New DERs are often installed in more remote, decentralized areas of the grid where visibility beyond the substation is strained. Costs to extend hard lines into these far-reaching areas quickly becomes expensive for both utilities and their customers.

North Carolina has a proud history of innovation and advancement dating back to the Wright brothers and their historic first flight near Kitty Hawk in 1903. This culture of innovation also lives in the electric cooperatives that deliver power to North Carolina’s rural communities. Electric cooperative EnergyUnited, for example, continues to find new opportunities for innovation...

Upgrading their advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) with remote reconnect/disconnect meters (RD) that can schedule disconnects and reconnects will provide electric utilities with more granular control over their load management and help reduce financial and operational disruptions for their customers.

Cyclical water shortages are a challenge that Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) takes seriously. As California’s sixth-largest retail water agency, they embrace the opportunity to balance water use efficiency with meeting the needs of a diverse and growing customer base.

Comanche Electric Cooperative covers seven counties and services 5,000 miles of power line. This vast Texas landscape serves as a playground for outdoor enthusiasts, but it’s no walk in the park for the cooperative to provide dependable services to customers.

The use of natural gas within homes and throughout commercial industries is growing at a rapid pace all over the world. Affordability, stable pricing and reliability make natural gas an ideal choice, especially within North America. As natural gas continues to improve the quality of life for residents and businesses alike, the industry is also becoming part of the technological connectedness that is the norm today.

Walla Walla began their journey toward long-term improvement by transitioning to a smart utility network from Sensus, a Xylem brand. The solution gave the utility better visibility across more than 11,000 water meters. Better yet, it gave Walla Walla a foundation that was scalable down the road.

Upgrading to gas Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) is a crucial part of digitally transforming a gas or combination utility. It enables these utilities to leverage new efficiencies and opportunities while improving safety and long-term planning.

The largest water utility in New Mexico is on a mission to ensure this kind of water service interruption doesn’t happen. They’re leading the way in continuous improvement by transitioning to smart digital solutions.

Located in the heart of Washington State’s Tri-Cities—also known as “Washington Wine Country”—Benton Public Utility District (PUD) serves more than 50,000 customers across Kennewick, Finley, Benton City, Prosser and outlying areas. While residents of this “year-round paradise” are known for a sense of fun and adventure, they want their electric utility to be serious about reliable and efficient service.

Transitioning away from a traditional distribution model in a territory covering nearly 400,000 electric and natural gas customers isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. Technology has helped the utility seize the opportunity for new grid controls while ensuring quality and reliability as demand evolves.

The City of Evans is located about an hour north of Denver. With approximately 20,000 residents and counting, the city is growing so fast that its newly-built Prairie Heights Middle School is already at capacity. Challenges with meter reads and billing will only get bigger as the population grows.

While water utilities are balancing daily operations, they’re also facing wide-ranging challenges that makes strategic planning, funding and technology even more important. Short-term solutions are no longer an option – solution longevity is a priority.