibility of sepa-

rate geographical

regions. In general,

the communication

networks include

wide-area net-

works, field-area

networks, home-area networks, local-area

networks, private networks, public net-

works, wired and wireless networks.

The Zpryme forecast indicates the

BRICS countries will account for 24 per-

cent of the global smart grid communi-

REPORT: BRICS SMART GRID COMMUNICATIONS MARKET TO REACH $9.5B BY 2020

South Africa and India see smart grid as a key pillar of their electrical upgrade plans.

1305PG_14 14 5/3/13 4:01 PM

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http://elpconference.com

Executives Seeking

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1305PG_15 15 5/3/13 4:01 PM

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BY JJ JAMIESON, VERSIFY SOLUTIONS INC.

Since 2007, more than 40,000 MW

of new wind generation has been

built in the U.S., according to the

American Wind Energy Association

(AWEA).

Tens of thousands of new turbines are

operating, a testament to the entrepre-

neurial and engineering spirit of renew-

able development firms, equipment

suppliers and engineering, procurement

and construction (EPC) companies.

Given the nation’s massive build out

of wind generation, the industry will

be working for the next few years to

operate these turbines efficiently and

integrate their output into the electri-

cal grid.

There’s much work to be done.

Variable energy resources (VERs)

such as wind and solar power need to

be backed by a dispatchable source of

generation.

In the Northwest, hydropower often

backs wind power. In other parts of

John “JJ” Jamieson is director of West Operations for Versify Solutions Inc., a software and services

firm serving the electric power industry. He has more than 10 years of experience at Portland General

Electric and BC Hydro. He has a degree in electrical transmission systems technology, was certified as

a NERC-certified system operator–Reliability in 2007 and is a certified systems engineer.

1305PG_16 16 5/3/13 4:02 PM



1305PG_17 17 5/3/13 4:02 PM



data will not be transformed into business

intelligence.

The primary focus of operators is to

maintain system balance in a reliable

manner.

The time it takes to acquire, analyze and

respond to the data presented becomes

increasingly difficult as the volume of data

multiplies.

Operators need tools to understand

the state of a system in an accessible and

effective manner while facilitating a drill

down into the details if necessary.

Gathering and sharing data is no longer

enough.

The ability to employ advanced analyt-

ics to transform data into business intel-

ligence that guides operational decision-

making is critical in today’s electricity

business.

FERC ORDER 764

CREATES NEW DEMANDS

Operational decision-making is more

difficult with today’s data deluge.

Order 764 from the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission (FERC) reduces

barriers to integrating renewable gen-

eration resources into the electric grid

by allowing increased flow of informa-

tion, opportunity for alternative integra-

tion models and intrahour scheduling of

resources.

This means operators must have data

and intelligence developed and displayed

in a clear, accessible manner to use the

new intrahour scheduling timelines.

Without appropriate data analytics and

related operational software applications,

wind power operators do not have time to

gather and analyze operational data.

NEW NERC INFORMATION

RECOMMENDATIONS

The North American Electric Reliability

the country, thermal plants typically back

wind and solar generation.

The backup generation ensures power

is on the wire when the wind stops blow-

ing or the sun stops shining.

Backup generation ensures the con-

tracted amount of electricity is produced,

balanced and put onto the grid and

keeps operators, regulators and custom-

ers happy.

But there are significant operational

and financial costs built into the variable

energy market.

The inefficiencies caused by maintain-

ing backup generation and the penalties

for an operator that delivers more or less

than its contracted amount of renewable

energy impose significant costs on the

system and customers.

Beyond establishing integration

charges to offset the cost of integrating

VERs, entities responsible for the

integration of VERs have imposed

charges over and

above base integration

charges—in some cases

10 percent of market

price per megawatt—for

each hour an operator

is out of balance with

its scheduled power

deliveries.

Penalties also can be imposed by sys-

tem operators for operating outside of

established business practices and consis-

tent deviations between scheduled gen-

eration and actual generation.

The integration of VERs brings

additional challenges that can be

mitigated through increased operational

efficiencies.

Using advanced business analytics soft-

ware improves electric system efficiencies.

Operators that use Versify Solutions Inc.’s

V-Renew software applications report

significant efficiency and profitability

gains resulting from:

• Improving forecasting accuracy;

• Running less backup generation and

more effective use of capacity;

• Increasing the efficiency of planning

and operational activities;

• Having detailed insight into how

each turbine is performing; and

• Accessing real-time market prices for

power so operators know whether

they are in the money or out of it,

which facilitates sound operational

decision-making.

The proliferation of variable generation

in recent years has addressed some public

policy challenges but created others.

The U.S. generating fleet is cleaner,

greener and more diverse than it was 10

or 20 years ago and has created a broad

benefits stream that should last decades.

Utilities in 30 states are making prog-

ress toward satisfying

state renewable port-

folio standards (RPS)

that mandate certain

percentages of electric-

ity come from renew-

able sources by specific

dates.

But the rapid expan-

sion of renewable generation has created

new stress points for plant operators,

energy traders, power dispatchers and

reliability organizations.

BIG DATA AND HOW TO USE IT

An exponential increase in plant data

threatens to overwhelm plant operators

and power dispatchers.

Increased data does not mean increased

intelligence.

Without effective software technologies

and fine-tuned industry analytics, big

An exponential increase in plant data threatens to overwhelm plant operators and dispatchers.

1305PG_18 18 5/3/13 4:02 PM



of balancing authority services, compliance

management and energy management ser-

vices.

CECD is a pioneer in variable generation

integration.

It has transformed the way operators

can efficiently and reliably operate balanc-

ing authority areas (BAAs) by using appli-

cations to turn big data into actionable

intelligence and operational optimization

of balancing resources.

CECD leverages their expertise and

use of applications developed by Versify

to operate multiple BAAs at the same

time in a reliable and economic manner

24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

A more complete dis-

cussion of the opera-

tional and financial

benefits of the software

product can be found in

a forthcoming white paper

that will be available at

http://versify.com.

Success in the dynamic

renewable power business

requires plant operators have

increased access to operational

data and the ability to trans-

form that data into actionable

intelligence to increase efficien-

cies and profits.

Understanding market condi-

tions at a more granular level

ensures operators will increase

the efficiencies and profit-

ability of their generators

by turning data into

intelligence.

Plant operators typically focus on opera-

tional data acquired from systems such as

supervisory control and data acquisition

with little focus on market data such as

demand and spot prices.

Traders see spot prices but have limited

visibility into operational conditions at

plants and current grid conditions.

This limited visibility is partly a result

of regulatory restrictions but largely is a

result of the lack of implementing enabling

technologies.

The V-Renew advanced analytics soft-

ware blends two critical data streams—

operational and market—into one flow of

actionable intelligence.

The ability to have more meaningful

intelligence available to all participants in

the industry while respecting regulatory

restrictions increases the efficiency, reli-

ability and economics of electrical system

operations.

For operators, raw data does not pro-

vide the same value as data that has been

transformed by an application into busi-

ness, operational intelligence or both.

Clients who use V-Renew report turn-

ing raw operational data into actionable

intelligence that drives more profitable

decision-making:

• Some renewable energy plant opera-

tors have deferred scheduled outages

at their wind farms to take advantage

of market prices for their power.

• Renewable energy plant owners have

improved response times in shutting

down or bringing up plants when they

are out of the money or in the money.

Other operators decided not to acti-

vate some turbines when prices for

spot power fell below a specific tur-

bine’s break-even level.

Constellation Energy Control and

Dispatch (CECD) is a leading provider

Corp. (NERC) issued a set of recommen-

dations after the Sept. 8, 2011, outage in

Southern California.

A primary focus of the recommenda-

tions was the need for increased sharing

of operational information to planners and

operators so balancing area authorities and

others responsible for system reliability

have a more complete understanding of

conditions in the electrical system to avoid

a reoccurrence of the outage.

The industry must approach this

thoughtfully.

Simply pushing more data to everyone

is not the answer.

The industry must re-evaluate how it

shares data, increase the sharing of this

data and share the data in a way that will

provide intelligence to the people who

must act on it.

We must manage our data while trans-

forming it into actionable intelligence.

OPTIMIZING PERFORMANCE

WITH REAL-TIME INTELLIGENCE

During 2012, spot natural gas prices

occasionally were low enough that some

gas-fired generation displaced some base-

load coal generation.

In this topsy-turvy electricity market,

timely knowledge of what it costs to

acquire energy in the market can empower

generation operators to make better deci-

sions: Should they run their generators,

rely on the market to provide the energy

or, in the case of VERs, activate some

turbines but deactivate others based on

market prices and operational costs?

Plant operators, power dispatchers and

energy traders typically don’t look at the

same sets of data so some operational

decisions with significant profit-and-loss

implications, such as scheduling a turbine

shutdown, may not be made with refer-

ence to market conditions.

gu

pr

1305PG_19 19 5/3/13 4:02 PM

http://versify.com



BY CHRISTOPHER IRWIN,

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

the North

American Energy

Standards Board (NAESB) and others. By

the time PAP 10 was completed, NAESB

had created the standard on which Green

Button is now based (REQ 21, or ESPI).

A half dozen other standards now possess

similar DNA.

The Green Button has its origins in a

health data access initiative called the Blue

Button developed by the Department of

Jane and Robert Brown sat down side

by side, gazing at the computer screen.

“We spent more money on electricity

last month than we did on car payments,

and I want to find out why and what we

can do about it,” Jane said. “This portal is

handy, but I went on and put our usage

into a spreadsheet and correlated it to

activities I was able to pull from our com-

bined Outlook calendars and dropped it

into this presentation,” and cut.

TAKE TWO

Jane Brown set the groceries on the

counter. Her phone chimed with a new

email. Her Cabin Buddy app reported

that usage at the Browns’ little place in the

woods was up 40 percent from yesterday,

and for a big change such as that, Cabin

Buddy was set up to register an alert and

follow up with an email. She called the

Johnsons to ask if they could check if the

cabin door had blown open again.

A few miles away, Robert Brown walked

through the automatic doors of Big Box

Hardware. He was approached by a staffer

holding a tablet computer.

“Would you like a customized energy-

savings shopping list?” asked the staffer.

“All you need to do is give us one-time

access to your utility usage data. We’ll

delete the data as soon as we’re done gen-

erating your list.”

Robert politely declined.

“I’m way ahead of you,” he said.

“I got the same offer by email and

uploaded my file this morning.”

Robert looked at his phone, and there

were the estimated savings per month

and year next to each potential item.

What he really wanted were the supplies

to fix that door on the cabin, but a few

lightbulbs, an air filter and a water heater

blanket were easy enough to pick up, and

because he was already here ... and cut.

THE GREEN BUTTON INITIATIVE

Which scenario is realistic? Two years

ago, the best that most U.S. electricity

customers could hope for was the first

scenario. Now, some 16 million customers

across more than 20 utilities are closer to

scenario two, thanks to the Green Button.

The UCA International Users Group

(UCAIug) launched the OpenADE

(Automatic Data Exchange) Task Force,

which contributed some of the early

emphasis to making energy usage infor-

mation faithful to international standards

and more uniform. The effort accelerated

rapidly under Priority Action Plan 10 (PAP

10) of the then-newly created Smart Grid

Interoperability Panel (SGIP). The National

Institute of Standards and Technology

(NIST) considered a broad consensus on

energy usage information critical to the

success of many key technologies in the

smart grid and was joined in PAP 10 by

Christopher Irwin is the smart grid stan-

dards and interoperability coordinator for

the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy

Reliability in the Department of Energy.

© CAN STOCK PHOTO INC. / SERMAX55

Green ButtonGreen Button

GROWSGreen Button

GROWSGreen Button

GROWSGreen Button

GROWS

1305PG_20 20 5/3/13 4:02 PM



55

Veterans Affairs to put health care data into

the hands of military veterans. All that was

left to do was to provide a spark, which

was delivered by former White House

Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra

during GridWeek 2011. He challenged

utilities and industry to create a Green

Button and shared the success he saw in

the health care sector.

California, Maryland and Texas com-

mitted, and each added millions of cus-

tomers. In April 2012, the Department

of Energy (DOE) launched the Apps for

Energy contest, which challenged software

developers to build within five weeks apps

that use Green Button data. More than 60

apps were submitted. Four months after

the first Green Button data was available

to customers, an ecosystem of utilities,

vendors, developers and customers was

emerging.

That the NAESB ESPI standard is

embraced so widely means apps devel-

oped for Green Button data are likely to

work with multiple utilities. This delivers

an equally clear victory for interoper-

ability. One more win stems from the

common heritage that the NAESB stan-

dard shares with Smart Energy Profile 2.0,

the IEC Common Information Model,

and a companion effort by the American

Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-

conditioning Engineers. The data will not

be identically composed and structured,

but this convergence coupled with coexis-

tence form the second victory for interop-

erability. The final win for interoperability

requires revisiting scenario two and con-

sidering interoperability from a human

Utilities Committed to Implementing Green Button

Companies Supporting or Pledging to Support Green Button Data

American Electric Power

Austin Energy

Baltimore Gas & Electric

Bangor Hydro Electric Co.

CenterPoint Energy

Central Maine Power

Chattanooga EPB

Commonwealth Edison

Connecticut Light and Power

Consolidated Edison

Efficiency Vermont

Glendale Water and Power

JEA

Kootenai Electric Cooperative Inc.

National Grid

NSTAR

Oncor

Pacific Power

PacifiCorp

PECO

Pepco Holdings Inc.

PG&E

PPL Electric Utilities

Public Service Co. of New Hampshire

Reliant

Rocky Mountain Power

Sawnee Electric Membership Corp.

SDG&E

Southern California Edison

The United Illuminating Co.

TNMP

TXU Energy

Virginia Dominion Power

Western Massachusetts Electric Co.

Yankee Gas

Aclara

Belkin

Building Energy Inc.

BuildingIQ

C3

Calico Energy Services

EcoDog

eMeter - A Siemens Business

EnergyAi

EnergySavvy

EnerNex

EnerNOC

FirstFuel

Gas and Power Technologies

Genability

High Energy Audits

Honest Buildings

HyperTek

iControl Networks

Itron

Lucid

Melon

OPower

Oracle

People Power

Performance Systems Development

PlotWatt

Power2Switch

Retroficiency

Schneider Electric

Silver Spring Networks

Simple Energy

Smart Grid Labs

Smart Utility Systems

Snugg Home

SunRun

Tendril

Wattvision

1305PG_21 21 5/3/13 4:02 PM



as another point of acceleration for Green

Button this year. NIST also continues to

provide leadership with a new users guide

this year to its NIST Green Button Software

Developers Kit.

Most of the more than 3,000 U.S. utilities

are publicly owned municipal providers

or member-owned

cooperatives. That’s

why it has been a

milestone to add

municipal and

cooperative utili-

ties to the commit-

ments list last year, notably Jacksonville

Electric Authority in Florida, the Electric

Power Board of Chattanooga in Tennessee,

the Kootenai Electric Cooperative in Idaho,

and the Sawnee Electric Membership Corp.

in Georgia. With their unique approaches

to software services and their ownership

models, cooperatives might provide a dra-

matic area for Green Button growth in the

coming year.

This year marks the first international

expansion of Green Button into Ontario,

Canada. With support from the White

House Office of Science and Technology,

the DOE and NIST, a collaboration involv-

ing the Ministry of Energy, utilities and the

private sector is embracing the standard

and the Green Button with substantial

parallels but under the sovereign con-

trol of Canada. Their program is ambi-

tious and aggressive, with Green Button

Download My Data piloting this year and a

shared framework for implementing Green

Button Connect My Data uniformly across

the participants. Their effort eventually

will add another 2 million customers to

the initiative and attract Canadian software

developers.

The success of the Green Button ini-

tiative is credible evidence we are on the

right path.

perspective. In this context, interoperabil-

ity means the ability to recognize the value

of something and how it might be useful

with little or no detailed knowledge—a

shallow interface.

Robert Brown does not have to know

much about his energy data to know that

clicking the Green Button on his utility

website will allow him to share that data

with entities he trusts. Jane Brown does

not have to know much about her energy

data to know Cabin Buddy will use Green

Button data to provide a valuable service.

The third victory for interoperability lies

between the consumer and the data, and

that is why it’s called the Green Button and

not the NAESB REQ 21 Button.

Green Button is growing, but it’s no

longer only about volume; it’s growing in

value, consistency, diversity and across

borders.

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) was

among the first to implement Green Button

Download My Data, and it is among the

first to implement Green Button Connect

My Data. The difference is primarily auto-

mation but with corresponding increases

in privacy and security protections.

Download is the easiest to implement

and fits nearly every regulatory envi-

ronment that supports Internet access.

Connect is more involved from an infor-

mation technology perspective and might

require updates to regulatory policy but

simplifies access and authorization. In

either case, the value of doing so on

the utility side and the customer side

is increasing. Most utilities already have

dozens of needs to share consumption

data with contracted third parties, as well

as mandated data sharing for regulatory,

efficiency measurement and verification or

academic needs. Converging these feeds

to a single format in the case of Download

or a single data service in the case of

Connect is more efficient and easier to

manage. SDG&E reports high demand

for Connect requests from commercial

accounts and their service provider base,

although the service is still in pilot mode.

Chris King, global chief regulatory officer

of Siemens Smart Grid Solutions, referred

to the eMeter Meter

Data Management

System and said

utilities and ven-

dors can reduce the

number of custom

interfaces they need

to spend time and money on by migrat-

ing to Connect for within-enterprise data

exchange needs. For customers, the appli-

cations that serve commercial and residen-

tial customers continue to grow (although

Cabin Buddy does not exists just yet).

EnerNOC, the demand response com-

pany, recently announced its support of

Green Button data in some measurement

and verification applications.

Having a common standard is great but

does not guarantee that each implementa-

tion of the standard will result in identical

outputs, that is, the domain of a testing

and certification process. Developers have

encountered variations in Green Button

files from different implementing utilities,

which is normal at this point, and the uni-

formity is still light-years ahead of the pre-

cursor alternative, the Comma Separated

Value or CSV format (which served as

the basis for Jane’s actions in scenario

one). To meet the needs of utilities, indus-

try vendors and third-party vendors, the

UCAIug is creating test plans and a certi-

fication program for Download My Data

and Connect My Data, and the Electric

Power Research Institute is supporting

that effort with test case development and

additional tools. With the compounding

benefits of interoperability, this will serve

1305PG_22 22 5/3/13 4:02 PM


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24 | May 2013www.power-grid.com24 | May 2013www.power-grid.com

BY RICHARD SCHERTZ, ONCOR, AND GREG LEON, EDX WIRELESS

The utility selected EDX SignalPro

software, which combines geographic

information system (GIS) mapping

capabilities with propagation analysis

and automated network layout tools that

provide for efficient dimensioning and

placement of infrastructure equipment.

The software incorporates a 3-D

model of the geographical area of inter-

est, which is built up using a digital

elevation model, land-use data and

building and structure data.

The 3-D model is critical so the

physical issues that affect the perfor-

mance of a complex AMI network can

be accounted for in the design, particu-

larly for rural areas with variant terrain.

After a model is created, the planning

Oncor, the largest electric

transmission and distribution

utility in Texas, accomplished a huge

feat in 2012 when it completed the four-

year deployment of advanced meters

at more than 3.2 million homes and

businesses across more than 100,000

square miles of service territory.

The successful deployment was the

largest installation of the most advanced

meters in the nation.

But along with the advanced metering

infrastructure (AMI) deployment came

the need for a cost-effective way to link

results from infrastructure-heavy urban

environments with that of less-dense

areas of the company’s footprint.

THE PROBLEM

After the Oncor AMI project was com-

plete and operational in many urban

areas, the utility determined that the same

system design used in more populated

areas would not work in sparsely popu-

lated regions because projected costs per

meter served would far exceed the cost

per meter served in urban areas. Design

methodology changes were needed to

achieve a cost-effective deployment in

rural areas where meter density is low.

THE SOLUTION

Oncor developed a plan for rural areas

that incorporated lessons learned in urban

deployment using internal engineering

resources and applying advanced radio

frequency (RF) engineering design

methods and tools.

Like most things in the RF world,

design is an iterative process.

But with the many millions of potential

RF links, some form of design automation

software is critical.

An assessment was taken of

engineering software tools that were

capable of performing RF analysis

of mesh networks and the optimal

design methodologies for Oncor’s

geographically diverse service area.

Richard Schertz is a senior network architect and professional engineer at Oncor. He

recently implemented the RF design standards and processes for Oncor’s AMI network and

was instrumental in the RF engineering for and deployment of Oncor’s smart grid networks.

He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Texas Tech University and an MBA

from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Greg Leon is director of business development at EDX Wireless and focuses on

assisting smart grid vendors, consultants and utilities to better design and deploy their

wireless networks. Leon has a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from the

University of Iowa and a master’s degree in telecommunications from the Interdisciplinary

Telecommunications Program at the University of Colorado-Boulder, where he was a Digital

Energy Fellow.

C A S E S T U D Y :

1305PG_24 24 5/3/13 4:02 PM



of the complex mesh architecture can be accomplished in a

way that respects the unique physical issues of the service

area and the capacity constraints of the vendor’s equipment.

The product is designed to support large-scale AMI mesh

networks and accurate modeling of morphologies from the

dense, large pine trees of East Texas to the sparse vegetation

and plateaus of West Texas.

AMI MESH ARCHITECTURE

As shown in Figure 1, the AMI mesh architecture

implemented by Oncor consists of a data processing center,

more than 400 collection radios called collectors, 11,000

repeaters or routers and electric meters on customer premises.

The collectors are connected to the data processing center

by circuit or cellular modem.

ONCOR’S AMI MESH NETWORK 1

1305PG_25 25 5/3/13 4:02 PM



2 3

Meters can report directly to a

collector, router or another meter,

adding complexity to the design

process.

One or more routers can communicate

directly to a collector.

The maximum number of router

hops should not exceed 14.

The maximum reliable router hop

count is limited to 10 in densely

forested areas because the router-to-

router RF connections often experience

signal degradation.

DATA GATHERING

To perform an effective RF design, a

utility must gather data from various

sources.

The first set of data consists of

spreadsheets that detail the meter

number and location gathered from

internal utility systems.

Another spreadsheet contains

potential router-mounting asset data,

such as pole information and loca-

tion of all poles with transformers and

streetlights in the design area, and

was generated from distribution asset

records.

Poles with streetlights and transform-

ers are used as router locations because

they have accessible power.

The last set of internal data is a list

of substations and the location of each

substation that can be used as a collec-

tor site.

AMI SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS

The specifications of the radios for

the collectors, routers and meters are

obtained from the manufacturer of the

radio equipment.

The minimum data required includes

the transmit power of all radios, antenna

gain, polarization and receiver-required

signal-to-noise ratio.

Network specifications provided by the

manufacturer included hops for failure

of a transmission to or from a meter, the

number of meters that can report through

a collector and the optimal spacing of

routers around a collector.

RF MODELING, ANALYSIS

After all site and equipment

information is gathered, the information

can be loaded into EDX SignalPro.

The next phase is to set the RF propa-

gation tool parameters and databases

for the design area.

The required information includes a

database that contains the terrain eleva-

tions throughout the design area, street

and road maps and a clutter database

that models land usage.

Clutter data consists of desert, range-

land, farmland, forests and urban and

suburban areas.

Each of these clutter types has a

TERRAIN ELEVATIONS TERRAIN CLUTTER

1305PG_26 26 5/3/13 4:02 PM



4 5

preferred router locations.

Once the router layer is defined, the

design tool can be used to determine

potential mesh routing from the routers

back to the collectors.

The modeling tool uses similar mod-

eling techniques described, but the

hop count system parameter must be

included in the router mesh layer.

Additional design considerations

include:

• Locating repeaters and routers on

top of plateaus and other high

spots to take advantage of the ter-

rain;

• Using company assets such as tow-

ers for collector locations; and

• Placing intermediate routers on

links that are encumbered by ter-

rain or clutter.

DESIGN EXAMPLE

An example of the design analysis

distinct effect on RF propagation.

The modeling tool accounts for each

clutter type in a different way.

Figure 2 shows the terrain denoted

by the bright green at

the higher elevations

and blue at the lower

elevations.

Figure 3 shows

clutter on top of the

terrain. Dark green

denotes forests, light

green is open or

rangeland and blue is lakes.

Once the parameters and terrain or

geographic databases are defined and

mapped, the RF design tool is used to

automatically select router locations.

The RF modeling tool accomplishes

this by:

• Calculating the signal strength

from the candidate router loca-

tion to meter level along a radial

from an omnidirectional antenna

in 1-degree increments along the

360 radials around the antenna;

• Using the terrain database to deter-

mine where terrain

blockage of the sig-

nal occurs;

• Using the clutter

database to represent

land coverage struc-

tures and types that

will block or attenu-

ate the RF signal;

• Determining when the signal

strength transmitted to or from a

meter drops below an acceptable

level;

• Using point-to-point link calcula-

tions so a meter can hop through

an adjacent meter to a router; and

• Using automation techniques

to analyze a large set of candi-

date routers and identifying the

The modeling tool accounts for each clutter type in a different way.

PREMISE METERS THAT MUST BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE AMI SYSTEM

ALL POLES WITH TRANSFORMERS, STREETLIGHTS

1305PG_27 27 5/3/13 4:02 PM



6 7

upon the urban design model called for

three collectors and 245 routers.

The final implementation, based on

the method described here, used two

collectors and 115 routers.

The savings in capital was some

$340,000 for the 5,200 meters in the

service area, or $65 per meter.

This design was successfully

deployed, and all meters were served

without further optimization.

Subsequently, this method was used

for the remainder of the Oncor AMI

infrastructure design in rural areas,

which resulted in a cost savings of more

than $4 million.

Oncor also is using the software

and expertise developed during AMI

deployment to optimize distribution

automation RF mesh design and plans

to use the tool for microwave path anal-

ysis and transmission dynamic line rat-

ing RF-based monitoring systems.

process is shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6.

Figure 4 shows the location of all the

premise meters that must be accessed

through the AMI sys-

tem.

Figure 5 shows the

location of all the poles

with transformers and

street lights.

Figure 6 shows a

completed design with

all the collectors and

routers placed to opti-

mize meter coverage

and minimize infra-

structure costs.

The lines are the mesh links between

routers and routers and collectors.

A significant amount of link redun-

dancy is evident.

Link redundancy is desirable to miti-

gate the effect that the failure of a single

router can have.

Also, this design has two collectors

that enable a ring topology.

Because a ring is formed, a collector

failure can be overcome

by routing around the

loop.

The hop count will

increase, but reliability

is maintained.

Figure 7 is a detailed

view of mesh linking.

CONCLUSION

The design process

is complex, and a cost-

optimized solution cannot be achieved

by simple rule-of-thumb design.

Through its aggressive efforts and sig-

nificant planning, Oncor implemented

a new structure that provided a great

cost savings in overall deployment and

in rural areas.

The original infrastructure plan based

COMPLETED DESIGN WITH ALL COLLECTORS, ROUTERS

DETAILED VIEW OF MESH LINKING

The savings in capital was some $340,000 for the 5,200 meters: $65 per meter.

1305PG_28 28 5/3/13 4:02 PM


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1305PG_29 29 5/3/13 4:02 PM





A Holistic Data Analytics Strategy is Critical for Smart Grid Projects

BY ROBERT SHERICK, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON, AND STEVE EHRLICH, SPACE-TIME INSIGHT

in climate, topography, environmental

concerns and other public policy issues.

Data analysis is a central part of the

ISGD. SCE needs to keep close tabs on

what’s working and what’s not so it can

suggest improvements to the design and

Smart grids will figure prominent-

ly in the power landscape of the

future. In cities, states and countries the

world over, the foundation is being laid

for infrastructure, products and services

that incorporate greener power sources

and innovative technologies that maxi-

mize efficiency.

This is a vital evolution, but one that’s

still in its early stages. Fully modernized

smart grids will take time and some

trial and error to get right, which is why

efforts to test, validate and measure the

success of approaches are imperative.

A smart approach to smart grid

development is especially important in

California.

The state’s goal is to have 33 percent

of its power mix come from renewable

sources by 2020.

Utilities, power generators, grid oper-

ators, the public utilities commission

and other industry players all have a

stake in identifying technologies that

support this objective.

Case in point: as one of California’s

(and the nation’s) largest electric utili-

ties, Southern California Edison (SCE)

is focused on finding ways to deliver

power to consumers safely, reliably, sus-

tainably and cost-effectively.

This is the impetus behind the Irvine

Smart Grid Demonstration (ISGD) proj-

ect, which is managed and led by

SCE and funded through the American

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of

2009.

The project is designed to demon-

strate the interoperability and efficacy

of smart grid technologies within a

controlled environment. ISGD will be

deployed at the University of California,

Irvine (UCI) and SCE’s MacArthur

Substation in Newport Beach. The

location sites are typical of heavily

populated areas of Southern California

Robert Sherick is principal manager for grid advancement and power systems technologies for

Southern California Edison, one of the largest U.S. electric utilities. SCE delivers power to more than 14

million people in central, coastal and Southern California.

Steve Ehrlich is senior vice president of marketing and product development for Space-Time

Insight, a provider of next-generation situational intelligence solutions.

1305PG_30 30 5/3/13 4:03 PM


In here, meters keep in touch, so your crews don’t have to.

In the network of possibilities, meters report usage in

real time. The power grid monitors itself to identify

problems before they become outages. And utilities

put resources where they’re needed most. As the

only communications provider offering complete

smart grid solutions, AT&T is a partner you can

rely on to manage your data, so you can focus on

managing your power grid.

Discover what AT&T Smart Grid Solutions can do for you at

att.com/smartergrid

© 2012 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other AT&T marks contained herein are trademarks of

AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.


1305PG_31 31 5/3/13 4:03 PM

http://att.com/smartergrid



customizing point-to-point digital inte-

gration between devices and systems is

cost-prohibitive.

Organizations need a way to cost-

effectively correlate, analyze and pres-

ent information as a cohesive whole so

decision-makers can understand the big

picture.

3Governance. Just as smart grid

assets and devices are widely dis-

tributed, so is the responsibility for

managing all of the data components

involved.

Multiple stakeholders might need to

take part in smart grid decision-mak-

ing, from operators and technology

providers to back and front office utility

company staff, policymakers and even

consumers.

These multiple stakeholders have tra-

ditional uses for “their” data.

Understanding the usefulness this

data provides to others will take time

and might lead to new processes within

an organization.

Data analysis solutions therefore must

consider the needs of diverse informa-

tion consumers and varying levels of

access.

4Security. Finally, data

security and privacy

issues require careful con-

sideration.

Smart grid data con-

tains more detailed data

on customer energy usage

and electric system opera-

tions.

Customer confidential-

ity and privacy must be

protected.

As the data collected about consumer

behavior becomes more granular, pro-

tecting this information is essential.

Equally important is maintaining a

performance of the smart grid technol-

ogies that are part of the demonstration

project.

But this task can get challenging as

more streams of information are gener-

ated by sensors, devices, equipment

and systems throughout the grid.

The following are some key consid-

erations organizations need to consider

as they launch smart grid projects that

require in-depth awareness of an array

of moving parts:

1Volume. Massive data volumes

otherwise known as big data chal-

lenge many organizations, and this

trend is particularly acute in the power

industry. Newer technologies such as

synchrophasors, advanced distribution

equipment, smart meters and smart

appliances, in addition to traditional

operational systems and devices, are

producing an avalanche of real-time

information. Managed wisely, this data

is a valuable asset that helps stakehold-

ers efficiently orchestrate grid opera-

tions, stay on top of potential issues and

predict requirements. Managed poorly,

it can become an overwhelming burden

that’s problematic to store and maintain.

An ability to process and interpret large

quantities of data quickly is key.

2Complexity. Volume, however, is

only one part of the equation. In

smart grid environments, the diver-

sity of data sources and the pace at

which information is generated add

complexity to information analysis that

is unprecedented.

For example, data may be generated

in real time by thousands of devices

and source systems from smart meters

and in-home thermostats to sensors on

solar panels, transform-

ers, circuits and other

infrastructure.

When multiple sources

and formats of data are in

play, switching between

application screens, com-

paring numbers from

piles of spreadsheets or

weeding through static

text documents to find

and analyze critical infor-

mation is neither effective nor efficient.

These manual, ad-hoc approaches to

data management are too slow, cumber-

some and prone to error. Meanwhile,

Utilities need to consider four things as they launch smart grid projects: volume, complexity, governance and security.

1305PG_32 32 5/3/13 4:03 PM



improved monitoring and control sys-

tems. The optimization of the interac-

tion of these devices within the distri-

bution grid will be a large component of

a smarter grid. This device integration

and the associated data analysis will

be the next challenge for utilities. The

increasing volume and complexity of

data from these devices also will require

a renewed data governance model and

a highly secure cybersystem to ensure

data is collected, processed and visual-

ized to enable smart, secure decision-

making.

As smart grid projects gain momen-

tum, power industry stakeholders must

be able to closely track the cost, benefits

and impacts of new technologies and

understand how all elements of the

grid are coming together in real time to

bring greener power to consumers.

With so much data streaming in from

so many sources, a holistic, situational

approach to information analysis will

help organizations transform moun-

tains of smart grid data into valuable

insight that helps them forge a safe,

sustainable and successful path.

vehicle charging on off-peak energy

consumption; and keep tabs on on-site

solar generation and energy storage

systems and overall grid reliability. Key

to making this work is the software’s

ability to correlate and analyze real-time

and historical data from

diverse sources seam-

lessly so decision-makers

get an accurate, complete

view of what’s happen-

ing throughout the smart

grid at a glance. Also

important are innovative

visualization techniques

such as color-coding, 3-D

representations and ani-

mation, which help infor-

mation consumers intuitively make

sense of complex data.

Looking beyond the ISGD proj-

ect, SCE anticipates the technology

deployed in ISGD will be adopted

increasingly throughout the SCE service

area. Interconnected devices and infor-

mation—programmable thermostats,

electric vehicles, storage devices and

distributed generation—will require

secure, reliable electrical system. The

increased points of entry to a smart

grid must be secured and managed to

maintain overall system reliability of the

transmission and distribution systems.

A robust cybersecurity system is criti-

cal to the success of the smart grid,

and monitoring this cybersecurity land-

scape will require analyzing security data

through improved visualization tools.

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

WITH SITUATIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Because a smart grid project encom-

passes multiple technology assets, big

data sources and stakeholders, a secure,

situationally aware approach to infor-

mation analysis is critical. Decision-

makers must be able to digest and

analyze large volumes of real-time

information holistically instead of in

a piecemeal fashion where important

connections might be missed.

In the case of the ISGD

project, SCE selected a

situational intelligence

software solution from

Space-Time Insight that

combines multidimen-

sional spatial maps with

sophisticated analytics

to build visualizations of

structured and unstruc-

tured data from different

underlying domains.

This solution serves as the eyes of

the ISGD, enabling project participants

to quickly see, understand and assess

the performance of the many diverse

technologies deployed within the dem-

onstration. For example, SCE can use

the situational intelligence software to

do things such as: analyze the costs

and benefits of circuit voltage optimiza-

tion; understand the impact of electric

As smart grid projects gain momentum, stakeholders must closely track the cost, benefts and impacts of new technologies.

1305PG_33 33 5/3/13 4:03 PM



Entergy’s James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in Scriba, N.Y.

1305PG_34 34 5/3/13 4:03 PM



Utilities often struggle with balancing

their budgets, including capital for

new investments and operational needs

to manage existing assets while focusing

on reliability. At the same time, emergency

outages create rippling effects throughout

a system and lead to stretched budgets and

concerned customers. Power transformers

are one answer to these problems.

Preventative maintenance of transform-

ers with proactive upgrades can provide

maximum output and prevent costly

repairs or change outs. Utilities that want

to capitalize on the benefits of their opera-

tions as the smart grid evolves can rely

on end-to-end solutions focused on the

complete life cycle management of their

transformers.

As with all smart grid systems, technol-

ogy is used to interface with other devices

in the network to assist with stability and

monitoring. In the event of an outage, the

smart grid can locate failures and notify

operators. For instance, during a portion

of its smart grid implementation to tie in

distribution substations throughout the

Houston area, a customer required recur-

ring switching at its distribution substa-

tions. It needed a solution that could deliv-

er real-time load availability on existing

transformers while constantly monitoring

the health of the asset to extend their lives.

Siemens Smart Grid Services provided a

TMDS transformer monitoring and diag-

nostic system to directly address the issues.

Because of multiple switching cycles,

transformers undergo extraneous stress

in managing power distribution, which

can decrease their life span. Transformer

monitoring and diagnostic technology can

monitor transformer loads and record data

while providing diagnostic tools that can

help turn raw data into actionable infor-

mation. This information is transformed

using advanced modeling based on a

particular utility’s transmission and distri-

bution system. The technology can help

avoid unplanned failures, lower mainte-

nance costs and extend useful transformer

life, allowing asset owners to take correc-

tive action before problems occur.

Because of the complex relationships

between how the transformer performs

and how it is expected to perform during

infinite scenarios, system implementation

requires expertise in transformers, as well

as data integration and analysis. With

the right technology, customers gain real-

time transformer loading with minimal life

reduction, reduced frequency and dura-

tion of outages and are moving from time-

based to condition-based maintenance.

Such expert monitoring systems can

facilitate asset condition-based equipment

servicing for extended asset life span. When

it comes to equipment servicing, it’s often

a misnomer in the industry that a certain

company can only work on certain equip-

ment. Fortunately, IEEE standards univer-

sally guide technicians, and Occupational

Safety and Health Administration regula-

tions prepare everyone, regardless of their

affiliation, to do the job safely. Although

standards and qualifications are essential,

there are many other factors to consider,

such as project management skills, indi-

vidual and group experience, reliability

BY NIHIT BHARDWAJ, SIEMENS

Nihit Bhardwaj is the product line manager

for transformer life cycle management at

Siemens Smart Grid Systems and Services.

Reach Bhardwaj at nihit.bhardwaj@siemens.

com or 919-274-0335.

1305PG_35 35 5/3/13 4:03 PM




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We are proud to announce the release of the newest

functionality of the Tettex 2293 Winding Analyzer: the

Turns Ration Measurement application. With this addition,

��

that combines resistance / turns ratio measurement,

demagnetization, and heat run test in one instrument.

��Power Transformers

��Distribution Transformers

��All Types of HV Windings

N E W ! T U R N S R A T I O A P P L I C A T I O N

a brand ofHaefely and Hipotronics are

subsidiaries of Hubbell Incorporated.

+ 41 61 373 4111

[email protected]

��The 2293 is an automatic winding analyzer, optimized for

three phase power and distribution transformer measurements.

performing civil analysis, etc. For a

nominal investment, these activities

can be planned and can save valuable

downtime when a transformer needs to

be replaced in an emergency.

No one looks forward to emergen-

cy service. It’s costly, time-consuming

and has the potential to derail other

important tasks. Transformer replacement

programs are driven by prioritizing trans-

formers according to their condition and

their contribution to network reliability, so

transformers in the most critical locations

and in the worst condition are the first to

get replaced. Utilities must continue their

focus on contingency planning and sched-

uled maintenance, which allow transform-

ers to play a critical role in efficient, reliable

power delivery.

fail before their predicted end of life. Once

a failure occurs, damage control becomes

the top priority. How quickly power can

be rerouted or the failed transformer can

be replaced will determine the extent of

lost revenues.

Having a detailed replacement plan on

the shelf can save millions in downtime

costs. Even when a spare transformer is

available on-site, days might be wasted

developing hauling plans, comparing criti-

cal dimensions of the spare transformer,

and especially references.

Recently Siemens was called dur-

ing an emergency outage at genera-

tion station in the Northeast when a

competitor’s transformer had failed

unexpectedly.

Several years prior, Siemens was

involved in another project at that

station and had provided turnkey

installation of a new transformer.

This time, however, the customer needed

to have its failed transformer disconnected

and moved and the spare slid into place.

The move was completed in record time,

and power was restored to a critical gen-

eration station.

Ideally, a transformer is replaced just

before it reaches its end of life. In real-

ity, however, no matter how scientific a

replacement methodology is, forced out-

ages still occur because some transformers

An Entergy transformer in Sterlington, La.

1305PG_37 37 5/3/13 4:03 PM





BY KEVIN JONES, ACRT INC.

management plan can be achieved by

following these steps:

• STEP 1: Assess the system. By

combining the expertise of trained

arborists with statistical sampling

and modeling techniques, a util-

ity can determine the impact veg-

etation could have on a utility’s

circuits. With this knowledge, the

most effective action can be deter-

mined for ongoing vegetation

management. Without it, planning

becomes difficult.

• STEP 2: Perform a pre-inspec-

tion. Skilled arborists who walk a

utility’s system note the location,

condition and growth rate of veg-

etation and line clearance require-

ments. They tag trees and shrubs

for removal or trimming and enter

The measure of a utility’s success

is based on reliability. When the

power goes out, the failure can be mea-

sured by the number of customers affect-

ed by the interruption of service and

associated emergency line clearance and

restoration expenses.

Having a strategic, comprehensive

vegetation management plan can help

utilities lessen the likelihood that trees

will cause an outage.

“The issue with managing the veg-

etation is one of mitigation of cost and

risk,” said Richard Jackson of Arbor

Intelligence. “It obviously is not pos-

sible to maintain a distribution system

that eliminates all tree-related outages.

In terms of vegetation management, we

think it is best to express success in

terms of balance. A system that is con-

stantly being managed, or constantly

striving to not be managed as complex

adaptive systems tend to do, will display

greater volatility as the system is pushed

further from its equilibrium.”

In addition, balanced utility vegetation

management (UVM) programs are vital

to reducing a utility’s overall operating

costs and preventing unforeseen ones.

Considerable overtime charges gener-

ated by tree and wire issues can be pre-

vented with UVM programs.

Having a sound vegetation

Kevin Jones is a business development

manager with ACRT Inc. and an ISA Certified

Arborist and Utility Specialist. Reach him at

at [email protected].

STRATEGIC VEGETATIONManagement Contributo Improved Reliability

1305PG_38 38 5/3/13 4:03 PM




�� ï �� ï ��

RELIABILITY PERSONIFIEDFrom work planning and notification, to safe and efficient line

clearance, to emergency storm response, we take reliability seriously.


submitted back to the contract tree

crews for correction.

Vegetation management is key to pre-

venting outages, but some might be

reluctant to get started by investing in

a system assessment because they think

the money could be used to get more

tree work done.

Lake Region Electric Cooperative

Operations Manager Joe Belz under-

stands that reservation. He said that

without a comprehensive plan, however,

utilities have no way of knowing how to

wisely and effectively spend their main-

tenance dollars. The common saying, “If

you can’t measure it, you can’t manage

it,” aptly applies to vegetation manage-

ment, he said.

The cooperative’s CEO, Tim

to ensure vegetation regrowth won’t

create issues before the next trimming

cycle. It also determines the order of

work, which is crucial when consid-

ering cost.

• STEP 3: Complete a post-audit.

Establishing accountability increas-

es the efficiency of a UVM program.

It might be naive to expect a con-

tractor to do anything but make a

profit, but with post-audit, the work

of tree-trimming crews is inspected

to determine whether they followed

the work plan and specifications.

Work is checked for proper prun-

ing (amount and techniques), as

well as scheduled tree removals and

herbicide applications. This ensures

premature regrowth does not pose

an issue. If a problem is found, it is

butes all the information into a database

for tracking. This data is used to

create detailed work plans, which

detail steps for tree-trimming crews

1305PG_39 39 5/3/13 4:03 PM




http://davey.com/utility


Customer Relations is Cornerstone of Successful UVM

Positive customer relations can contribute to the success of a utility

vegetation management program. A utility needs well-versed, courte-

ous representatives to foster positive public relations with customers

and notify them of tree-trimming or removal activities that will affect

them. When encountering the inevitable issue of a refusal, it is impera-

tive to engage the customer with a utility spokesperson trained in

conflict management. By properly communicating with a customer who

doesn’t want his tree disturbed despite the risk of interrupted electric

service, an experienced utility representative can help resolve the chal-

lenge, which leads to a more positive outcome.

1305PG_40 40 5/3/13 4:03 PM




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are completing restoration work.

Achieving the best vegetation man-

agement program requires a firm com-

mitment and resources. Following

these steps will help ensure the system

is properly maintained and eliminate

unnecessary costs for work that wasn’t

done or that was done improperly.

Thompson, said waiting adds to costs.

“The studies showed that if we didn’t

jump on these issues quickly, more and

more trees were going to become a prob-

lem and increase costs down the road,”

Thompson said. “It was a front-loaded

option but gave the best solutions for

the long run.”

Although a UVM composes a large

portion of costs for a utility, it’s impor-

tant to realize the connection between

increased overtime and reduced veg-

etation management. When utilities

defer maintenance, they push back trim

cycles. But the vegetation doesn’t stop

growing. The larger trees and brush

become, the more expensive vegetation

management becomes, especially when

it entails extra overtime for linemen who

FOLLOW A 3-STEPUVM PLAN

1

1305PG_41 41 5/3/13 4:03 PM



http://www.asplundh.com


How to Master BIG DATA for the Next-generation Utility

BY ANDY BANE AND PAUL K. BOWER, VENTYX

market data is available from many sourc-

es, and data on consumers such as data

generated by social media is becoming

increasingly important. Enterprise data is

produced and consumed at a rapid rate by

a growing number of applications, from

enterprise asset management and mobile

work force management to distribution

management, human resources and cus-

tomer-facing applications.

Much of this big data is unstructured,

or at best semi-structured, including

data pertaining to asset health conditions

(e.g., photos, maps and experience-based

expertise with specific assets). Much of

a utility’s historical data can be unstruc-

tured, as well, which presents challenges

around turning this data into structured

results that provide actionable insights. In

addition, as grid systems tie increasingly

into energy markets, utilities are having

Organizations across the power

industry are excited about big data’s

potential to address broad industry chal-

lenges and open opportunities for improv-

ing operations. These range from aging

assets managed by an aging work force to

better storm preparation and response to

enabling energy efficiency.

Big data that pours in from the smart

grid, social media, customer calls and

online forms, streaming video and pho-

tography that provide real-world views

of grid assets offer new opportunities for

utilities to improve asset health, accelerate

outage restoration and increase customer

satisfaction.

Driving these solutions, however,

requires more than merely managing big

data. It requires mastering it to tie systems

together in real time—bringing critical

context to the volume and variety of data

and making big data suitable for a wide

range of uses within the organization.

Effectively harnessing big data is essen-

tial to leveraging it for business benefit,

which means consolidating and then veri-

fying it as an authoritative source of busi-

ness-critical information trusted for use

by employees and applications across an

enterprise. Mastering big data means pro-

viding a utility with a single source of the

truth to power improved decision-making

to drive greater operational performance.

THE FOUR V’S OF BIG DATA:

VOLUME, VELOCITY,

VARIETY, VERACITY

By itself, big data creates more chal-

lenges than solutions for utilities. It is also

about the fast-growing variety of data and

data sources, the increased velocity with

which data is created and shared, and the

trustworthiness or veracity of that data—

all of which combine to make big data dif-

ficult to master to gain big insights without

much manipulation and analysis.

Volumes of data are flowing into utili-

ties. For example, massive amounts of

equipment-condition data is generated

every second by smart sensors, monitors

and intelligent devices across the grid

and across day-to-day utility operations.

External data such as weather, credit and

Andy Bane is executive vice president of product management and chief of strategy for Ventyx.

He is responsible for overseeing product management and strategy and new product intro-

duction. He has a degree from the University of Colorado.

Paul K. Bower is senior vice president and general manager for advanced business intelligence

solutions at Ventyx, an ABB company. Prior to Ventyx, he was a co-founder and chief technology

offcer of Obvient Strategies, co-founder and vice president of technical services of CES, leader

of the development team for a revenue and demand management system at Northwest

Airlines, and a developer and system architect at Siemens.

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1305PG_42 42 5/3/13 4:03 PM



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In turn, big data from these

systems can be leveraged to

improve planning for outages,

predicting equipment failures,

responding to weather events,

and optimizing the flow of ener-

gy and information across the

network—mastering a data man-

agement life cycle.

EXPLORING THE DATA

MANAGEMENT LIFE CYCLE

Mastering the management of

data along this life cycle of plan-

ning, predicting, responding and

optimizing operations requires

mastering numerous types of big

data. But if done successfully, the possibili-

ties for improved operations and decision-

making are just as numerous.

PLAN: IMPROVING STORM

PLANNING, OUTAGE RESTORATION

When utilities prepare for potentially

disruptive events such as storms, planning

and operating models are put into play

using data from previous years combined

with current information on critical assets

across the network. Many things must be

determined, including likely areas of dam-

age, the best location for materials, person-

nel planning and crew placement, ser-

vices to shelters, and how to interact with

municipalities and affected customers.

to process and manage complex

events, which further complicates

the data management challenge.

Meanwhile, new technologies such

as electric vehicles (EVs) and dis-

tributed energy resources only will

complicate matters (e.g., how will

EV-charging data be collected and

transformed into insights?).

All of this data, new and old,

must be mastered to generate

actionable insight.

HARNESSING BIG DATA

WITH MASTER DATA

The best way to master big

data is by taking a master data

approach. A master data approach pro-

vides a central source of business data used

across workgroups, systems, applications

and processes. Master data is consolidated,

authoritative and trustworthy. It has been

standardized, de-duplicated, cleansed and

validated. Its distribution often central-

ized through a management hub, master

data provides a single source of truth to

all stakeholders inside and outside an

enterprise.

The explosion of data utilities are tack-

ling comes from operational technology

sources such as sensors and information

technology (IT) sources such as enter-

prise business applications. It all needs

to be put into context and verified for

accuracy. By ensuring veracity, master data

enables utilities to use their data—big and

conventional, operational technology and

IT, transactional and interactional—in a

just-in-time manner to better manage the

grid. Master data also is pivotal to leverag-

ing external data, such as social network

streams and weather information, putting

the data in context so it is useful for senti-

ment analysis and other analytics.

Master data is pivotal to successful

convergence of operational technology

and IT within a utility. With operational

technology and IT in alignment, func-

tional and physical views of equipment

are brought together along with real-

time data from operational sources to

feed real-time and historical business

analytic solutions that drive real-time

and predictive visibility. This enterprise

visibility is the key to making better

operational and strategic decisions.

As a result, master data will enable

solutions to encompass multiple types

of big data, which will enable utilities

to deploy broad strategies and solutions

that span numerous disparate systems

and business processes.

Volume Velocity

Veracity Variety

THE FOUR V’s OF BIG DATA 1

1305PG_43 43 5/3/13 4:03 PM



diverse big data into consistent informa-

tion usable for predictive analytics, as well

as in the field to put the results of analytics

into action.

RESPOND: REACTING

MORE EFFICIENTLY, EFFECTIVELY

TO EVENTS

The capture of unstructured data from

sources also can accelerate and increase

the effectiveness of a utility’s response to

network events. This plays out in multiple

ways, but here we focus on an outage

management example. The analysis of

huge amounts of weather data can help

shape a utility’s response to fast-changing

weather conditions. Valuable information

about developing conditions and customer

satisfaction after restoration efforts also can

be harvested from customers via social net-

work streams. Social media channels also

can be used to broadcast or precisely target

messages to customers regarding outage

conditions and restoration efforts and time

lines. Flyover data gathered from drones

can be mapped against existing spatial

data to show impassable roads, downed

lines, flood areas and more to optimize

restoration. When this is combined with

network management and enterprise

historical data on an asset and the expertise

of those most familiar with maintaining a

given asset.

American Electric Power Co. Inc.

(AEP), one of the largest electric utilities

in the United States, is implementing an

asset health center to leverage big data

in this way.

The solution eventually will be applied

across all AEP transmission substations

and integrate equipment-derived opera-

tional technology data with intelligent IT

applications. Thus, it will bring together in

a single system a range of disparate asset

data, algorithms based on subject-matter

expertise and analytic software to trans-

form how AEP maintains its transmission

infrastructure.

Big data also can enhance significantly

the safety, accuracy and quality of actions

carried out in the field.

Consider a field technician who is wear-

ing a pair of safety goggles equipped with

a heads-up display that provides informa-

tion related to the equipment he’s looking

at, including maintenance actions, proce-

dures, notes, tags and even video.

Whether information is flowing into, out

of or within an organization, master data

management is at the core of transforming

Big data has a proportionally big role to

play. For example, the increasing use of

drones to map transmission and distribu-

tion assets and the environment in which

they reside is extremely valuable in plan-

ning even though it unleashes a flood of

unstructured mapping data that must be

managed.

Big data also can be used predictively,

including data on asset health and net-

work reliability. With this data, solutions

can model more accurately and effectively

the impact of storms, earthquakes or other

disasters against the health of the overall

network, including its structures and con-

nections. Big data is there to be leveraged.

As it is taken to the analytic environment,

the data must be consolidated, matched

and verified for quality and consistency so

it is fit for use across end user applications.

Progressive-thinking utilities understand

this need.

For instance, Computerworld.com

recently reported that Reid Nuttall, chief

information officer at OGE Energy Corp.,

said the company has set up an informa-

tion “factory” and business analyst compe-

tency center to find ways to leverage the

data generated from thousands of smart

meters to drive business value, such as

reducing peak demand.

PREDICT: REPLACING REACTIVE

WITH PREDICTIVE SOLUTIONS

Predictive solutions such as asset health

use real-time analytics to get ahead of

potential or developing situations. Asset

health solutions, for example, use real-

time analytics, historical data, operating

history, etc., to flag assets that are trend-

ing toward failure so action can be taken

before failures.

Big data enriches this area. For instance,

asset health applications analyze real-time

sensor data on an asset’s condition and

Optimize Predict

Plan

Respond

HR and Payroll

Meter Data Management

GIS, GPS and VLT

OMS/DMS

Enterprise Asset Management

Mobile Work Force Management Systems

Customer Systems

DMS/EMS/SCADA

Big External Data (such as weather, credit, fnancials)

Big

Indu

stria

l Ent

erpr

ise

Dat

a

Big Equipment Data (such as sensors, monitors)

THE DATA MANAGEMENT LIFE CYCLE 2

1305PG_44 44 5/3/13 4:03 PM

http://Computerworld.com



information required to comply with

market regulations.

TURNING BIG DATA

INTO BIG VALUE

Mastering the vast data available to utili-

ties is more than a technology challenge.

If it were just that, then it would be

solved by recent advances in big data pro-

cessing (e.g., Hadoop) and storage.

Big data also is a business challenge that

can be solved only by transforming big

data into business insights.

Mastering big data is essential to bring-

ing together the physical world of assets,

personnel and customers with the world

of systems, business processes and perfor-

mance metrics. It is the glue for aligning

operational technology and IT.

When a utility has mastered the four

V’s of big data, it can harness the tide of

big data to more effectively plan for and

manage outages, better manage its asset

base and capital expenditures, optimize

the flow of energy and enable new levels of

customer engagement.

Meaningful accomplishments are being

made using big data, but mastering the

data will enable utilities to drive a step

change in efficiency, productivity, return

on assets, network reliability, safety and

customer satisfaction.

used to develop more accurate fore-

casts about customer-level loads for

upcoming hours and days, as well as

to help optimize the usage of demand

response programs against current

market conditions.

In smart meter analytics, data man-

agement routines can cull through

15-minute interval data, aggregate it

to the substation level, and validate

and further consolidate the informa-

tion to make it usable from a control

standpoint. Analysis of this data com-

bined with customer profiling can help

smooth the load profile to

benefit customers. Going

farther into the customer

facility or home beyond

the meter, large volumes of

home energy network data

can be leveraged to design

and analyze demand

response and energy effi-

ciency programs.

A Fortune 500 utility

with more than 20 years

in direct load control pro-

grams recently implement-

ed a full demand response

program that empowers

customers with rate struc-

ture options that allow

them to control energy

usage based on demand and hourly rates.

It’s a big data play. Behind the curtains, the

company upgraded its data management

infrastructure with master data technology

so the operational technology data created

by smart thermostats, load control switch-

es and the like is delivered in a trusted,

usable form to its IT systems, including its

customer information system (CIS).

Consequently, the CIS can deliver

accurate daily and monthly forecasts,

and the utility can provide the accurate

information technology systems, utilities

can master big data to improve storm

responsiveness significantly while auto-

mating many decisions typically reliant

on multiple skilled workers.

This variety of information can be

overwhelming unless utilities reconcile

the information and transform the data

for consumption by decision-makers

and IT applications. CenterPoint Energy

integrated business intelligence and ana-

lytics into its advanced distribution auto-

mation system. As a result, CenterPoint’s

system enables complex data from dis-

parate systems to be assimilated and

presented to users in key functions

from operations and customer service to

resource and supply chain management

to simplify decision-making.

OPTIMIZE: STREAMLINING

ENERGY, INFORMATION FLOW

ACROSS THE NETWORK

The effective handling of big data starts

with demand response programs, where

big data that has been mastered can be

Volume

Value

Velocity

Veracity Variety

TURN BIG DATA INTO BIG VALUE 3

1305PG_45 45 5/3/13 4:03 PM


PRODUCTS


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equipment for use by the Lake Superior District Power Co.

1945 National Color-coding System

The American Standards Association recommends a national unified system

of colored markings to distinguish all physical hazards and the location of safety

equipment to identify fire and other protective equipment. Under the new code, red is

designated for fire equipment and hazards such as low-hanging pipes in passageways.

A combination of green and white is recommended for first-aid kits, dispensaries and

safety or “deluge” showers scattered around chemical areas.

1959 US Bests USSR Production

An evaluation of power production figures shows the U.S.S.R.

is well below U.S. production levels despite Nikita Khrushchev’s

Seven-Year Plan to overtake the U.S. in economic production.

1975 Toyota Boasts 5-passenger Electric Car

Toyota develops a five-passenger electric car said to have met all

of the company’s R&D goals. The prototype achieves a top speed

of 58 mph, a range of up to 125 miles and acceleration to 19 mph

in three seconds. The car is powered by a 192-V lead-acid battery

source of 159.5 ampere hours at the five-hour rate.

1998 What the heck is ‘green power’?

In the “National Residential Customer Monitor,” a 2007 report

by the Edison Electric Institute, only about 10 percent of the 1,000

U.S. residents interviewed acknowledge having recently obtained

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PRACTICUM

Attracting Graduates to Industry

Fo r t he i ndu s t r y ’ s c a r e e r - m ind e d p r o f e s s i ona l s SPRING 2013

A sup p l emen t t o P ennWe l l pub l i c a t i on s | w w w. P ennEne r g yJ O B S . c om

The New Leadership Needed in Energy

TRAINING INSIGHTS:

Skilled Transition

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2 EDITOR’S LETTER

Energizing the Next

Dorothy Davis, PennWell

3 The New Leadership Needed in Enegry

Dorothy Davis, PennWell

6 TRAINING INSIGHTS

Skilled Transition

Hilton Price, PennWell

10 CAREER INSIGHTS

Networking After College

Tony Lee, CareereCast.com

12 RECRUITERS PRACTICUM

Attracting Graduates to Industry

Jamie Ferguson, Maxwell Drummond

w w w . P e n n E n e r g y J O B S . c o m

SPRING 2013

A PENNWELL PUBL ICAT ION

Stacey Schmidt, Publisher

[email protected]

Dorothy Davis, Content Director

[email protected]

Hilton Price, Editor

[email protected]

Cindy Chamberlin, Art Director

[email protected]

Daniel Greene, Production Manager

[email protected]

Tommie Grigg,

Audience Development Manager

[email protected]

PennWell Corporation

1421 South Sheridan Road

Tulsa, Oklahoma 74112

918 835 3161

PennWell.com

Recruitment Advertising Sales:

Brent Eklund

Petroleum Account Executive

720 535 1264

[email protected]

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2 Spring 2013 | FOR JOB OPPORTUNITIES, VISIT www.PennEnergyJOBS.com | EnergyWorkforce

Ed i to r ’ s

Le t t e r

AS a member of the PennWell team, PennEnergy’s parent company, I am fast

approaching my seventh year of being engaged in energy. Although my initial

career ambitions were not remotely tied to energy, the knowledge and relationships I

have gained in this industry have changed the course of how I plan to spend the rest of

my working life.

In preparing for this issue, what kept returning was the need to engage the next

group of energy professionals. How do we pass on the passion and commitment needed

to keep this vital industry thriving? We begin by exploring the new leadership needed

in energy on page 3.

For those just starting their

careers, one of the toughest

challenges can be making

the skilled transition from

the classroom to the feld.

On page 6 PennEnergy

speaks with three graduates

of BP’s Challenge Program,

a corporate initiative that

addresses this learning gap to

empower new energy professionals to maximize their careers.

Rounding out this edition are insights from career experts with CareerCast

and global search consultancy Maxwell Drummond. Job seekers will learn how to

effectively network after college on page 10, while recruiters will gain an understanding

of what it takes to attract new graduates to the industry on page 12.

PennEnergy is immersed in the companies, projects, policies and people that impact

all segments of our industry. Most importantly, we are charged with providing content

resources that matter to the true experts, the energy workforce, so you might energize

the next.

Carpe diem!

—Dorothy Davis

Energizing the Next

“Although my initial career ambitions were not remotely

tied to energy, the knowledge and relationships I have

gained in this industry have changed the course of

how I plan to spend the rest of my working life.”

1304PEJEW_2 2 4/15/13 10:46 AM


Cover STORY

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EnergyWorkforce | FOR JOB OPPORTUNITIES, VISIT www.PennEnergyJOBS.com | Spring 2013 3

The New Leadership Needed in EnergyBy Dorothy Davis

IN the Fall semester of 2012 The

University of Tulsa (TU) launched

a new energy focused post-graduate

degree offering, the online Master

of Energy Business program. As the

content director for PennEnergy, I was

invited to join a speaking panel that

would address the frst class.

Initially, I chose to focus my speech

on the growing trend of integration be-

tween the power and oil & gas sectors.

However, the night before my presen-

tation I had the opportunity to attend

a dinner with those students and enjoy

several presentations from prominent

members of the energy industry. What

I heard that evening not only inspired

me to shift the focus of my presentation

for those incoming TU post-grads, but

was successful in setting me on a path of

active industry advocacy and education.

Along with learning about some ex-

citing new project developments and the

robust growth of the energy sectors, what

stood out was the enthusiastic call from

those already tenured in the industry to

encourage those in attendance to seek

positions of leadership. What they want-

ed most for the energy sectors was to in-

spire others to take up the mantles of re-

sponsibility, service and innovation.

Part of what was so

moving about this expe-

rience is that until my

move to Tulsa, Okla-

homa, in 2001, I had

next to no knowledge of

the industry that pow-

ered my world. While

raised and educated in

New York City as a mas-

sive consumer of energy

products and services,

the industry remained

something abstract for

me. Even as an active

member of community

programs which focused on raising envi-

ronmental awareness, energy remained

a peripheral. I was disconnected from

just how connected I was.

In late 2006 I began my career with

PennWell, a business to business media

company serving the energy sectors. I

came into this feld with a background

in human services and communica-

tions, but found here an opportunity to

maximize my existing skills and chal-

lenge me toward establishing a success-

ful new career. A career that for me, and

I am certain for many you, has since be-

come a passion.

Now here I am, a pro-

fessional under 40 going

into my seventh year

within a corporation

that has been function-

ing in energy for over a

century. As a young pro-

fessional in service to an

industry both vast and

demanding I can no lon-

ger imagine doing any-

thing else. Energy after

all touches everything.

While my role in en-

ergy is primarily an out-

lying one, the demands of

my position are not much different from

what many of you will encounter as they

advance. Rather than requiring exper-

tise in a singular sector, my position re-

quires that I cultivate a level of exper-

tise across the industry as a whole. And

not just the industry of today, but its rich

history as I work to stay at the forefront

of what is ahead.

The most important detail in all of

this is that my experience is not the

exception. Today, energy profession-

als both in outlying roles such as mine

and in more direct felds such as engi-

neering or the geosciences will need

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to possess a broad skill set to remain

competitive. Not just competitive, but

in moving the industry forward. That’s

what clicked for me that evening. What

I needed to share with those incoming

post-graduates was not an overview of

the growing trends and benefts of cross

sector collaboration, but the benefts of

cultivating strong leaders to drive it.

The needs of the industry are broad-

ening. Energy now, not in some unspec-

ifed future, is actively recruiting its next

thought leaders. Further, from what I was

hearing the key concepts behind the suc-

cess of that leadership will be diversity,

collaboration and innovation. While

functional and technical specialists will

always be needed, those beginning or

continuing their professional lives with-

in today’s energy must bring more to the

table. Programs like TU’s Master of En-

ergy Business are an important step, but

understand it’s just the beginning. True

masters never stop seeking knowledge.

To quote Eric Hoffer, American so-

cial writer and recipient of the Presiden-

tial Medal of Freedom, “In a time of dras-

tic change, it is the learners who inherit

the future.”

Make no mistake; this is a time of

drastic change. While the energy indus-

try has long been subject to intense cy-

cles, what is on the horizon for our sec-

tors is far more signifcant than a period

of boom or bust.

The new leaders of our industry will

be challenged with maintaining many

of the core initiatives and values that

have strengthened energy since its ear-

liest years while fnding the means to

integrate an evolving culture of diversi-

ty, collaboration and innovation.

The message being shared was that

while it is a very good time to be in en-

ergy, it’s an even better time to be a

trailblazer.

As the industry average continues to

near retirement age, most companies are

bracing to see around half of their profes-

sional staff leave within the next decade.

Further complicating matters, is the fact

that a good portion of those numbers rep-

resents the industry’s current leadership.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Infor-

mation Administration forecasts that de-

mand is expected to rise more than 40

percent over the next 25 years. To frame

this more plainly, we are losing close to

half of our industry professionals as de-

mand will nearly double. This presents

both a daunting challenge and an im-

mense opportunity.

We must encourage young profession-

als to be the leaders this industry needs

and get fully engaged in energy. We must

also encourage energy companies to

broaden their horizons through training

resources and recruitment efforts beyond

traditional industry focused degrees.

The industry today requires all

hands, across all decks. The burdens

of a strained global economy, increas-

ing regulation, resource limitations and

the need to modernize are not oil &

gas problems, utility problems or infra-

structure problems, they are global chal-

lenges. As our industry moves ahead in

fnding ways to connect and integrate

diverse resources, the energy sectors

must also strive to do the same with

their business resources. How? I return

again to diversity, collaboration and in-

novation. These will drive our evolving

industry and its new imperatives.

To grow we must be all-of-the above

in all things. I do not say that lightly and

certainly not as the echo of any political-

ly biased policy. It is meant as a univer-

sal way forward that respects the heritage

of our industry while taking the neces-

sary steps to ensure it continues to thrive.

There is a bright future for all sectors

if we can apply the principles of diver-

sity, collaboration and innovation. Re-

newables are in their awkward adoles-

cent phase and like unruly teenagers

with proper guidance and development

they will prosper and be so worth it. Coal

is facing brutal regulation. To play on

the title of a favorite movie, we must ac-

cept this is no country for old coal. Old

being the operative word in that turn of

phrase; coal is too abundant for the in-

dustry to do anything but cultivate new

ways to harness its power both effcient-

ly and proftably.

While unconventional natural gas

has us swooning, the past has taught us

not to rely too heavily on any single re-

source. Natural gas has its place and it is

in being one part of a dynamic portfo-

lio of energy resources. Hydrocarbons in

general must be approached differently.

While we continue to make great strides

in exploration and production we know

resources are indeed limited. But our vi-

sions and our talents are not. There is al-

ways a way forward.

In my mind, the way ahead is through

a cultivated thought leadership bold

enough to cross boundaries and inte-

grate to meet challenges. We start with

ourselves by taking on the responsibility

of being energy stewards. In doing so we

inspire the next to diversify, collaborate

and innovate! ⊗

1304PEJEW_4 4 4/15/13 10:47 AM


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Skilled Transition

How one corporate training program is helping

industry graduates energize for the future.

By Hilton Price

PREPARATION through education

and training is the cornerstone

of entry into the power and pe-

troleum industries. For new graduates

and recruits, it is preparation that pro-

vides the tools to stand out from the

crowd. For the companies hiring these

men and women, it is preparation they

look for when determining who will be

essential staff moving forward.

BP’s Challenge Program is a glob-

al initiative for new graduate recruits in

their frst three years with the compa-

ny. PennEnergy had the chance to in-

terview three graduates of the program,

to discuss how it supplemented their ed-

ucation and prepared them for careers

in the industry.

Here’s what they had to say.

Tracy Gunness

Tracy Gunness is a geologist current-

ly working in Upstream: Exploration

and Appraisal for BP in Trinidad and

Tobago. The graduate of the University

of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Gun-

ness joined the company following an

internship experience. She is current-

ly in the second year of BP’s Challenge

Program and is working on an appraisal

project involving the Manakin feld on

the border of Trinidad and Venezuela.

As a frst year Challenger Gunness won

Technofest, a global competition for

BP’s Challengers.

As a BP intern, did you feel prepared

to handle the challenges ahead of you?

How effective was the education you’d

had before joining the BP internship

program?

TG: I graduated at the top of my

class from the University of the West

Indies, St. Augustine, with a Bachelor’s

degree and First Class Honors in pe-

troleum geosciences. While the uni-

versity helped prepare me for the in-

ternship, at BP Trinidad and Tobago I

had a great opportunity to participate

in a real life project that I used for my

university thesis. The project allowed

me to apply my knowledge from uni-

versity and integrate different aspects

of subsurface, which aided in develop-

ing my technical ability in a holistic

manner far beyond what I could have

achieved solely from university studies.

I was very impressed that BP entrust-

ed in me to lead and complete such an

important project. It was such a great

experience that set the foundation for

my entrance into the company.

As a BP Challenger, you won the Tech-

nofest. What elements of that win were

directly fueled by education and train-

ing through BP?

TG: My coaches defnitely believed

in me before they knew what I was ca-

pable of, since I entered the competi-

tion only a few months after joining the

company as a Challenger. They even

envisioned me winning globally before

the results of the local round were even

announced. Their enthusiasm and con-

fdence in my ability inspired me to al-

ways bring my best to the table. I tru-

ly believe that even though I stood as

an individual in the competition, we

won as a team since my win is a testa-

ment to the great coaching that I re-

ceived throughout my project and to

date. That’s one thing I like about BP.

The company takes pride in teaching

and developing the skills of others.

TRAINING Insights

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Tess us about an experience you had as

an intern that fueled your professional

development.

TG: The story that always sticks out for

me was when I frst started my internship I

was given several objectives for my project.

I was basically tasked to determine fault

evolution, timing and linkage for the area

with some additional geochemical work.

When I fnished the task, I knew some-

thing was missing to complete the story, so

I showed my data to the team leader and he

told me to take the project and run with it.

I was really surprised! I thought they would

send this project to someone more senior,

but my supervisor trusted me to get the job

done and I got the go ahead. I took my data

and integrated it to create an evolutionary

model for the area that showed trap for-

mation and modifcation through time,

as well as gas migration and accumulation.

Then, I used the model to identify where

the best sites could be for exploration. I pre-

sented the work that I had done to my su-

pervisors and other senior decision makers.

They were pleasantly surprised and hap-

py about what I discovered and presented.

They even said that the project I led was

more on a Masters level, not a bachelor’s

level, which was quite satisfying to hear.

How has the Challenge Program sup-

plemented your existing education?

TG: Since I am still relatively new to

the working world, I would say the ob-

stacles I face are the same as any new

employee – developing the right techni-

cal skills, working alongside a team and

adapting to a new environment.

The Challenge Program has helped

supplement my existing education by

providing consistent, structured learn-

ing and development throughout the frst

three years of my career. I am constantly

impressed by the way BP invests time

and resources to help new employees

through comprehensive training cours-

es. These courses are designed in such a

way to bridge the gap between academia

and the industry. They set the founda-

tion with a strong technical understand-

ing followed by exercises in industrial ap-

plication and examples.

It has also helped me grow profession-

ally by providing a roadmap for my career

and allowing me to sample three differ-

ent roles within the organization.

What were the biggest benefts of the

BP Challenge Program?

TG: I’m actually still in the Challenge

Program and am at the end of my second

year. Aside from allowing me to sample

two different roles within the organiza-

tion and providing consistent and struc-

tured learning, Challenge has provided

a sense of community and events which

allow us to give back. Since I have been

here, BP staff members have participat-

ed in several community projects, such

as painting schools and feeding the poor.

What makes me most proud to work at

BP is the company’s community interac-

tion and positive impact.

Carter Clemens

Carter Clemens will soon begin a new

international assignment for BP and was

most recently a production engineer in

the San Juan South Basin in Farming-

ton, New Mexico. In New Mexico, Cle-

mens worked with natural gas and coal-

bed methane, managing 200 wells for BP.

Clemens is a graduate from the Universi-

ty of Texas who studied petroleum engi-

neering and joined the company follow-

ing college. A member of the Challenge

Program who recently completed the

program, Clemens also worked in Wyo-

ming initially, where he was in charge of

nearly 400 wells.

What was it like joining BP after col-

lege? Were you overwhelmed entering

the industry, or did you feel your educa-

tion had prepared you properly?

CC: I chose to work at BP because

of its culture. Specifcally, I like that the

company employed many young people

as well as the company’s “Challenge” pro-

gram that includes technical training. It’s

like college but now you get to apply what

you learned on actual projects around the

world. College prepared me very well for

the oil industry, but the difference with

BP was that it involved hands-on experi-

ence on actual projects. It has a different

feel to it. For me it was standing at the

wellhead after executing a workover I de-

signed and waiting to see whether the well

came back online- it’s tough to get that in

the classroom.

In New Mexico, you oversee 200 wells

for BP. In Wyoming, it was 400. How

did the Challenge Program prepare you

for that responsibility?

CC: You are given a lot of responsibil-

ity from the beginning here at BP. Chal-

lenge also provides you with a world class

training program. I’ve been able to attend

training programs taught by both univer-

sity professors and BP’s technical experts

which allow you to see a very practical

side to things. You also have a huge peer

base that you can use as a resource. As

soon as you join BP you gain a network

of several hundred people with knowl-

edge on different areas of BP’s business.

It also comes in handy to meet others if

you’re new to Houston or a particular

feld location.

1304PEJEW_7 7 4/15/13 10:48 AM



Do you feel the knowledge and experi-

ence of the older generation of oil & gas

professionals is available to you?

CC: At BP our teams work in a very

interactive open air environment and, as

a result, we have full access to technical

experts who really are the superstars of

this industry. They serve as our teachers

and mentors. Along with programs like

Challenge they ensure we’re prepared for

the responsibilities of the job.

What is another memorable element of

your post-college training?

CC: One of the things I’ve enjoyed

most is the feld experience. My work

has taken me to Texas, Wyoming, New

Mexico, and Colorado. In addition to the

change in scenery and side trips that these

provide, it’s been helpful more me to see

a wide spectrum of reservoir types. From

an engineering standpoint, different op-

erating conditions provide different chal-

lenges. I feel that the ability to see several

different areas has given me better per-

spective as an engineer. Also, it’s always

fun to tackle new challenges. Out in the

feld you gain a big appreciation of how

much impact what you are doing has on

people. It’s motivating.

Michael Wolanski

Michael Wolanski is a Completions En-

gineer on the Magnus Platform in the

North Sea. His role involves drilling wells

using some of the latest technology. His

career highlight to date, has been the

delivery of the world’s frst ever subsea

multi-stage acid fracture using a new type

of technology. Michael is 27 years old and

has been with BP for fve years.

North Sea platforms present unique

environmental challenges for workers.

How prepared were you for this environ-

ment, and how did training and prepa-

ration through BP infuence you?

MW: I worked as an offshore drilling

engineer for the frst year of the Chal-

lenge program, during which time I

gained first-hand, operational experi-

ence on a rig. BP did prepare me before

I went to spend time on the platforms.

For instance, as well as receiving standard

technical training, I had basic explosive

awareness training and also underwent

a helicopter crash simulation that taught

me how to escape if an accident were to

occur over water.

What were your impressions of the in-

dustry before you began the Challenge

Program? How were they different upon

completion of the program?

MW: The oil and gas industry and

BP have both been a part of my life since

I was quite young. I remember BP staff

used to come and give talks at my school

and once I was taken on a trip to see one

of their facilities. I think it was this early

exposure that led me to appreciate the im-

portance of the sector in delivering ener-

gy to the UK and also the contribution it

makes to the economy. This undoubtedly

infuenced my decision to enroll in a BP

summer internship in 2006. The intern-

ship was in completions and I enjoyed the

experience so much that I decided it was

the feld I wanted to work in, and BP was

the company I wanted to work for. For-

tunately, I was offered a conditional po-

sition, which motivated me to work even

harder in the fnal year of my robotics and

cybertronics degree. In the end, I got the

results I needed and was able to join BP’s

graduate program in 2007.

What has impressed me throughout

my career at BP is how much knowl-

edge we have in the industry and what

we are able to achieve technically. The

scale and accuracy of the drilling, for in-

stance, is mind blowing. I am currently

writing the procedure to install the com-

pletion in a well that more than fve miles

long, and despite its huge scale, the well

will hit very precise coordinates to access

hydrocarbons.

You garnered praise for delivery of the

world’s frst ever subsea multi-stage acid

fracture using a new technology. How

did BP’s training and education aid in

this process for you?

MW: I worked with a team to devel-

op and deliver the world’s frst ever sub-

sea multi-stage acid fracture, using a new

type of technology. Technically, it was the

most interesting piece of work I have ever

undertaken.

It involved designing a system that

would activate various components by

dropping different sizes of activation

balls. This was done while pumping acid

at high rate and high pressure.

To give an idea of scale, the acid was

pumped at a rate that could fll a bath-

tub in about a second and at a pressure

that is the equivalent of an elephant

It’s like college but now you get to apply what you

learned on actual projects around the world.

1304PEJEW_8 8 4/15/13 10:48 AM


Books, Books…

So Many Books

Check out over 50,000 energy industry titles at

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• Oil & Gas

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standing on an inch of space. The sys-

tem was signifcant because it could po-

tentially enable access to more hydrocar-

bons, changing how fnancially viable it

was to further develop certain areas of

the feld we were working on.

Speak a little on preparation, how it has

factored into your career, and how it can

be best addressed for newcomers to the

industry.

MW: The work you get to do at BP

is extremely interesting, but it can be

a steep learning curve. Fortunately, it’s

a great environment to learn in, as the

people working at BP have a lot of ex-

perience to share. You end up learning

a lot from colleagues in both formal

and informal settings and there is al-

ways support if you need it. I also have

a mentor who I meet with on a regular

basis to look at technical challenges.

I also act as a mentor and technical

coach to a number of summer interns

and new BP engineers, which is very

rewarding.

What were your biggest surprises from

training with BP?

MW: I think it’s that every day is dif-

ferent. Some days you receive techni-

cal training, other days its health and

safety training, but it’s that variety that

keeps things interesting. The role itself

is similarly diverse, and some days are

spent performing in depth engineering,

such as stress analysis, and others can

be spent at a vendor’s offce looking at

new products.

What more can the company do to aid

in training future candidates?

MW: BP invested heavily in my

training during the Challenge pro-

gram and has continued to support me

in my subsequent career and I think

the company does a good job of devel-

oping young talent. However, there is

room for improving training across all

companies operating in the sector. We

need to become better, as an industry,

at sharing best practices and in collab-

orating to deliver standardized training

across companies. ⊗

1304PEJEW_9 9 4/15/13 10:48 AM

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CAREER Insights

Networking After CollegeBy Tony Lee

TRYING to fnd a job

by calling people you

don’t know and asking

them for help probably sounds

dreadful, like a cross between

telemarketing and door-to-

door sales. After all, nobody

likes rejection, and this job-

search strategy is sure to pro-

voke a rash of apologies and

unreturned phone calls.

Yet, what if it works? What

if you can fnd a great job sim-

ply by making phone calls and

meeting with people who want to help

you? Would you try it? That’s the prem-

ise behind networking, the practice of

contacting everyone you know (and ev-

eryone they know) to ask for their advice

and support. And it works.

A survey of more than 1500 success-

ful job hunters shows that 63% found

new positions by tapping their networks

of friends, family members, acquaintanc-

es and anyone else who would help. In

comparison, only 11% found jobs by an-

swering ads, and just 2% by sending un-

solicited resumes to company recruiters,

reports a New York-based career consult-

ing frm.

Although most job hunters have

heard successful networking stories from

friends and colleagues, some avoid the

technique because they don’t like the way

it sounds. They hate the idea of “using”

people to fnd a job, and the equate net-

working with sleazy tactics used by un-

scrupulous salesmen.

“It sounds like a ‘what can you do for

me’ kinds of tactic that I’d only try if I

knew I’d never see the person again,” says

one recent college graduate. He couldn’t

be more wrong.

An effective networking relationship

helps both parties. Contacts enjoy talking

about themselves, how they got jobs after

college and how companies in their in-

dustry are doing. And if they can match

you up with a job somewhere, they’re do-

ing both you and your new employer a fa-

vor that they hope will be returned one

day. It’s a win-win situation.

Where to Start?

The best people to enlist as you

launch a networking campaign

are those you know well and

who know you, such as:

• Brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles,

cousins and any other relatives

who are willing to help, includ-

ing your parents

College friends now in the

workplace

Past professors who also work as

consultants or who have left ac-

ademia for the business world

• Former bosses, and co-workers at full-

or part-time jobs, internships or work-

study assignments

• Neighbors and family acquaintances

Write down a list of people who might

have information on available jobs or,

more importantly, who know other peo-

ple who might be helpful. Realize the

importance of building a wide range of

contacts. Although many of these peo-

ple may never hear about job openings,

they’re critical because of the many

friends and contacts they’ll refer to you.

Next, decide what you’ll say when you

reach people on your list. An approach

that works well is to frst explain your sta-

tus (eg, a recent graduate) and your in-

terest (to gather information about hir-

ing trends in their industry and names

of others who might help you). If the per-

son says she doesn’t know of any open-

ings, reiterate that what you really want

is her opinion of the hiring market and

Tony Lee is the Publisher of CareerCast.com and JobsRated.com This article is reprinted by permission from www.CareerCast.com, © Adicio Inc. All rights reserved.

1304PEJEW_10 10 4/15/13 10:48 AM

http://www.CareerCast.com

http://CareerCast.com

http://JobsRated.com



the names of people who might know of

openings. With this reassurance, most

contacts will agree to a brief call, or will

at least call back with a name or two. If

the contact still doesn’t understand, say

thanks and move on.

When calling a contact you don’t

know who was referred to you, use the

same two-part approach, but add a new

introduction: “Hello, Mr. Jones. My for-

mer college roommate Jill Smith sug-

gested I call you.” Or, “Jill Smith at ABC

Corp. thought you might be able to help

me.” Then explain your status and inter-

est and ask for a brief meeting.

Most people love to give

advice and are very willing

to talk about their fled and

the job market if you ap-

proach them the right way,

say career counselors, who

say that recent grads typi-

cally face three types of po-

tential contacts when net-

working. About 25% are real nice and will

help you no matter what you say. About

25% are mean and won’t help no matter

how good or polite you are. The rest are

in the middle and will respond based on

how well you approach them. If you act

like you’re going to plop yourself down in

their chair and say, “Tell me everything

you know,” they won’t help. You have to

guide them, coach them and ask good

questions, they say.

Sometimes your best contact is the

most unlikely. Christine Bowman inter-

viewed on campus for insurance and sales

positions before graduating with a busi-

ness administration degree from the Uni-

versity of Iowa. But she landed her present

position as a staff accountant in Chica-

go through her boyfriend’s sister-in-law.

“Knowing the right people at the

right time helped me get the job,” says

Bowman.

Preparation is Key

To elicit someone’s support in a phone

call, know all you can about the person

you’re calling. Getting through to a con-

tact and making arrangements to see

that person isn’t a victory. That comes

only after you’ve completed a success-

ful interview, and that doesn’t happen

by accident.

Career counselors suggest research-

ing contacts’ companies and industries

before each meeting. Develop an under-

standing of each person’s interests so that

you can discuss your education and ex-

perience as it relates to their background

and to potential needs in the market-

place, he says.

After a successful exchange, send a

thank-you email; then continue to con-

tact the person every month or so to re-

port your progress and ask for new leads.

Don’t become a pest, but don’t think that

one fve minute call or meeting will en-

gage their attention.

“You need to be relentless in using

your network contacts, but don’t be de-

fensive if they don’t return your calls,”

says Taunee Besson, president of a career

consulting frm in Dallas, Texas. If you

rely on contacts to remember you weeks

after a brief meeting or phone call, you’ll

likely be disappointed.

Proven Approaches

To launch and maintain an effective net-

working campaign, consider the follow-

ing fve tips suggested by Ms. Besson:

• Set networking goals

Determine who you want to meet early

on and what you want to fnd out from

each person. As you efforts progress,

evaluate the types of people who are

most helpful and try to contact others

who share their attributes.

• Build networking into your daily

schedule

The months before graduation can be

crazy, but you need to devote at least

15 or 20 minutes to your network each

day for it to pay off. Remember, the

best time to reach most executives by

phone is early (before 8 am) and late

(after 5:30 pm).

• People you respect but don’t neces-

sarily like can be helpful

Sometimes, they’re the most objective

sources of solid information. On the

other hand, people you like and with

whom you share common interests will

be your most valued contacts over time.

• When networking, make develop-

ing a friendship – rather than getting

something – your primary goal

If they like you, people who lack useful

information now will think of you when

an opening arises.

• Join professional organizations

where you can easily meet people who

work in the industry you hope to enter

Campus groups are great, but reach be-

yond them to join organizations com-

posed of working professionals who can

serve as terrifc contacts and mentors.

Networking isn’t easy, but compared

to most other job-search strategies out

there, it’s a highly effective technique

you can’t afford to ignore. ⊗

Sometimes your best contact

is the most unlikely

1304PEJEW_11 11 4/15/13 10:48 AM



RECRUITER’S Practicum

Attracting graduates to industryBy Jamie Ferguson

THE oil and gas industry offers

new entrants a diverse range of

challenging career options with

longevity, variety and opportunities for

world-wide travel. However, the pub-

lic’s perception of the industry is often

distorted. Many people living outside

energy hubs like Aberdeen, Calgary

and Houston are unaware of the impor-

tance of the oil and gas sec-

tor in the global economy,

supporting hundreds of

thousands of jobs, contributing

billions of dollars every year to Govern-

ments and supplying the vast majority of

the world’s energy needs. How to attract

young professionals to the oil and gas

industry is high on the agenda at OTC

2012 with a whole event dedicated to

the subject on the opening day.

Figures from the World Petroleum

Council found that 50 percent of its 60

member countries’ workforce is due to

retire in the next ten years. Over the

years, environmental disasters and safe-

ty breaches have contributed to a some-

what negative public opinion of the

energy industry. Last year, research by

the Gallup Organization found only

20% of participants viewed the oil and

gas industry positively- ranking sec-

ond last. This negative perception has

a direct affect on the ability to attract

emerging talent.

Parents of 20-somethings consider-

ing their career path may warn their

children of what was previously an

unstable industry. The energy market

is dictated by oil prices and fuctuating

prices in the 1990’s meant downsizing

and less hiring. As

a result, average work-

force age in developed economies is

somewhere in the mid to late 40s.

The ability to locate hidden reserves

and extract precious hydrocarbons is

based on a comprehensive understand-

ing of science, math and engineering.

These are subjects fewer students in

the Western World are keen to pursue.

In contrast to India and China where 1

million engineering students graduate

annually, 120,000 engineering students

in the U.S is extremely low.

How do we re-position the oil and gas

industry as an attractive career choice to

today’s young graduates? As an indus-

try, we should do more collectively to

engage talent in the countries we oper-

ate. We need to collaborate with

academia and with govern-

ment sectors. Many major oil

companies for example, have long-

term research commitments with major

universities around the world. We must

be proactive in our attempt to reach the

young as they are about to enter univer-

sity and again whilst they are contem-

plating career choices. We should edu-

cate the public about the investment

that the industry makes annually in

research and development, the diversity

of the geographical locations in which

they could live and work, the many

technically challenging projects exe-

cuted each year, the advances in envi-

ronmental safety and how lucrative a

career in the oil and gas industry can

be compared to others. There is mile-

age in the idea that the career choices

of the young should be seen as the larg-

est investment that the industry makes.

It should be tackled with all the same

effort, cunning and intelligence that a

consumer company harnesses when it

looks to attract its customers; especially

so, as energy and the humans that play a

part in producing it, are the life blood of

our civilization. ⊗

Jamie Ferguson joined Maxwell Drummond’s Aberdeen team in 2006 and by July 2011 was promoted to Vice President of Global Business Development. Jamie has extensive experience managing executive level searches for clients spanning the oil and gas value chain and has deep industry networks developed from working on assignments in over 20 countries on 6 continents. Maxwell Drummond International is a world leading retained search consultancy offering professional search services to clients in all sectors of the energy and natural resources industries.

1304PEJEW_12 12 4/15/13 10:49 AM

http://www.maxwelldrummond.com/


1304PEJEW_C3 3 4/15/13 10:45 AM

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