Utilities are transitioning from first-generation AMI 1.0 toward AMI 2.0, a flexible, software-enabled edge platform that combines distributed intelligence, AI-driven analytics, and remote upgradeability to support modern grid operations. Unlike earlier generations focused primarily on meter reads and basic remote functions, AMI 2.0 enables real-time, localized processing at the grid edge—unlocking value across outage detection, power quality monitoring, transformer load management, DER coordination, and customer engagement. However, this evolution fundamentally expands the utility attack surface. As meters become software-enabled endpoints hosting distributed applications and receiving remote updates, security must extend beyond communications into platform security, software supply chain integrity, cryptographic trust, multi-vendor ecosystem governance, and privacy protection for increasingly granular customer data. This session provides CISOs, risk and compliance leaders, and utility operations stakeholders with a practical view of what is changing in AMI 2.0, why it matters from a cybersecurity perspective, and what it takes to implement securely at scale.
Do not let advanced grid intelligence become your greatest vulnerability. This case study presentation delivers an uncompromised blueprint for securing the next-generation grid edge, empowering utilities to aggressively deploy distributed AI and edge computing without exposing critical infrastructure to catastrophic cyber threats.
Seshadri Nadendla and Ryan Moore of Deloitte Consulting kick off the session by dissecting the new threat vectors born from distributed AI, IT/OT convergence, and hybrid network architectures, providing pragmatic controls aligned with NIST SP 800-53, NIST IR 8259, and NERC CIP mandates to weaponize defenses across your entire operational footprint.
A real-world example of this approach can be seen in how TECO is preparing for secure-by-design transformation during its cloud migration journey. Rather than treating cybersecurity as a final checkpoint, TECO is embedding it early into architecture, deployment, and operations decisions. With leaders like Pierre Cyr bringing deep industrial control systems security experience, the focus is on practical priorities: strengthening device identity, improving workload isolation, and applying disciplined vendor governance in ways that align to actual operational risk. The result is a balanced, proactive model that helps TECO protect compliance, manage growing edge data complexity, and improve resilience without slowing business and grid modernization objectives.
Learning Objectives
- Architect secure-by-design controls for software-enabled AMI 2.0 endpoints.
- Enforce NIST and NERC CIP compliance across distributed AI and hybrid network architectures.
- Deploy multi-vendor governance to secure cloud migrations and exploding grid-edge datasets.
- Isolate critical workloads to defend grid infrastructure from software supply chain risks.
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