Glossary

Featured Term

The hardware, software, professional services, business processes and people needed to successfully support and implement analytics initiatives across the enterprise that are not specific to either customer analytics or grid analytics. Examples within this area include.

Analytics hardware, such as analytics-specific servers
Software and middleware that support analytics applications or offer enterprise-wide analytics capabilities
Communications networks
Professional services, such as data management and integration

Foundational Terms

Customer Analytics

Customer analytics are the hardware, software, professional services, business processes and people that enable utilities to analyze data to better serve the utility and its customers. Customer analytics include two key areas: customer operations and customer engagement.

Grid Analytics

Grid analytics are the hardware, software, professional services, business processes and people that enable utilities to analyze data to ensure better planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of utility transmission and distribution networks. Grid analytics include two key areas: asset optimization and grid optimization.

Analytics business infrastructure

Analytics business infrastructure is the hardware, software, professional services, business processes and people needed to successfully support and implement analytics initiatives across the enterprise that are not specific to either customer analytics or grid analytics. Examples within this area include:

Analytics hardware, such as analytics-specific servers
Software and middleware that support analytics applications or offer enterprise-wide analytics capabilities
Communications networks
Professional services, such as data management and integration

Additional terms

Advanced distribution management

Analytics that offer real-time operational analysis and optimization functions for the distribution network. These analytics can cover a variety of areas including, but not limited to, distribution state estimation, crew management, fault location and isolation, service restoration, load allocation, predictive feeder load flow/peak planning, switch order management, and price-sensitive load modeling. Systems can also include electric vehicle, microgrid and distributed generation support.

Analytics business infrastructure

Analytics hardware, such as analytics-specific servers
Software and middleware that support analytics applications or offer enterprise-wide analytics capabilities
Communications networks
Professional services, such as data management and integration

Call center optimization

Analytics that assist utilities with planning and managing call center operations to accurately forecast workload and schedules and improve call center business processes to deliver better customer service and contribute to the utility’s bottom line.

Campaign management

Analytics that provide support for planning and tracking capabilities for customer marketing campaigns to enable utilities to effectively allocate marketing resources.

Credit and collections

Analytics that optimize the cash flow of utility companies, including billing, collections, and low-income customer programs.

Customer analytics

The hardware, software, professional services, business processes and people that enable utilities to analyze data to better serve the utility and its customers. Customer analytics include two key areas:

Customer operations: Analytics that focus internally on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of a utility’s customer operations. This area includes meter data analytics, credit and collections, call center optimization, fraud detection, campaign management, customer segmentation, pricing optimization, and other customer operations.

Customer engagement: Analytics that support utility interactions with customers and improve their relationship with the utility through improved service, lower costs and better customer experiences. This area includes categories such as demand response, energy efficiency, distributed generation management, and other customer engagement.

Customer segmentation

Analytics that assist utilities with segmenting customers into discrete groups that share similar characteristics to enable utilities to effectively serve and interact with those groups.

Demand response

Analytics that assist with modeling, planning and managing utility demand response programs, and communicating demand response requests to customers.

Distributed generation management

Analytics that assist utilities and utility customers with planning, implementing and managing distributed resources — including distributed generation, storage and electric vehicles.

Energy efficiency

Analytics that assist utilities and utility customers with reducing the amount of energy required to deliver energy products and services

Fraud detection

Analytics that assist utilities with identifying, managing and preventing fraudulent activities.

Grid analytics

The hardware, software, professional services, business processes and people that enable utilities to analyze data to ensure better planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of utility transmission and distribution networks. Grid analytics include two key areas:

Asset optimization: Analytics that assist with optimizing the performance and reliability of grid assets. This area includes categories such as transformer management, substation management, and overall transmission and distribution asset management.

Grid optimization: Analytics that assist with optimizing the operation of the grid to minimize power losses and maximize efficiency and quality. This area includes categories such as outage management, system modeling, power quality optimization, advanced distribution management, and analytics for real-time applications.

Meter data analytics

Analytics that support meter data collection, estimation and validation activities. This area includes meter data management systems.

Outage management

Analytics that assist with the identification of power outages and restoration of power. Major functions include locating outages, identifying source(s) of outages, prioritizing restoration efforts, estimating restoration times, managing crews assisting in restoration.

Power quality optimization

Analytics that improve power factor, reduce technical losses, minimize power losses, reduce energy consumption through voltage reduction, reduce monthly peak load charges, and evaluate present peak load system design. Applications include volt/volt-ampere reactive (VAR) optimization (VVO) and dynamic voltage optimization.

Pricing optimization

Analytics that support the planning and adjustment of electricity prices in response to changing demand and supply needs.

Real-time network operations

Other analytics that support real-time network operations, including real-time power dispatch.

Substation equipment management

Analytics that monitor substation equipment health, diagnose or predict substation equipment problems, and assist utilities with prioritizing and planning for their substation equipment maintenance and replacement needs.

System modeling

Analytics that model transmission and distribution systems to assist utilities with designing and conceptualizing new grid systems and components, and understanding how those changes will impact existing networks.

Transformer management

Analytics that monitor transformer health, diagnose or predict transformer problems, and assist utilities with prioritizing and planning for their transformer fleet maintenance and replacement needs.

Transmission and distribution asset management

Analytics that monitor T&D asset health, diagnose or predict T&D asset problems, and assist utilities with prioritizing and planning for their T&D asset maintenance and replacement needs. These T&D assets include any equipment that is not ‘inside the substation fence’ and not a transformer.

Glossary

Featured Term

Foundational Terms

Additional terms

Analytics Speak