Around the world, utilities are under pressure. Citizens demand energy and water that don't undermine environmental quality. Regulators seek action on smart grid and smart metering initiatives that add intelligence to infrastructure. Customers seek choice and convenience-but without additional costs. Doing nothing is not an option. Oracle understands that things have changed for utilities. Looming regulations, social pressures, customer demands, and environmental imperatives require new approaches.
Utilities must prioritize and plan for smart grid / smart metering implementations, future generation, integration of renewables, responses to proposed regulatory changes, and increased demand for efficiency programs. At the same time, they must reduce costs and minimize their impact on the environment. Finally, utilities are faced with managing and analyzing the exponential growth of data to help better understand their customers and to build their future strategies based on this information. Utilities that address these issues holistically can create an Eco-Advantage.
Creating an eco-advantage means adopting:
Eco-efficiency—reducing environmental impact and cutting costs by increasing efficiencies in existing business operations
Eco-innovation—designing or redesigning products and processes to reduce costs and increase revenues while lowering their environmental impact
Eco-transparency—measuring and reporting on relevant environmental factors to drive ongoing process improvement, comply with regulatory directives, and minimize risk
Oracle Utilities is delivering solutions to support these areas- see some examples below.
UTILITY FIELD WORKFORCE SAVES TRANSPORTATION COSTS
Our latest release of Oracle Utilities Mobile Workforce Management dramatically reduces field force travel time and travel distances. The utility saves fuel and vehicle maintenance. In addition, by moving to an electronic-based system, the utility eliminates paper service requests, maps, and other forms. Customer service improves due to the field workforce being more productive (being able to handle more appointments in a day) and missing fewer appointments. The community experiences cleaner air, and reduction in carbon footprints, and improved customer service.
MICROGRIDS COMING TO A NEIGHBORHOOD NEAR YOU
Microgrids are small electrical areas embedded in neighborhoods, retail shopping areas, college campuses, or commercial parks. They operate semi-independently from the utility and handle local distributed energy resources (solar, wind, biomass) and/or advanced energy storage. Today, Oracle and one of its major utility customers are expanding Oracle Utilities Network Management System to manage microgrids in order to reduce transmission and distribution losses, postpone or eliminate the need for new centralized generation and long distance transmission, and reduce emissions through better use renewable power from local solar rooftops and wind micro-generators.
ENLISTING THE CUSTOMER TO SAVE PAPER AND ENERGY
With Customer Self Service, utility customers can receive and pay bills electronically. Reducing paper reduces fuel consumption by the trucks and automobiles that transport paper invoices and checks. It saves trees, paper, and water. And it prevents solid waste and greenhouse gas emissions by eliminating pallets of lengthy paper invoices, return envelopes, remittance slips, paper checks, and bills delivered.