Utilities are faced with aging infrastructure, budget constraints, extreme weather conditions, stricter regulations, technological advances, and other issues. Smart Utility—a new approach to utility management—pulls data across systems and departments into one location and transforms them into valuable information to make planning and real-time decision making easier. Smart Utility provides utilities with the relevant information they need to develop priorities; plan for the right projects; and ultimately adapt to environmental, technical, and financial changes.

In the early 2000s, a Smart Utility concept in the context of managing assets and leveraging data was the buzz in the industry. Smart Utility has since evolved into a dynamic utility management approach that connects a utility’s information systems and departments with its business goals to effectively plan for the future. In this paper, we explore steps to become a Smart Utility, benefits of adoption, challenges and our lessons learned over the last decade.