Over the past year, we’ve noticed our clients are a curious bunch, which is awesome. Identifying patterns is how we make a living, so compiling the most frequently asked questions was the most appropriate choice. Let our team here at GreatBlue Research give you a rundown of the most basic market research principles and how to use the results to improve your operations and customer service.
News
Cybersecurity After COVID-19: 10 Ways To Protect Your Utility & Refocus On Resilience
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant implementation of social distancing directives, altered business processes, and new economic realities, community-owned utilities must review and address their technology infrastructure and cybersecurity measures.
3 Best Practices To Prepare For A Ransomware Attack
Cyber-attacks remain a top business risk for all utilities and municipalities, increasing in frequency, severity, and sophistication. At the top of the cyber-attack list? Ransomware. The recent attack on the Colonial Pipeline is focusing heavy attention on the threat of ransomware on U.S. energy infrastructure. The bottom line: planning is everything. Learn the three best practices for preparing for a ransomware attack and how to create a detailed incident response plan that prevents paralysis should the worst happen.
Read More about 3 Best Practices To Prepare For A Ransomware Attack »
Secure The Right Environmental Insurance For Today’s Utility Threats
Environmental perils rank among the highest in Marsh’s Global Risks Report 2021, specifically extreme weather, failure to address climate change, and environmental damage from human activity. These perils can lead to expensive clean-up measures and tort liability. U.S. municipalities and their community-owned utilities should adapt their business model to these realities and include environmental insurance coverage in their risk transfer strategy.
Read More about Secure The Right Environmental Insurance For Today’s Utility Threats »
Hometown Connections Seeks Bids For Work & Asset Management, Mobile Workforce Solution
On June 1, 2021, Hometown Connections, Inc. (HCI) published a Request for Proposal (RFP) REF#: HCI_WAM_MWF_RFP_1925. HCI is soliciting proposals from qualified vendors offering software solutions that meet the identified requirements of community-owned utilities for Work and Asset Management and Mobile Workforce applications. HCI seeks to partner with the selected vendor(s) to provide these applications.
Gas Pipeline Ransomware Attack Is Wake Up Call For Public Power
Front page headlines, consumer panic, political fallout, and a $5 million ransom paid. The attack on the largest fuel pipeline in the U.S. is focusing attention on the vulnerability of our energy infrastructure like never before. With people lining up at gas stations when facing only a few days of a shortage, imagine the reaction to the local electric grid being down for who knows how long. It’s beyond time for all municipalities and their utility departments to build out their cyber defenses.
Read More about Gas Pipeline Ransomware Attack Is Wake Up Call For Public Power »
Validate Your Business Decisions
Picture this: you’re in a packed boardroom (via Zoom, of course), your palms are sweaty, your knees are weak, your arms are heavy. You’re nervous. You have a great idea to make your organization a lot of money, but you don’t have any data to back it up, so no one takes you seriously. As GreatBlue Research explains, the answer is to test your idea with randomly selected people who fit your targeting criteria. You’ll get the answers you need to move forward with confidence. No more guessing!
The Evolution Of Rate Design
In the world of electric and natural gas rate design, the tariffs of the past and today will not work in the future. In a presentation entitled, The Rates…They Are A Changin’, Apogee Interactive‘s Joel Gilbert P.E. and The Brattle Group’s Ahmad Faruqui, Ph.D. Economics, explain how the old ways of designing rates are clashing with customer expectations.
Supply Chain/Third Party Breaches — Your New #1 Highest Cyber Risk
For years the security community has viewed internal resources as presenting the greatest cyber risk to an entity. In 2021, shortly on the heels of the much-publicized SolarWinds breach, as well as many other supply chain/third party cyber breaches, it can be argued that supply chain/third parties now represent a greater cyber risk than insiders. This poses an extremely difficult problem to address given the number of third parties providing technology services to critical infrastructure entities and the nature of the services provided by the third parties. Acumen, a Hometown Connections cybersecurity partner, provides context and a 5-step process to address these risks.
Read More about Supply Chain/Third Party Breaches — Your New #1 Highest Cyber Risk »
27 Communities In Ohio And Pennsylvania Benefit From Distributed Generation
In 2018, American Municipal Power, Inc. (AMP) looked closely at industry changes impacting the joint action agency and its members. The forecasted increase of PJM’s capacity and transmission charges throughout the AMP footprint were of chief concern. PJM is the regional transmission organization (RTO) that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity throughout 13 midwestern and eastern states, including the majority of AMP members. To help members offset these cost increases, AMP developed a behind the meter peaking project. The first phase of the project is integrating PowerSecure generation systems into 14 member utilities in Ohio and Pennsylvania, providing benefits to a total of 27 communities.
Read More about 27 Communities In Ohio And Pennsylvania Benefit From Distributed Generation »