Atonix Digital Executives Featured in Black & Veatch Smart Utility Strategic Directions Report

We’re excited that Atonix Digital President Paul McRoberts and Chief Technology Officer Scott Stallard have been published in the Black & Veatch 2019 Strategic Directions: Smart Utilities Report. Powered by an expansive survey of the industry, the report looks beyond grid modernization and takes a deep, close assessment of how distributed energy resources continue to gain traction and pressure utilities. These insights effectively provide a snapshot of the industry and propose smarter infrastructure solutions in the future.

In “Whole-Systems Modernization: A Data-Driven Approach to Asset Performance Management,” Stallard, among the other authors, asserts, “…as we near a 5G horizon, everything that can be connected will be. As a result, conventional ‘replace and repair’ asset management approaches will have no place in this future world…” But, how do we move from the conventional to the innovative? The article explores this question and wonders if, in this transition, data will be a utility organization’s most valuable resource or one of the horsemen of the apocalypse. The conclusion is optimistic. We’re entering new territory, and Scott helps to describe the forward-thinking, centralized solutions that promise significant returns on investment.

In “Modernization Plans Target DER-Ready Distribution Systems,” McRoberts and the other authors break down predictive costs of DER (distributed energy resources). The article addresses practical questions like what will be needed to support peak loads, how much will these resources cost and will utilities be willing to spend this type of money on DER they don’t even own?