New Ways of Thinking
Elizabeth Cook is VP of Technical Strategy at the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies.
Rapid and seismic change in the electric industry is no longer something we can see on the horizon for which we need to start planning. It’s happening. Right now. Executives and operations leaders at electric utilities are experiencing it in real time each and every day.
So, let’s not call it change anymore. Let’s think of it as simply the current dynamic state of the industry.
I spent a significant amount of time over the past year engaging with these leaders at AEIC’s member utilities throughout the country who are embracing new ways of thinking, not bound by outdated business models or legacy systems, to design and implement solutions to key challenges and to capitalize on emerging opportunities in this dynamic environment.
Through this work, eight themes have emerged that I consider essential to achieving successful, leading-edge utility operations in 2026 and beyond: