by Joni Kirk
The utility industry is undergoing dramatic changes. Faced with new technologies, aging facilities, baby-boomer retirements, environmental pressures and many other business concerns, emerging leaders may have difficulty assessing top issues to address.
Utility leaders gathered this summer at the University of Idaho for the 55th annual Utility Executive Course, the only such educational program in the world that encompasses all aspects of the utility industry. The course looks at challenges, opportunities and the general business environment, and provides training for executives to enhance industry knowledge, leadership abilities and professional effectiveness.
"The Utility Executive Course is a comprehensive immersion, training people about how a utility operates end to end, and the participants felt that the information was right on track again this year," said Jim Kensok, vice president and chief information officer of Avista Corporation. "Finance, pig in the pipe, rating agencies, ITS, smart grids, marketing, carbon sequestration—it's all covered."
An advisory board of industry executives from around the country, chaired by Kensok, analyzes course content annually to ensure it reflects current issues. Expert faculty address industry fundamentals and facilitate dialogue on diverse points of view. Some of the top issues utilities are likely to address this year include:
• New technology. Upgrading to smart grids is not a luxury, it's a necessity that improves reliability. Grid modernization allows for better and faster diagnostics, which provides timely information on outages and looks at inefficiencies in a system that could lead to cost savings. "We need to know the behaviors of our electric system real-time, end-to-end, which will allow us to introduce new products and services to more efficiently manage the grid and meet our customer demand at the right cost," said Kensok.
• Accountable renewable energy standards. Some 29 states have renewable portfolio standards (RPS) for promoting and utilizing renewable energy. However, according to Nora Brownell, former commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and UEC faculty, those standards have no measurement for accountability. "Politicians who establish those standards will be out of office when the deadline is missed," she said. "Utility leaders should work together to establish a national RPS to eliminate inconsistencies between states, but in such a way that allows for state execution."
• Strategically approach aging infrastructure. Utilities are faced with aging assets, capital constraints and a rise in demand of energy. To minimize cost related to line losses, Kensok recommends surgically replacing transmission or distribution infrastructure based on empirical data. "Avista has a strong geographical information system that helps—along with our demand response technology —to determine where most outages occur due to age and other factors," he said. "By dealing with a specific problem area, we are able to target the greatest efficiency per dollar spent on our electric infrastructure."
• Transparency with customers. In all areas, from rate increases to environmental stewardship, communication with customers is a top priority. The web can provide instant and personalized information for customers, including power usage; ways to reduce consumption or become more environmentally friendly; comparisons to neighbor use; and a potential range of savings. "We're seeing a steady progression toward a participatory network, where consumers actively manage their energy usage," said Lyn Wiltse, founder and president of PDSA Consulting, and an instructor in this year's UEC course. Tools that enhance the customer experience and allow customers to feel more in control of the choices that affect their individual costs will go a long way toward customer satisfaction.
• Changing and diverse workforce. According to a 2007 Workforce Survey Report from the Energy Workforce Development Center, 46 percent of engineering jobs could be vacated by 2012. As the current workforce nears retirement, the industry is faced with qualified employee shortages. Companies should start training the new generation now to ensure knowledge transfer. "It's not just regurgitating information, but knowing it and practicing it," said Kensok. Working with Millennials—people currently under the age of 25—can also create some adjustments. Though this age group shows high return for effort expended, the difference in work styles between generations may cause friction. Leaders will need to learn to seamlessly integrate the different approaches to create a productive team.
Transitions in utility leadership are also expected. "Our program is positioned to address the topics relevant to tomorrow's leaders because we're industry-driven," said Jack Morris, dean of the college of Business and Economics at the University of Idaho.
"Our advisory board is tapped into the daily operations of utilities and keeps us on top of important issues in industry. Our curriculum five years ago began to address carbon strategy, noting it as something that industry would be facing in the near future. This year, as an issue that is very significant worldwide, our course devoted a full day to carbon strategy and business models for addressing it."
"The course taught me skills in a variety of areas, including accounting, finance, technical areas and so much more," said George Kassise, a senior manager of customer construction at CPS Energy in San Antonio, Texas. "We looked at each role in a utility, which provides great groundwork for moving up in an organization. All the information is available in one location, but I can apply the majority of the information in my day-to-day decisions."
The course got its start in 1954, when University of Idaho alumnus Ralph Sessions, the personnel director at Idaho Power Company, approached the university to design an educational program for middle management. Called to action, the university launched a course, then known as the Public Utilities Executives' Course, to help managers develop a leadership point-of-view and accelerate their transitions to executive responsibility.
The inaugural class included 38 men from eight companies. Today, the Utility Executive Course has trained more than 2,100 people from more than 100 companies in 17 countries. Participants have gone on to be vice presidents, executive vice presidents, presidents, chief executive officers and board chairs. This year, participants came from the U.S., Bermuda, Malaysia, Japan and Canada.
"CPS has sent numerous leaders to the UEC, adding eight more employees this year," said Kassise. "The feedback from the previous participants showcases the value of the program and CPS wants to continue capitalizing on the value."
The Utility Executive Course is an example of the University of Idaho's commitment to partner with industry. Registration for next year's conference will begin in spring 2009. For more information, visit www.uiuec.org.
Author
Joni Kirk is the associate director of media relations at the University of Idaho. You may contact her at joni@uidaho.edu. For more on the Utility Executive Course, visit www.uiuec.org.
