Xcel Energy Revolutionizes Risk Management Strategy with Asset Performance Management Solutions

Kaitlyn Honey, Director, Analytics & Practices, recounts Xcel Energy's journey in implementing GE Vernova's Asset Performance Management (APM) software as a crucial component of their risk management strategy.

Xcel Energy serves 3.8 million electricity customers and 2.2 million natural gas customers. Honey shares how Xcel Energy has successfully shifted from time-based maintenance to intentional maintenance strategies, necessitating a comprehensive approach to risk management. She emphasizes the significance of APM in their evolving industry landscape dominated by renewable energy integration and cost pressures.

The discussion centers on how Xcel Energy quantifies and categorizes risk, emphasizing three major categories: maintenance strategy execution, health, and previous failures. Honey highlights tools developed to enhance learning from failures, enabling systematic corrective actions across their fleet. She elaborates on how APM, coupled with recommendations and actions tracking, forms a critical feedback loop in mitigating risks effectively.

Furthermore, the presentation details Xcel Energy's risk quantification process within APM, incorporating equipment health workflows and dashboards to identify and prioritize risks. The integration of diverse teams within the organization, including equipment analytics, monitoring, reliability engineering, and asset strategy teams, is emphasized as instrumental in driving the success of their APM initiative. The speaker stresses the importance of organizational structure and focusing on quick wins to demonstrate the value of APM implementation.

Lastly, lessons learned from Xcel Energy's APM journey are shared, emphasizing the significance of organizational alignment and structure, streamlining implementation to avoid overwhelming team members and leveraging key performance indicators (KPIs) to accelerate adoption and to align priorities.