UIL Holdings Selects Accenture, Structure and Ventyx to Help Improve Customer Communications and Reduce the Impact of Outages by Implementing Outage Lifecycle Management Solution

To help reduce the duration and impact of power outages and enhance network efficiency, UIL Holdings, the parent company of The United Illuminating Company (UI), has teamed with Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and Structure to implement a new solution from Ventyx, an ABB company.

The companies will work together to seamlessly integrate the Ventyx Outage Lifecycle Management (OLM) solution with UI’s information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) to improve communications to customers, performance, reliability and grid management. This will enable the utility to better handle outage response during storms while managing crews and resources more efficiently during normal operations.

“At a time when our legacy infrastructure and IT systems are under increasing pressure from adverse weather and new energy sources on the grid, we have initiated an ambitious program to upgrade our transmission and distribution technologies to ensure that our customers continue to receive the highest level of service,” said Joseph Thomas, VP of Electric System Operations at UI. “This initiative will help us to better prepare for major weather events, improve operational efficiencies and provide our customers, maintenance crews and other stakeholders with proactive, timely and accurate information on service delivery and restoration.”

Accenture and Structure will collaborate to provide comprehensive process design, technology deployment and configuration, testing and integration services across the IT and OT solution. Accenture will leverage its market-leading experience in helping to transform utilities’ transmission and distribution capabilities. It will manage the day-to-day operations of the project, from systems integration, business process design and change management through to the implementation of the most recent operations and information technology to drive improvements for UI’s customers, employees and shareholders. Structure will bring its market-leading expertise in real-time transmission and distribution operational control systems by providing business process design, system integration and implementation of the outage management and distribution operation’s components.

“Through this program, UI will become more connected to its customers and more data driven as an organization with the ability to scale its operations during major storms and initiate timely, proactive and effective responses for its customers,” said Jack Azagury, managing director of Accenture’s North America utilities business. “The integration of IT with OT will drive opportunities for advanced analytics and improve the accuracy of the information that can be delivered to customers, field crews, regulators and executives through digital channels, such as the web and mobile applications.”

David Shepheard, Structure partner and utility strategy practice leader, said, “When done right, integrating IT and OT solutions promises to improve storm response, create efficiencies during normal operations and provide flexibility for future grid innovations. UI’s vision for this program embraces the importance of this integration by selecting the leading software vendor in this space, Ventyx. We look forward to combining Accenture’s business transformation and IT capabilities in work and asset management with Structure’s OT capabilities around SCADA, outage management and distribution operations management, to turn UI’s vision into reality.”

The Ventyx solution is designed to transform utilities’ response to planned and unplanned outages by integrating smart equipment with industrial software for distribution management, outage management, SCADA, mobile workforce management and business analytics to support the entire lifecycle of outage management from planning to restoration and continuous improvement of response strategies.

“By integrating vital technologies such as mobile workforce management and advanced analytics with its outage management system, Ventyx OLM software will help UI connect the control room with the grid to provide increased situational awareness,” said Jens Birgersson, head of ABB's Network Management Business Unit. “As a result, UI will be able to more quickly isolate and restore outages, prioritize repair work and increase efficiency by sending the right crews with the right equipment to affected areas, while keeping stakeholders proactively informed about the forecasted impact and restoration time.”

About UIL Holdings Corporation:

Headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut, UIL Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UIL) is a diversified energy delivery company serving more than 700,000 electric and natural gas utility customers in 66 communities across two states, with combined total assets of over $5 billion. UIL is the parent company of The United Illuminating Company (UI), The Southern Connecticut Gas Company (SCG), Connecticut Natural Gas Corporation (CNG), and The Berkshire Gas Company (Berkshire), each more than 100 years old. UI provides for the transmission and delivery of electricity and other energy related services for Connecticut's Greater New Haven and Bridgeport areas. SCG and CNG are natural gas distribution companies that serve customers in Connecticut, while Berkshire Gas serves natural gas customers in western Massachusetts. UIL employs more than 1,850 people in the New England region.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 305,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$30.0 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2014. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

About Structure

Structure is a leading provider of business advisory, system integration, and customized solution development services focused exclusively on the energy and utilities industries. Structure relies on deep industry expertise and proven methodologies to deliver energy technology platforms for the next generation across Energy Trading and Risk Management, Smart Grid / Distribution Operations / Distribution Automation, SCADA and Energy Management Systems, and Competitive Energy Market Solutions. For more information, visit www.thestructuregroup.com.

About Ventyx

Ventyx, an ABB company, is a world-leading supplier of Industrial Enterprise Software for essential industries such as energy, mining and public infrastructure. Ventyx solutions bridge the gap between information technologies (IT) and operational technologies (OT), enabling clients to make faster, better-informed decisions in both daily operations and long-term planning strategies. Some of the world’s largest organizations rely on Ventyx solutions to minimize risk, enhance operational and financial performance, and execute the right strategies for the future. For more details, see www.ventyx.com.