2026 Event Schedule

In 2024, Hurricanes Francine and Helene left millions without power across the Southeast, exposing the urgent need for more accurate outage predictions and faster, more coordinated restoration efforts. As storms become more severe, utilities are starting to see the need for more effective risk mitigation interventions. That’s where predictive analytics is gaining momentum.  This panel brings together leaders from Southern Company and Pacific Gas & Electric to explore how data science is transforming storm response, from anticipating outages to speeding up restoration. 

Southern Company will share how it has implemented predictive analytics to estimate storm impact, improve restoration time forecasts, and optimize crew and resource staging. These efforts have helped the utility reduce uncertainty and improve coordination across internal teams and mutual assistance partners, leading to a standardized data-based approach for storm response across the Southern Company’s operating portfolio in Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama.   

PG&E will contribute to the discussion by focusing on the restoration phase, emphasizing how AI, real-time data, and cross-functional collaboration enhance storm recovery.

Key examples include:

• Live monitoring of outage impacts and crew deployment by region/system during storms 
• Hourly machine learning predictions for assessed and restored outages, including ETAs and ETORs by region/system
• Simulation-based optimization of staffing scenarios to improve ETAs/ETORs, factoring in regional drive times

This session will offer practical insights for utilities across levels of analytics maturity. Attendees will learn how to frame the right data queries, build trust in predictive models, and align analytics with operational decision-making to improve outcomes for storm response, customers, and crews alike.