Technology & Customer Expectations
Since April 2014, Sue Kelly has been president and CEO of the American Public Power Association – the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide. Earlier, she was the senior vice president, policy analysis and general counsel. Under Kelly’s leadership, the association has advocated on wholesale electric market issues, worked to strengthen cybersecurity awareness and resources for utilities and raised the profile of public power in Washington, D.C.
It's no secret that the electric power industry is changing quickly. You can't pick up an industry newsletter or magazine - like this one - without seeing it. Electric utilities of all stripes are evolving their business models to meet changing customer expectations.
Utilities will have to continue to provide the so-called bread and butter services, such as generating electricity, providing reliable and safe distribution service, and maintaining an expansive transmission network, for the foreseeable future. But they will have to adapt and offer new services if they hope to flourish in the new century.
To address this changing landscape, the American Public Power Association created our Public Power Forward initiative. One of the main goals of this initiative is to educate our members about these coming changes through reports and through conferences, webinars, workshops, and in-person member meetings. These may be produced by the Association or by others in the industry.
But this education is not a one-way street. We are learning from our members, large and small, who have undertaken their own initiatives to push their utilities forward. A big part of Public Power Forward is acting as an information clearinghouse for our members, helping them learn from each other.
Renewables and Battery Storage