Open to All Utilities

Modernize the Grid Faster, Together.

Tap into your peers' collective wisdom and a curated pipeline of peer-reviewed solutions — built for utility working groups.

1,000+

Individuals Contributing

1,000+

Challenges + Solutions Matched

Welcome to the AEIC Grid Advancement Program powered by InnovationForce

In this 2 min video, AEIC explains how the program works for their utility members.

AEIC Grid Advancement Program

How It Works for Utilities

1

Working Groups Share Challenges

AEIC drives collaboration through working groups where peers collaborate with their utility peers to share learnings and solve challenges.

2

Challenges Mapped to Solution Stacks

An intelligent AI matching built from a grid modernization taxonomy maps solutions to technology stacks.

3

Create a Test Plan

Anyone can create a test plan using AI or copy a pre-existing plan that worked at a peer utility.

4

Share What Works. Rinse & Repeat

Peers share their learnings, test plans and use cases. You repeat what works to scale faster, with less risks.

10 Active Working Groups

Each working group brings utility peers together around a shared grid modernization challenge focus area.

Challenge 001

Building a Weather and Wildfire Resilient Grid in the New Normal

Challenge 002

Aging Grid: Upgrading Aging Assets in the New Normal

Challenge 003

Grid Constraints: Overcoming Capacity Bottlenecks

Challenge 004

Overcoming Supply Bottlenecks

Challenge 005

Overcoming Interconnections Bottlenecks

Challenge 006

Flexible Grid: Operationalizing DERS in a 2-way Grid

Challenge 007

Flexible Load Forecasting & Planning for a Non-Linear Future

Challenge 008

Flexible Customers Engaging in an Dynamic Grid

Challenge 009

Securing the Grid and Meeting the Future of OT/IT Convergence

Challenge 010

Enabling the Grid Modernization Workforce of the Future

Peer-Sourced Crowd Wisdom

A Growing Body of Peer Knowledge

We're building a shared body of knowledge by sourcing real challenge learnings, lessons, and solutions from across the utility community. Here's a curated sample of the challenges peers are working through together.

Prioritizing Risk Mitigation for Dry Shrub and Non-Irrigated Lands
Challenge
AEIC
Resilient Grid
Prioritizing Risk Mitigation for Dry Shrub and Non-Irrigated Lands

This challenge focuses on identifying and prioritizing dry undeveloped land areas that are most susceptible to ignition. Effective risk segmentation is needed for better resource allocation in wildfire mitigation efforts.

Balancing Wildfire Protection with Outage Management
Challenge
AEIC
Flexible GridAging GridFlexible Customers
Balancing Wildfire Protection with Outage Management

The challenge focuses on enhancing protection-setting analytics to strike a balance between reducing ignition energy and maintaining reliable service. It aims to prevent wildfires while minimizing adverse customer impacts.

Enhancing Wildfire Weather Forecasting for Circuit-Level Decisions
Challenge
AEIC
Resilient Gridsecuring the Flexible Future
Enhancing Wildfire Weather Forecasting for Circuit-Level Decisions

Improved high-resolution wildfire weather forecasting is crucial for making informed circuit-level fire-risk decisions, particularly before dangerous wind events. This capability will significantly enhance operational safety and reliability.

Enhancing QA for AI-Driven Drone Inspections
Challenge
AEIC
Aging Gridsecuring the Flexible Future
Enhancing QA for AI-Driven Drone Inspections

The challenge involves developing a scalable quality assurance process for drone inspections to effectively validate AI-assisted damage detection outputs while avoiding bottlenecks in manual reviews. Achieving this will enhance trust and efficiency in inspection processes.

Condition-Based Vegetation Patrol Optimization
Challenge
AEIC
Resilient Gridsecuring the Flexible Future
Condition-Based Vegetation Patrol Optimization

This challenge focuses on the need for a condition-based approach to vegetation patrols rather than a schedule-based one. By employing data modeling, we can prioritize areas with the highest risk of fall-in and encroachment.

Managing Thermal Fleet Transition Without Losing Reliability
Challenge
AEIC
Aging GridCapacity ConstraintsSecuring the Flexible Future
Managing Thermal Fleet Transition Without Losing Reliability

The challenge focuses on developing strategies for transitioning thermal generation assets without compromising reliability. It emphasizes the need for flexible asset management amidst changing energy policies and market conditions.

Enhancing Seasonal Reliability Analytics
Challenge
AEIC
Resilient GridFlexible GridCapacity Constraints
Enhancing Seasonal Reliability Analytics

The challenge focuses on improving seasonal reliability analytics and increasing the availability of flexible capacity. This is essential to adapt to the changing resource characteristics and growing demand.

Protecting Residential Customers During Large-Load Capital Expansion
Challenge
AEIC
Flexible CustomersCapacity Constraints
Protecting Residential Customers During Large-Load Capital Expansion

As large-load customers drive significant increases in load growth and capital expansion, residential rates are at risk of rising faster than anticipated. Addressing this challenge requires effective tariff design and affordability analytics.

Improving Identification of Critical Customers for Safer PSPS Operations
Challenge
AEIC
Flexible Customers
Improving Identification of Critical Customers for Safer PSPS Operations

This challenge focuses on enhancing the identification of medically vulnerable customers and critical facilities. By establishing a verified dataset, we aim to support their energy needs during PSPS events.

What You'll Get

This program will help you bring the necessary structure, technical support, and peer benchmarking to your team, so they can move from problem to pilot to production more effectively. Each participating member utility will receive the following:

Grid Modernization Report

Maps top challenges (from 6,000+ documented utility barriers) so you focus on high-ROI efforts.

Use Case Playbooks

10 playbooks to guide internal alignment and cross-functional field trials.

Technology Stacks

Each challenge comes with suggested affordable modernization tools (vs. business-as-usual).

Solution Scouting & Matching

Field-ready solutions mapped directly to each challenge for faster pilot prep.

Monthly Cohort Calls

Share progress and learn from peer utilities tackling the same problems.

InnovationWorks Access

A centralized collaboration platform to manage, track, and scale innovation.