Accenture and GE Team Up To Provide Grid Modernization Practice

According to data from IEA,  2026 global renewable electricity usage will be 60% higher than 2020’s levels. This explosive growth in renewable energy presents as many challenges as it does opportunities. The biggest challenge? Grid modernization. Traditionally a physical infrastructure, the grid now has many digital components key to its orchestration. The predicament the energy world faces is very familiar to the team at Accenture.

“We see our utilities customers investing a lot in grid modernization through digitization,” says Gregorio Ogliaro Managing Director, Global Utility Transmission & Distribution Lead, Accenture. “That’s a key layer that is able to orchestrate this complexity.”

Ogliario and his team at Accenture are part of the GridOS^® partner ecosystem which brings together leaders in cloud computing and systems integration to help utilities advance IT and OT alignment, adopt hybrid cloud, develop new applications on the GridOS platform, and accelerate transformation to a scalable and flexible grid.

GridOS is the first grid software portfolio designed specifically for grid orchestration. Accenture, the world’s leading Information Technology consulting firm , are experts in helping organizations integrate technology into their infrastructure and digitize processes. Leveraging this proficiency is something Kristen Sanderson, Chief Customer Officer, GE Digital, sees as crucial to digital transformation of the grid.

“No one person, no one group can solve this. This is about building a successful ecosystem—between ourselves, our partners and customers. And it’s why I’m excited about GridOS. It gives us that platform where we can build the data fabric that enables all of these applications…to solve all the problems that we need to solve.”

Some of the biggest problems to solve according to Ogliaro and Sanderson include managing the vast amounts of renewables and corresponding data added to the grid daily, and the reliability it takes to stay up and running with predictability. Two things that are key to managing extreme weather events. In the last 20 years, power outages in the US due to extreme weather have doubled.

“Digital is playing a key role…it’s very important to predict climate related events and outages to reduce the time of interruption and improve reliability.” Ogliaro explains.

Reducing disruption of services through predictability—especially after severe weather, is critical to saving lives. And according to Sanderson, a key element to accomplishing this is automation. “When a storm comes and we’ve got to deal with the outages…we want the software to help automate that,” she says. 

GE Grid Software  customers experience 18% less network outages and realize 40% faster restoration times to keep the lights on for their customers*.  

The partnership is not only with partners, but with GE Digital’s customers. Something that’s critical to successfully navigating the future of renewable energy according to Sanderson.

“Bringing that customer voice into our roadmap—especially as we try to go so fast—is critically important for us to really understand the challenges on the ground, so we’re driving in the right direction.”

These challenges are expanding daily, with no end in sight. And a major need both Sanderson and Ogliaro hear from their customers is around talent sourcing.

“Our clients are struggling with talent,” Ogliaro explains. “GE and Accenture [can] address this talent.”

The GridOS partner ecosystem allows utilities to leverage IT consultants who have a wealth of grid knowledge. It can also help upskill their teams or help source additional talent.

In addition to predictability and customer collaboration, both Sanderson and Ogliaro view the cloud as a central theme to grid modernization.

As Ogliaro puts it, “Innovation is not possible if you are not in the cloud. With the amount of data we have in the grid, cloud is a prerequisite.”

One of the biggest advantages of leveraging the cloud is agility. Deployment update time is exponentially reduced, and infrastructure can evolve much faster to meet expanding renewable energy demands and use cases.

“The ability to update our systems monthly…that’s a key tenant in grid modernization,” Sanderson explains. “Innovation is moving so fast. You have to have [the] cloud. You have to be able to move quickly with your updates of your system. With [Accenture’s] help, shifting to that evergreen model and bringing in that hybrid cloud infrastructure is so critically important.”

Leveraging Accenture’s deep domain expertise will help the industry deliver scalability, reliability, and resilience.

 It will also help customers navigate IT complexities of digitizing their infrastructure to achieve grid modernization.

“Accenture has so many experiences from other industries that I think can really help our customers. It’s a win-win for all of us.”

^{_{*Data source from Annual Electric Power Industry Report, Form EIA-861, October 2022, results based on utilities in the United States that have 1.25 million customers or more. Reliability data reflects average SAIDI and SAIFI with MEDs.}}