Welcome Your New Expert Interview Series: Brian Barr, New Expert in the Digital Utility Group- [an Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Expert Interview]

In this exclusive interview, Brian delves into the pivotal role of digital transformation in reshaping the utilities landscape, emphasizing its profound impact on customer experience, operational efficiency, and resilience. As we embark on this journey with Brian, we uncover challenges utilities encounter when integrating new technologies, strategies for enhancing resilience and reliability through advanced analytics and IoT, and anticipations for the future trends poised to revolutionize the sector.

Read on to learn from Brian’s insights and expertise, paving the way for a new era of innovation and collaboration in the digital utility community.

Matt Chester: Thanks for agreeing to join our Expert Network, Brian. Let’s start at the beginning: Please walk us through your role in the industry today and how you got to this career path.

Brian Barr: I currently lead Wipro’s North American Utility Consulting organization. In my role, I work with new and existing clients to help pinpoint needs, gaps, and areas where they can improve the business. As a technology company first, Wipro has a wonderful opportunity to really lean in on the business side, to provide not just technical solutions but also business consulting solutions that help refine our customers’ technical landscape and their utility business processes. 

As for how I got here, I started in utilities in 1997 and worked for two investor-owned utilities in electric and natural gas commodities. Early in my career, I focused on poles and wires, then moved into customer operations and strategy. Before starting on the consulting side, I was in customer experience and strategy.

MC: How do you perceive the role of digital transformation in shaping the future of utilities, particularly in enhancing customer experience and operational efficiency?

BB: Digital transformation is at the heart of the future of utilities. Why? In the past, we always thought that business processes would drive technology needs. Today, the business process is still at the heart of the business, especially with customers at the center, but technology and, more specifically, the transformation of the experiences is what is driving this huge change in the industry.

The demand of customers to have the “Amazon” experience, as well as the huge amounts of data from metering, OT devices in the field, and just about every other item that can generate a data point, is causing utilities to think about how to best a.) serve their customers, b.) maintain a positive ROI on their capital investments, and c.) maintain regulatory compliance.

MC: Could you elaborate on some key challenges utilities face when integrating new technologies into their existing infrastructure and how they can be effectively addressed?

BB: Two big challenges present themselves. First, older, legacy systems can be difficult to integrate with. We see a ton of utilities operating on “green screen” technology from the 90s and early 2000s, which, although are out of date from a technical perspective, still provide solid data on a daily basis. So, we have to take new, cutting-edge technology and have it talk to code written over 30 years ago. This blending of old and new is a huge hurdle, especially as regulators put checks on capital requirements due to economic conditions. 

The second challenge is the change management requirements. People still make the companies run, and they are still the consumers and users of the technology. Many have done the same processes on the same systems for years. They have their shortcuts, workarounds, and hacks that can cut their time in half. A new system could create longer and more difficult paths for them until they get efficient. We call this the “J” curve, where when a new system is implemented, productivity and effectiveness drop for a period until new learnings and efficiencies can be gained. The only way to shorten that time is through change management. This is done by being effective communicators up front and throughout the transformation process.

MC: Resilience and reliability are paramount for utilities, especially during times of crisis or unforeseen events. How can digital utilities leverage advanced analytics, IoT, and other technologies to enhance resilience and ensure uninterrupted service delivery?

BB: In today’s environment, there is so much operational data available. The key question may be to know what is the “right” data that will aid in making a decision. For instance, wildfire management and managing Public Safety Power Shutoff events are highly critical operating functions.  In the past, we would take into consideration things like pole/wind loading, vegetation issues, and other observable factors to estimate whether conditions warrant a decision. 

However, OT today provides system conditions on a near real-time basis. We are able to see if wind thresholds are reaching a dangerous level and whether transformers or other equipment have a higher load or other impacts. These few but very key data points allow utility leaders and emergency managers to make the best decisions possible. This one example can be mimicked for almost any emergent situation, like a hurricane, snow event, or other natural phenomena, so that public safety is not compromised.

MC: Looking ahead, what trends do you anticipate will significantly impact the utilities sector in the coming years, and how should organizations prepare to adapt and thrive in this rapidly evolving landscape?

BB: I see two definite broad areas of trend: one is on the technology side, and the other is more on the operational and innovation side.

From a technology point of view, the introduction of AI and Generative AI will support significant growth. Utilities will have so much data from smart meters, drone inspections, varied and more personalized customer programs, and operational system data that AI and GenAI will be tools that can support decision-making, maintenance schedules, and even regulatory compliance and filings.

Expanding this to operations and innovation, EV infrastructure will have a huge impact on utilities.  Questions like “Where will charging infrastructure be located? How much extra do we need to design/build into our current infrastructure to handle the increased loads? How much generation capacity will we need to account for? Will we be able to use our vehicles as “batteries” to power our homes overnight?” These questions are all unique to each utility, and we need to be flexible and think ahead about how those impacts will affect our customers and stakeholders. Generation mix will also significantly impact the way we do business. Customers are recognizing the impact of renewable energy, microgrids, and other sources of energy are changing. The energy transition, which is also fueled by digital transformation, will stabilize over the next couple of years. Customers will still need baseload generation, and with renewables, the wind doesn’t always blow, and the sun doesn’t always shine, so consideration needs to be paid to maintain a balance on the grid.

MC: Why did you feel compelled to get more involved in the Energy Central Community? And what value do you hope to bring to your peers on the platform?  

BB: Communicating with peers, learning more, and sharing thoughts, experiences, and strategies are always things that I think help to support customers. In the end, we are helping to provide a needed service for our customers, the utility customers. The old quote that “a rising tide lifts all boats” is certainly appropriate for our industry. It’s not a zero-sum game, and if we do this well, everyone wins. Hopefully, our sharing with each other gets to that place.

MC: What’s the final message to your peers across Energy Central?

BB: I have been lucky to see the evolution of this industry in a dramatic way over the last 25-plus years. An old CEO of mine said about 15 years ago that we would see more change in the next 10 to 15 years than in the last 150. We certainly did see that. Now, with the pace of innovation, the change in the next 10 may be an exponential growth over our last 15. The time of our grandpa’s utility has passed. This is something new and exciting, and I hope we can all enable it together.

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Thanks to Brian for joining me for this interview and providing a wealth of insights and expertise to the Energy Central Community. You can trust that Brian will be available for you to reach out and connect, ask questions, and more as an Energy Central member, so be sure to make him feel welcome when you see him across the platform.

The other expert interviews that we’ve completed in this series can be read here, and if you are interested in becoming an expert, you can reach out to me or you can apply here.