Erik Odegard

By leveraging PMI methodologies and tech optimizations, we set a major not-for-profit utility up for data-driven success! Read more in our latest edition of Plugged in With PFES! #ProjectManagement #Process #Strategy

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Do your project estimating processes still rely primarily on spreadsheets? Best practices and advanced digital tools can offer better project estimating results. #ProjectEstimating #Utilities #ProjectManagement

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🔨🚧 Project Planning: Where Blueprints Meet Coffee Stains ☕📅 As a senior project manager in infra, utilities, and transportation, I’ve learned a thing or two about project planning. Here’s my take: Scope Creep: It’s like that sneaky extra scoop of ice cream—seems harmless until it melts all over your timeline. 🍦 Gantt Charts: The adult version of connect-the-dots. Just pray your dots don’t rebel and form a smiley face. 😅 Risk Assessment: Imagine playing Jenga with skyscrapers. One wrong move, and—oops! There goes the budget. 🏙️ Remember, project planning is like assembling IKEA furniture: confusing at first, but once it clicks, you’ve built something impressive. Let’s raise our coffee mugs to well-structured chaos! ☕👷‍♂️ #ProjectManagement #CoffeeStainsAreDesignFeatures

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Excited that we are exactly one month away from our inaugural West Coast Utility Best Practices Symposium - an amazing collaboration between PG&E, NiSource, Portland General and SoCalGas. The 2-day event will be held in San Ramon, CA on September 9 and 10. The theme for this year is “Climate & Seismic Impact for Utility Operations”. The symposium is a great oportunity for leaders and operational experts from Gas and Electric utilities across the US and Canada to share best practices. There are two amazing tracks in the afternoon on each day:  - Strategies to mitigate climate risk for Electric Overhead lines (Wildfire mitigation) - Gas Pipeline Management for Environmental and Geohazard conditions The Symposium will be kicked off by Joseph Forline, SVP, PG&E and feature a Key note with Sumeet Singh, COO, PG&E and Bill Jefferson, EVP, NiSource discussing learnings from industry. There will also be a Commissioner Panel moderated by William Edward Mojica, SVP, NiSource. Please reach out if you have any questions and take advantage of this opportunity - we are almost at capacity - register below! #benchmarking #bestpractices #wildfiremitigation #utilityoperations #pipelinemanagement

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➡️ Stop Stumbling In the Dark: Ask for Help ⬅️ Two weeks ago, I saw X Ambassadors at St. Andrew’s Hall. I was awed by Casey Harris, the keyboardist. He’s extraordinarily talented, rocks the keyboard, and obviously relishes the love of his fans. He’s also legally blind since birth. Casey found a way in a seeing world despite his disability: he found a job he could do as a blind person, figured out how to navigate New York City, and eventually formed the band X Ambassadors with his brother, which has grown more and more successful over the years. He found his passion, and hasn’t let his blindness stop him from succeeding in a very big way. Sometimes I struggle with obstacles and change. I’ve stumbled through perceived obstacles and negative thinking has blinded me from seeing some very real opportunities. I’ve let those things stop me, or at least delay me from pursuing my passions. Sam Harris, lead singer and Casey’s younger brother, leads Casey on and offstage through the chaos of a live show stage. Although Casey has found his way in a world that caters to us with normal vision, he’s also humble enough to ask for help. In the past, I’ve been stuck a lot longer with a problem or mistake than what was necessary because my ego told me it was weak to ask for help. I was more concerned with what people would think or that I’d be a bother if I asked for help or fessed up my error than actually fixing it and making it right. As a result, I learned some pretty painful lessons that way. Today, when I’m stuck in those moments, I’ve learned (ok, I’m **still** learning) to set aside ego and simply ask for help. I’ve come to realize that the best leaders won’t judge me by my mistakes, but rather help me learn to see the path in front of me. Through those leaders, I’ve learned how I can quickly find my way again. Leadership doesn’t mean having the answers or all the big ideas, it’s about cultivating talent and removing barriers (among other things!). Good leaders help their teams grow and LEAD them when they get stuck or lost. Today, I’m extremely grateful for the many leaders in my life that have given me grace when I’ve made mistakes, helped me learn, and made it a little easier to ask for help. We can all be that leader for someone else, too. #leadership #askforhelp #learning

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Get a Bill Credit with Power Saver Rewards. Help make our energy grid more reliable for all Californians—and get a bill credit for it, too. SDG&E’s Power Saver Rewards program rewards you for lowering your electricity use when energy is most in demand. ⁠ ⁠ Learn more at sdge.com/PowerSaver. #sdge #SDGEassist #sdgePowerSavers

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Another great project completed to support the safety of Gas System.

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Utilities juggling large-scale investments can prioritize project development to sidestep pitfalls and achieve their modernization goals. https://hubs.li/Q02SZFPl0 #Utilities #Power #Construction #OneCalifornia

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Last week the Pacific Gas and Electric Company Investor Relations team joined CEO Patti Poppe and CFO Carolyn Burke shuttling from the Edison Electric Institute Financial Conference in Florida to our 2024 Innovation Summit in San Jose. What an amazing day it was and this video captures just some of the excitement from the room and around the hallways. Fascinating to see how #utilities, #tech, #investors and others are collaborating on the #futureofenergy. See more at www.pge.com/innovation. #innovation #investorrelations

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Discover how Project Management Offices (PMOs) significantly impact utilities' capital improvement projects in our latest newsletter! Stay updated by subscribing to our "Plugged in with PFES" newsletter 🔌. #PMO #Efficiency #UtilityInnovation

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I am proud to announce that we are once again putting on PG&E's 2024 Innovation Summit on November 13 in the beautiful city of San Jose! Pacific Gas and Electric Company, in an amazing first-of-its-kind collaboration with world premier DISTRIBUTECH International, is once again looking to bring utilities, innovators, regulators, educators, and other key industry participants to showcase groundbreaking advancements in automation, predictive technologies, AI, and climate tech solutions, all aimed at revolutionizing our energy system and improving customer service. Building upon the Innovation Summit we hosted in 2023, we have an amazing plenary to hear from voices like Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella and CVP of Energy, Darryl Willis, EPRI's CEO Arshad Mansoor, Southern California Edison (SCE)'s SVP of IT Shinjini Menon, National Grid's VP of Transformation Programs Carlos Nouel, The AES Corporation's Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Ashley Smith, DISTRIBUTECH International's editor-in-chief John Engel, and our gracious host, San Jose Mayor, Matt Mahan! In the afternoon, as we look to dive much deeper into unlocking the full potential of AI, join us as we discuss with other utility partners key topics of focus as we chart our innovation path into 2025 and beyond. - Improving DER visibility - Maximizing the life of assets - New interconnection planning - Unlocking EV adoption & building electrification - Forest management - Future-proofing the grid against climate impacts - Reducing emissions through enhanced leak detection - Valuing AI Investments - AI Collaboration Frameworks for Data & Models I hope to see you there, either in-person or virtual through our amazing Cvent platform! LET'S GO!!!! For the full agenda and to register for in-person or virtual attendance, visit: https://lnkd.in/gYT3GiRi For more information about PG&E’s Innovation Summit 2024 and to learn more about PG&E’s efforts to accelerate energy R&D, visit: https://lnkd.in/gQNtsGuU #innovation #cleanenergy #aritificalintelligence #machinelearning #automation #researchanddevelopment #electrification #whatsnext

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America is connected through our energy grid. When any component is changed – for example, a new powerplant comes online – the impacts are felt across the grid. That means adding new wind energy in the Great Plains or solar energy in the Southwest benefits everyone everywhere in between. 💡 Regulators must assign cost responsibility in a manner that takes into consideration the fluid and interconnected nature of interstate transmission.

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Within the industry, it's well understood that electric generation comprises the lion's share of any utility's expenses, typically ranging from 60-70% of the total cost to supply power to households. This shift will have a significant ripple effect on nationwide power costs. Kudos to NRECA for proactively addressing this issue rather than standing idly by.

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U.S. electricity generation is expected to increase by 3% – 121 billion kilowatthours (BkWh) – this year compared to 2023, largely driven by solar power and natural gas, according to Short-Term Energy Outlook analysis from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). #Electricity #SolarPower #NaturalGas

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Southern California Edison and geothermal energy company Fervo Energy announced Tuesday that they have executed two 15-year power purchase agreements for a total of 320 MW. SCE will purchase the power from the 400-MW Cape Station project that Fervo is constructing in Utah, the latter said. Fervo expects the initial 70-MW phase of the project to be operational by 2026, with the next phase coming online by 2028. The deal is the largest-ever geothermal PPA, Fervo said, and the energy provided could power the equivalent of 350,000 homes across Southern California. Fervo announced last July that it had achieved a breakthrough in geothermal technology by adopting fracking techniques developed by the oil and gas industry to extract geothermal energy. At the time, the company said the results of its experimental Project Red in northern Nevada resulted in the most productive enhanced geothermal system ever built in terms of flow rate and its 3.5-MW electric power equivalent. To save energy & cost for your business, contact me at https://buff.ly/2EjAMbu. #Reliability #EnergyStorage #EnergyEfficiency #Renewables #EnergyAudit #Procurement #Resilience https://buff.ly/4eKMUB8

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