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From Ambition to Execution: Scaling Utility Transformation and Lessons Learned
Utilities across North America are under increasing pressure to modernize the distribution grid, needing to improve reliability and resilience with faster restoration, hold greater operational visibility, and enable flexibility for a changing energy landscape. While the vision of the “grid of the future” is widely touted, the path to getting there, especially at scale, is far more complex.
In this panel, utility leaders from PNM, Xcel Energy, and Tampa Electric Company (TECO) share real‑world experiences delivering large‑scale grid modernization programs while balancing day‑to‑day operations. The discussion explores what it truly takes to move beyond pilots and into enterprise‑wide deployment of automation, new systems and ways of working, including smart sensors, reclosers, ADMS, DERMS and advanced communications networks, and to integrate those capabilities with other core OT platforms.
Panelists will discuss critical execution topics such as sequencing automation and ADMS deployments, managing data quality and system readiness, coordinating OT and IT organizations, and preparing field and control room teams for new operational realities. Most importantly, they will reflect on lessons learned along the way, what worked, what didn’t, and the decisions they would approach differently if starting today.
The session concludes with a dynamic, peer‑to‑peer discussion comparing strategies, outcomes, and organizational impacts, offering practical insights for utilities at any stage of their grid modernization journey. Attendees will leave with actionable takeaways to help de‑risk large‑scale deployments, avoid common pitfalls, and build a more resilient, digitally enabled grid with confidence.
