Smart City/Smart Utility

Smart City/Smart Utility content features highlights from Black & Veatch's 2016 Strategic Directions: Smart City/Smart Utility report including subject matter expert insights, survey response trends and in-depth commentary on current industry issues.

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Research & Reports
Holistic Distribution Modernization Programs Require More Than Only Information Technology Upgrades
Electric utilities are realizing that distribution modernization programs, also referred to as grid modernization, can no longer be put off. Overhauling the electric distribution system will require upgrades to OT, as well as to the networks that allow IT and OT components to communicate to improve reliability. The benefits are clear: Grid operators need advanced sensors, communications and automation so they can see what’s happening in real time, which will lessen disruption while enhancing efficiency, reliability, security and safety.
Research & Reports
Cyber Threats to Physical Assets Demand a Proactive Approach
Intent on safeguarding the nation’s largest electric grids from potential mayhem, federal regulators have stepped up their oversight of the security of power utilities in an attempt to protect it from threats and incidents such as widespread, long-duration blackouts caused by digital saboteurs. Cyber threats linger, however, with operational technology (OT), including water systems that are far less centralized and, thus, more vulnerable.
Research & Reports
Electrified Fleet Vehicles and Mass Transit Gaining Momentum
Transportation accounts for more than one-quarter of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In a country with more than 70,000 transit vehicles — and with buses averaging roughly 34,000 miles of travel each year — electrification of the U.S. fleet and mass transportation spheres is becoming a top priority for city officials and utilities as they reimagine how people and goods move sustainably across urban landscapes. Removing fossil fuels from mass transit will go far in reducing that carbon footprint.
Research & Reports
Industrial Internet of Things and Big Data: The (R)evolution Continues
The industrial ecosystem increasingly is turning to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) in pursuit of quality control, efficiency and supply-chain improvements. But as sensors get cheaper, Big Data grabs a bigger footprint, and the technology gets ever more ubiquitous, complexities emerge with the broadening scale. With all this ability to measure and monitor, businesses risk drowning in a sea of data during the digital transformation. This challenge demands a strategy for structuring information, applying analytics and extracting knowledge to harness data’s value.
Research & Reports
Utilities Key to Powering the Future of Mass Transit EVs
What will mass transit look like in the future? Earlier this year, California announced an ambitious plan to reduce emissions by 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, setting the state on a path to achieving 80-percent reduction by 2050. Although satisfying these goals will require contributions from all sectors of the economy, the transition to zero- and near-zero emission vehicles will play an outsized role — particularly when it comes to mass transit.
Research & Reports
Autonomous Cars Poised to Transform, Connect Smart Communities
A future where driverless cars are roaming city streets may be closer than you think. Quickly moving past test and pilot phases, autonomous vehicles are now hitting the road in business parks and on limited fixed routes, bringing the promise of increased safety, reduced emissions and the potential for streamlined public transportation.
Research & Reports
Data as the New Infrastructure
For decades, the definition of “infrastructure” has remained unchanged and was used to define roads, bridges, electricity and water delivery systems, among other examples. But as cities continue to build upon smart city efforts, the concept and very definition of infrastructure is changing.
Research & Reports
Smarter, Safer Cities: Smart City Thinking Can Improve Public Safety
Smart cities also can be “Safe Cities” through the integration of smart city and public safety initiatives. An estimated 20 Safe City pilot programs are underway across the United States, in addition to programs on nearly every continent, in cities such as Dubai, Singapore and London.
Research & Reports
Are Smart Cities Real?
Is the smart city hype cycle over? Have concerns about cost, security and public skepticism finally won out over the benefits of efficiency, sustainability and public safety? It is fair to consider whether the futuristic visions of hyper- connectivity and advanced livability, enabled by accessibility to vast streams of data, can withstand the very real concerns that municipalities cannot afford the technologies behind smart city projects.
Research & Reports
Grid Modernization: Increasing Capital Investments To Decrease Risk
Growing commitment to distributed energy resources (DER) is forcing continued modernization of the grid — and the effort shows no signs of letting up. Whether by regulatory mandate or stakeholder pressure, system upgrades are being made worldwide to support the increase in renewable energy, while making infrastructure smarter and more resilient. Historically, attention to the grid’s distribution system focused on poles and wire maintenance and upkeep, but growing connectivity between assets is requiring a more holistic approach.

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