Danny Petrecca of Locusview Discussion on Utility Processes and Systems of Record Amid Grid Growth & Digitalization - [an Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Expert Interview]
The rapid digitalization of all aspects of the utility industry has somehow dominated headlines while also falling under the radar. Leaders across the power industry recognize the importance of collecting and analyzing data, keeping digital records, and modernizing the way of doing business, but that still leaves some organizations taking shortcuts or not understanding the full capabilities of the digital future of utilities.
Half-hearted steps towards a digital utility are insufficient and incomplete, and they even risk giving the power company a false sense of security that they’re doing everything they have to do. Pushing past those misconceptions and into the realm where the internal DNA of how a utility does business to integrate the solutions of tomorrow is nothing new to Danny Petrecca, Vice President of Business Development at Locusview.
Having spent a career at the intersection of energy and digital tools like geospatial information gathering and analysis, few people would have a better perspective on how and why now is the right moment for utilities to go all-in with the digital solution. And that’s the message he’s primed to share at the presentation he’s set to give at DISTRIBUTECH on February 8 in San Diego. That session, titled ‘How Will the Rapid Growth of Electric Infrastructure Impact Utility Processes and Systems of Record?’ will cover how digital construction management supports the rapid growth of electric infrastructure and inspire leaders on how to improve the accuracy of a utility’s system of record.
For the Energy Central Community Member attending (or thinking of attending) this year’s DISTRIBUTECH, Danny sat down with us for a conversation about the topic he’ll be presenting on to give a teaser for what you can expect to learn if you opt to join him next month. Keep reading, and if you have any thoughts or questions for him ahead of DISTRIBUTECH, be sure to share them in the comments below to start the conversation before even showing up at the conference floor!
Matt Chester: To start off, can you introduce yourself to the readers in the Energy Central Community who might not be familiar with you? What’s your role in the utility industry, and how did you find yourself there?
Danny Petrecca: I've worked in the utility software arena for the better part of my career, which has been almost 22 years. I've always been involved in the enterprise side of utility software, starting with companies like Miner & Miner, which became Telvent which became Schneider Electric. Through that time, I was always working on GIS systems of record, graphic work, design solutions, mobile mapping, OMS, ADMS, and other users of infrastructure data. I’ve also played in the IT ecosystem for utilities through a number of roles, whether it was from pre-sales to running a product management team or running the entire product strategy for a software vendor to international sales and business development to partners and alliances.
I’ve been fortunate because, over that 20-something years, I've had a front-row seat to see how the trends and drivers in utilities from the late 90s to today have evolved.