UTC Telecom: The many hats of utility company CIOs

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Utility companies are looking to invest in smart grid technologies no doubt, but at the same time they have to convey the value to customers and justify the costs that come along with large-scale investments for a better grid.
“In our industry we need to figure out a way and articulate the value that is going to come across as a result of the smart grid,” Mahvash Yazdi, CIO and SVP at Southern California Edison Co. said here on a panel among CIOs at UTC Telecom yesterday. “It’s really a cross-industry challenge to make sure the smart grid happens.”
In Yazdi’s view, “information is the new currency” that will define the new era of technology in utilities and telecommunications. “I think we’re entering a very new and exciting environment,” she said.
Rather than sitting by and waiting to follow others, Yazdi thinks utility company CIOs can be key players in the rolling out of a smart grid. “IT folks are the thought leaders, they are the experts. In many ways they know a better, cheaper, more efficient way of getting things done so they need to be heard,” she added.
“We can’t build multiple, multiple networks and keep everything separate. So I think you’re going to continue to see that converge,” said Matt Lampe, VP and CIO at Los Angeles Department of Water & Power. “Operational systems have started to covergerge into the world that IT has had to live in for some time.”
Lampe said CIOs are being pushed out of their comfort zones by technology and the demands that are requiring the utility industry to change the way it does things. “It used to be if it works don’t touch it, that doesn’t work anymore,” he said. “My advice would be, be ready to move outside of your comfort zone.”
It’s incumbent on IT veterans and newcomers alike to comprehend the capabilities that are coming to the fore and prepare for the ramifications that could happen as a result, Yazdi added. “We are only as strong as our weakest link when it comes to cyber security.”
The tug of incredibly exciting technology innovations and the pull of security is a constant battle, said Pablo Vegas, VP and CIO at American Electric Power Co. Inc. “What’s emerging in terms of compliances and security mandates pulls you in the oppostie direction,” Vegas added. “Cybersecurity is critical to us, it’s akin to our ability.”
Everything is leading toward more assets and more data that CIOs need to secure. When the topic of customer privacy was raised, Vegas was clear: “The customers’ data is their data. We protect it on their behalf.” However, he added that businesses own the data that comes through their operations while CIOs and IT professionals act as the stewards of that data.