Guido Bartels, general manager of IBM’s Energy & Utilities Industry, said: “The addition of these new members furthers the global scope of the coalition and accelerates how we can fundamentally change the way power is managed and distributed. Each utility company brings specific expertise to the table that allows members to apply new competencies to their own networks.”
Liander envisions a smart grid that facilitates sustainable energy generation and consumption. Among other initiatives, Liander is using technology to detect and reduce grid losses and supports energy conservation for consumers.
The coalition member companies are diverse in their knowledge contributions. The GIUNC shares ideas and practices through in-person meetings and virtual interactions, and undertakes collaborative initiatives.
The coalition’s first collaborative effort was the creation of a smart grid maturity model, which has been used by more than 60 utilities from around the world to benchmark their current progress and plan long term smart grid programmes. The model was recently donated to Carnegie Mellon’s Software Engineering Institute for use by the industry. Other collaborations are focused on the smart grid’s impact on climate change, consumer perspectives, standards and interoperability and possible future regulatory models.
