Reliability in a more dynamic energy system

Posted: September 04, 2026

Missed the first installment? Read it here

Key takeaways from the 2026 AVEVA Utility Executive Summit

Part two in our series exploring the capabilities utility leaders say are essential for modern operations

By Ann Moore

Reliability remains the utility industry's most important measure of success. What has changed is the operating environment: more variability, more dependencies, and less time to respond.

At the 2026 AVEVA Utility Executive Summit, utility executives, regulators, and industry leaders discussed how electrification, distributed energy resources (DERs)—including utility-scaled and behind-the-meter (BTM) DERs—energy storage, extreme weather, and rising customer expectations are increasing complexity across the energy system. A clear theme emerged: maintaining reliability is becoming a real-time coordination challenge. Infrastructure still matters—but in a more dynamic grid, reliability increasingly depends on how quickly teams can detect risk, interpret operational context, and coordinate action across functions.

If planning confidence is the foundation of utility readiness, operational visibility is what enables utilities to execute with confidence. Leaders described the need for a shared and integrated, near-real-time view of dynamic system performance, risk, and emerging constraints—across people, teams, and tools.

The grid is more complex than ever

Today's grid is more decentralized, more interconnected, and more dynamic. Renewables, DERs, storage, and consumer-owned assets are changing power flows and creating new operational dependencies. At the same time, electrification and large-load growth are reshaping demand patterns in ways that are often difficult to predict and manage.

But traditional operating models were designed for a more centralized system. As one summit participant noted:

"There is a huge modeling gap in our industry right now."

Utilities now need to continuously assess changing conditions, anticipate risks earlier, and act faster—often with incomplete information.

Visibility as a strategic requirement

Utilities have access to more data than ever, but leaders were candid about the challenge: turning that data into actionable insight fast enough to matter. Visibility is no longer simply about monitoring assets. It is about understanding how generation, transmission, distribution, DERs, storage, and customer demand interact—so risks can be identified early enough to prevent customer impact, not just explain it afterward.

Framework: Four levels of operational visibility maturity

1. Monitor with data collection and alarms
2. Understand network, asset, and constraint context
3. Anticipate risk and evaluate scenarios
4. Coordinate cross-team actions with a shared view of impact and priority

The organizations best positioned to maintain reliability will be those that can quickly identify emerging issues, understand operational impacts, and respond with confidence.

Flexibility adds options—and complexity

Many utilities are increasingly relying on storage, demand response, and distributed resources to support grid flexibility. While these resources create new opportunities, they also add complexity, including new dependencies between forecasting, dispatch, field work, and customer programs.

As one executive observed:

"Storage is wonderful. It doesn't solve all the problems."

Managing a more flexible grid requires more than additional assets. It requires operational intelligence—the ability to combine trusted data, operational context, and analytics to make informed decisions in real time. In practice, that means less time reconciling data and more time acting on it.

Reliability and resilience go hand in hand

Another key takeaway was the growing connection between reliability and resilience. Utilities must not only maintain day-to-day performance but also prepare for disruptions caused by severe weather, cyber threats, and rapidly changing operating conditions. Resilience increasingly depends on the ability to anticipate disruption, assess system-wide impact, and coordinate enterprise response before issues escalate.

Operational visibility enables reliability—but visibility is only as strong as the data foundation underneath it.

Continue the series: Read Data readiness: The foundation for AI at scale to explore the third pillar of utility readiness—trusted data.

Learn from industry leaders and experts shaping the future of power and utilities. Join us for AVEVA Day for Power & Utilities in Arlington, TX, USA September 16-17, 2026.