Feature Article: Innovating in Asset Management—A Conversation with Alectra Utilities Vice President Tom Wasik
Energy Central recently interviewed Tom Wasik, Vice President, Asset Management, Alectra Utilities, for its Leaders In Innovation issue. A Copperleaf® client since 2014, Alectra Utilities is an electricity utility and distributor that serves approximately one million homes and businesses across several municipalities in the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada.
Tom Wasik, Vice President of Asset Management for Alectra Utilities was named a 2022 Innovation Champion by Energy Central for playing a major role in turning Alectra’s Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) goals and net-zero targets into concrete, actionable plans through several successful projects—from a non-wired alternative pilot to storm hardening. A veteran of the industry, Wasik is rethinking the company’s approach to asset management by tying investment plans to its ESG initiatives.
Wasik says Alectra considers the acronym from a ‘value-based standpoint.’ “Instead of developing a concrete definition, we look at the spirit of ESG and break it down by component,” he explains.
To say that asset investment decisions have become complicated in recent times is an understatement. Extreme weather patterns and climate change concerns have changed the narrative in recent years and ESG pressures are adding complexity to investment planning and decision making. As Wasik puts it, utilities now must strike a balance between sustainability and affordability in their asset investment decisions.
Sometimes sustainable solutions have higher upfront costs. But over the [sustainable] asset’s lifetime, you might see it has more value.
Tom Wasik
Vice President, Asset Management
Alectra
That value is derived over a long term, instead of immediately, and involves calculation of new metrics or expanding existing ones. For example, utilities can reduce power generation costs by co-opting customers as stakeholders in demand response programs. This is where Alectra’s use of decision-making software from Copperleaf has made a difference in its strategy.
Read the full article to learn:
- How the Copperleaf Decision Analytics Solution enables Alectra to compare different asset investment alternatives on a common economic scale
- How innovation can help utilities navigate the increasing pace of change
- How Alectra is balancing present-day affordability with long-term sustainability