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Results of an Oracle Utilities survey released this morning show that electric utilities in Canada and the US are only in the early stages of putting smart meter data good use. But they could be doing a better job of using the data they are collecting. The survey was of 151 utility executives in Canada and the United States. The study, Utility Transformations - Big Data, Bigger Opportunities: Plans and Preparedness for the Data Deluge, shows that utilities on both sides of the 49th Parallel are collecting significantly more interval data from smart meters. The frequency at which they are gathering smart meter data is 180 times more than in the past - every four hours compared to once a month. And the vast majority of them are collecting information such as outage and voltage data. Linda Jackman, group VP of industry strategy for Oracle Utilities, tells Canadian Green Tech in an interview that despite the improvement on the data collection front, utilities aren't using the data as effective as they could be. She was surprised to find utilities collecting certain types of data, but then not using that data to inform business decisions. According to the results, 78% of utilities surveyed are collecting outage data with 59% of them using, meaning nearly 20% aren't correlating outage data with customer communications as an example. For voltage data, the levels are 73% and 57%, respectively. "In outage and voltage data, the fact that everybody is not collecting that data, I think is surprising. You've rolled out a smart meter and you're not collecting outage data when it has the ability to talk to you around outage data? Why am I not collecting it? But then only 60% of them are using it once they have collected it, I think is also surprising," says Jackman. "So what we're seeing is that utilities are still in this very early stage and very formative stage of collecting the data but actually don't know what [they're] going to do with

Highlighting that Oracle Utilities Network Management System 1.11 offers enhancements designed to give utilities real-time insight into what's going on with their distribution grid and enable them to accurately balance power generation with demand. The article notes that the new modeling enhancements provide data on possible outcomes from a variety of conditions such as extreme temperatures, storms and fluctuations in commercial and consumer power use - information that can help utilities prepare better contingency plans against situations that previously would have led to outages. The article also includes comments from Brad Williams, vice president of industry strategy, Oracle Utilities noting that Oracle Utilities Network Management System offers the real-time modeling and power system simulations utilities need to optimize grid operations as networks change.

Highlighting that Echelon announced its association with Oracle to assist utilities to manage outages, protect their revenue, offer demand response, and offer prepayment options. The article notes that leveraging the Oracle Utilities Smart Grid Gateway integrated with Echelon's smart metering solution, utilities can deploy multiple applications to manage their assets and customers. The article also includes comments from Bastian Fischer, vice president industry strategy, Oracle Utilities noting that utilities need to act now even though regulations, standards and available technology will change, so they are looking for an open, multi-application solution that will grow with them over time.

Hghlighting that ENSTAR Natural Gas has selected Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing and Oracle Utilities Business Intelligence to enhance billing capabilities and customer service and better understand customer needs. The release notes that ENSTAR Natural Gas also plans to integrate its existing Oracle Utilities Mobile Workforce Management application with Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing to improve communication between customer service representatives, dispatchers and technicians. The release also includes comments from Bill Vellante, group vice president and general manager, Oracle Utilities noting that Oracle Utilities will help harness a complete view of customer data, streamline billing processes and enable more responsive customer service.

Highlighting that to extend Oracle's smart grid capabilities, Oracle announced the availability of Oracle Utilities Network Management System 1.11, which offers new modeling and analysis features to improve distribution-grid management for electric utilities. The release notes that new advanced distribution management features help utilities extend smart grid initiatives to support renewable resources and electric vehicle recharging. The release also includes comments from Brad Williams, vice president of industry strategy, Oracle Utilities noting that Oracle Utilities Network Management System offers the real-time modeling and power system simulations utilities need to optimize grid operations as networks change.

Highlighting that Cobb Electric Membership Corporation (Cobb EMC), recently deployed Oracle Utilities Data Management and Oracle Smart Grid Gateway to support its smart grid initiatives. The article notes that Cobb EMC will utilize Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management to verify, store, process and format smart meter data to offer every department, application and business process with the metering information they require. The article also includes comments from Bill Vellante, group vice president and general manager, Oracle Utilities noting that Oracle is pleased to support Cobb EMC as they work towards making the most out of the data they are collecting.

Highlighting that Oracle has announced Oracle Utilities Network Management System 1.11, offering new modeling and analysis features to improve distribution-grid management for electric utilities. The article notes that Oracle Utilities Network Management System 1.11 will help utilities improve customer service levels and network reliability; provide operational support for electric, gas, and/or water delivery networks; deliver a positive response to bad press resulting from poor customer responsiveness or major operational disruption and get more out of their smart grid investments and related data. The article also includes comments from Brad Williams, vice president of industry strategy, Oracle Utilities noting that the application provides customers with a complete and accurate view of their specific circumstance including estimated restoration times and validation of restoration.

Highlighting that Oracle has introduced Oracle Utilities Network Management System 1.11 to provide real-time views of grid activity to help properly align electricity generation with demand. The article notes that Oracle Utilities Network Management System 1.11 provides flexibility in integrating geographic information systems (GIS) investments, including new support for International Electrochemical Commission (IEC) Common Information Model (CIM) standards. The article also includes comments from Brad Williams, vice president of industry strategy, Oracle Utilities notes that Oracle Utilities Network Management System offers the real-time modeling and power system simulations utilities need to optimize grid operations as networks change.

The Aug. 15 edition of GreenTechMedia includes the following article discussing the future of the smart grid. The article highlights smart grid expert Andres Carvallo's presentation from The Soft Grid 2012 conference, and notes his comments regarding utilities' adoption of cloud computing and the utility "big data" challenge. The article mentions that Austin Energy is working on with Oracle on an IT-based project. The article also includes a comment from Oracle Utilities' Linda Jackman noting that utilities have their own reasons to keep as much of their IT work in-house as possible, but investor-owned utilities in particular are under pressure to spend on IT capital expenses, which they can recover in rate cases, rather than on operational expenses like cloud services that do not offer such guaranteed payback.

highlighting that ENSTAR Natural Gas has chosen Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing as well as Oracle Utilities Business Intelligence in a move to not only better understand its customers' needs to enhance its billing capabilities and the customer service it offers. The article also notes that Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing will provide ENSTAR Natural Gas with the ability to manage the complete lifecycle of its customers, encompassing service connection, meter read management, complex billing, payment processing and debt collection. The article includes comments from Bill Vellante, group vice president and general manager of Oracle Utilities noting that Oracle Utilities will help harness a complete view of customer data, streamline billing processes and enable more responsive customer service.

Highlighting that Oracle announced that Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management 2.0.1, running with Oracle Exadata Database Machine X2-2 and Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud X2-2, processed 1 billion meter reads per hour. The release also notes that Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management running on Oracle Exadata helps utilities process data at unprecedented rates -- turning data into real intelligence that improves operational efficiency across every department while enabling utilities to provide their customers with information that helps them monitor and manage their energy and water use. The release includes comments from Linda Jackman, group vice president of industry strategy, Oracle Utilities noting that Oracle hardware and software can process the huge volumes of data arriving from interval reads and ensure the usability of the data to produce the accurate, timely bills customers expect.

Highlighting that Echelon Corporation has teamed with Oracle to help utilities better manage outages, protect revenue, offer demand response, and offer prepayment options. The article notes that Oracle Utilities Smart Grid Gateway integrated with Echelon's smart metering solution, allows utilities to deploy multiple applications to manage their assets and customers. The article also includes comments from Bastian Fischer, vice president industry strategy, Oracle Utilities noting that utilities need to act now even though regulations, standards and available technology will change, so they are looking for an open, multi-application solution that will grow with them over time.

Highlighting the latest utilities news that came from Oracle OpenWorld 2011. The article notes that Oracle Business Intelligence for utilities currently enabled are revenue and credit and collection key performance indicators that can be viewed geospatially. The article also highlights other Oracle Utilities products including Oracle Utilities Customer Care & Billing and Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management.

The Feb. 16 edition of Intelligent Utility highlights the discussion during the Grid Analytics Solution Workshop at the Utility Analytics Institute Summit. The article features comments from Brad Williams, vice president, industry strategy, Oracle's Utilities, and Samuel Harrell, industry director, Oracle Utilities.

The Aug. 13 edition of Electric Light & Power includes the following article highlighting the results of Oracle Utilities', "Big Data, Bigger Opportunities: Plans and Preparedness for the Data Deluge" research study. The article includes comments from Oracle Utilities' Rodger Smith noting that the report indicates that the majority of utility executives are working to enhance their ability to glean real intelligence from smart grid data to ultimately create new opportunities to improve service reliability and deliver useful information to customers. The article also includes comments from Oracle Utilities' Brad Williams, who notes that the survey results show that there are opportunities for business improvement in utility operations.

Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC) has selected Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management and plans to upgrade its Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing application to support its smart grid and green initiatives. The release discusses that REC is one of more than 100 customers who have selected or implemented an Oracle Utilities product in fiscal year 2011. The release includes comments from Bill Vellante, group vice president and general manager, Oracle Utilities noting that Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management's interoperability with multiple Oracle solutions will give REC the scalability and functionality it needs to manage large meter data volumes and provide useful information to the utility's various departments and its customers.

Highlighting that Oracle has introduced Oracle Utilities Network Management System 1.11, which offers new modeling and analysis features that improve distribution-grid management for electric utilities. The article notes that the new modeling helps analyze the effects of customer loads in different locations and identify where off-peak recharging is needed due to grid capacity constraints, incorporate renewable resources like solar roofs and backyard windmills into the grid and use stored electricity as another source of energy. The article also includes comments from Brad Williams, vice president of industry strategy, Oracle Utilities noting that Oracle Utilities Network Management System offers the real-time modeling and power system simulations utilities need to optimize grid operations as networks change.

Highlighting that Oracle Utilities has extended its smart-grid capabilities with the release of Oracles Utilities Network Management System 1.11, which offers new features to help electricity companies improve distribution grid management. The article notes that new advanced distribution management features help utilities extend smart grid initiatives to support renewable resources and electric vehicle recharging. The article also includes comments from Brad Williams, vice president of industry strategy, Oracle Utilities noting that incorporating new technologies into a real-time model of the grid is vital to utilities' ability to manage network activity.

Highlighting that Oracle has announced that its Oracle Utilities Network Management System offers new modeling and analysis features to improve distribution-grid management for electric utilities. The article notes that the new modeling enhancements provide real-time views of grid activity to help properly align electricity generation with demand. The release also includes comments from Brad Williams, vice president of industry strategy, Oracle Utilities noting that Oracle Utilities Network Management System offers the real-time modeling and power system simulations utilities need to optimize grid operations as networks change.

Highlighting that Oracle and Echelon have collaborated and are offering a new integrated solution that will help them manage outages and new applications more efficiently, as well as introduce renewable energy sources. The article notes that Oracle integrated their Utilities Smart Grid Gateway with Echelon's smart metering solution to enable utilities to deploy multiple applications quickly and safely and help reduce the cost and complexity of enhancing smart grids with new devices, data streams and business processes. The article also includes comments from Bastian Fischer, vice president of industry strategy, Oracle Utilities noting that utilities need to act now even though regulations, standards and available technology will change, so they are looking for an open, multi-application solution that will grow with them over time.