Enterprise Metering Launch

SYSTEM TRANSPLANT. PROGNOSIS POSITIVE.

When the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ratified its new Standards of Conduct, it created a big problem – and opportunity – for a large federal utility client of ours. Complying with the original standards required the utility to separate its Power Marketing and Transmission business units, effectively splitting them into two independent entities. Each group had to establish their own metering function, but the new standards provided the opportunity to create a “shared” organization.

The utility asked ACME to restructure the metering service into a new, shared organization and establish standard opperating procedures and tools. People, processes and systems had been duplicated; nothing had been standardized. It was a daunting, complex project that required replacing an aging legacy system with a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) package – similar to heart transplant surgery only with a different set of tools – while maintaining consistent operations. Skipping a beat wasn’t an option.

Phase one: Treatment plan
Together with utility executives, stakeholders and a cross-functional project team, ACME worked to assess the metering function, requirements, recommend improvements, and select and implement a new Meter Data Management system.

Phase two: Prepping the operation
We set a timeline, established objectives, assigned duties and gathered input. We got off to a fast start. However, after much work the pace of progress began to slow.
The first complication was productivity. The rate of progress meant there was just no way we were going to meet out deadline. So we tackled it head on and brought everyone together for a sit down. We reviewed our results thus far and asked for unanimous consent to meet the “live” deadline. The team was all in. Even though it meant postponing time off and vacations.

The second complication related to the complexity of the product. Our project leader had to drill deep into the details of the new system (Itron Enterprise Edition) to understand its features, functionality and nuances – and then help translate it all for the client so they could be up and moving fast when the system went live.

Leadership pays off
We made the deadline. The utility now has a shared Metering Services organization that serves both its Power Marketing and Transmission business units, complete with fully standardized roles, responsibilities, performance measures and service agreements.
The system transplant is functioning well. Client has not skipped a beat.