How ARCOS, Duke Energy & FirstEnergy Are Transforming Field Execution
In today's utility landscape, responding to emergencies and outages is no longer a seasonal challenge—it's a year-round reality driven by increasingly severe weather events, aging infrastructure, and rising customer expectations for rapid restoration. According to Climate Central's analysis of U.S. Energy Information Administration data, major power outages caused by severe weather have increased by 67% over the past decade compared to the first decade of the 2000s. Meanwhile, utilities face mounting pressure to reduce restoration times while managing distributed resources and complex grid modernization initiatives.
At our recent EMPOWER Virtual Summit, industry experts from Duke Energy, FirstEnergy, and ARCOS came together to share their experiences and best practices for leveraging technology to improve emergency response. Here are the key takeaways from their candid conversation.
Start with Process, Not Just Technology
The panelists agreed that technology is only as effective as the processes it supports. Michael Armour of FirstEnergy emphasized that “technology is a tool of scale,” but if your underlying processes are poorly defined, technology will only amplify those flaws. Before investing in new solutions, utilities must clearly define their goals and workflows. For example, accelerating damage assessment isn’t just about buying a new tool—it’s about understanding current bottlenecks and designing processes that technology can enhance.
Communication Is Critical
Jamie Conover of Duke Energy shared a cautionary tale about rolling out storm response modules without clear communication. When hundreds of employees were assigned storm roles with little guidance, confusion ensued, and even cybersecurity concerns arose. The lesson: communication must be built into every step of the process, from initial planning to user training.
View the Full Conversation from the EMPOWER Virtual Summit
Change Management Drives Adoption
Successful technology adoption requires more than technical training—it demands a robust change management plan. Involving users early, listening to their concerns, and allowing flexibility are key factors for success. As Conover noted, “You have to have a standard core process, but also some flexibility.” This approach helps teams adapt to both proactive scenarios (like hurricanes) and reactive ones (like tornadoes), ensuring that technology fits real-world needs.
Change management plays a vital role in utility emergency response, where the stakes are high, and teams rely on established routines. Navigating change is especially critical with the influx of new, young talent into the ranks of utility line workers. According to Deloitte’s 2025 Power and Utilities Industry Outlook, more than half of the current utility workforce has less than ten years of experience. These tech-savvy workers are populating crews alongside more established line workers, who may have a different comfort level with technology.
For utilities, effective change management can be the key difference between a solution that remains unused and one that becomes a critical lifeline during major events. Panelists underscored the value of transparent communication between IT and operations, particularly during user acceptance testing. By leveraging agile methodologies and focusing on iterative feedback, teams can refine technology solutions and address pain points before a system is fully deployed. Open discussions about goals, challenges, and the potential consequences of inaction are essential for building trust, securing buy-in, and driving successful adoption of new tools and processes.
Bridging Silos for Better Outcomes
One recurring theme was the need to break down silos between IT and operations. ARCOS’ Darren Reeb described the value of intermediary teams—people who understand both the technical and operational sides of the business. These “translators” help ensure that technology solutions are practical, user-friendly, and aligned with field realities.
The Edison Electric Institute's guidance on emergency response and mutual assistance emphasizes the importance of coordinated response efforts. Leading utilities are taking this further by implementing integrated technology platforms that eliminate data silos between operations, IT, and customer service—enabling faster decision-making during critical restoration periods.
When IT and operations collaborate, utilities can respond faster, communicate more effectively, and deliver better service to customers.
Technology That Connects People, Process & Response
Many of these challenges faced by utilities center around some key themes—disconnected systems deliver no real-time visibility into activities in the field; “app overload” from an overabundance of complicated point solutions leads to low crew adoption. Many top utilities are turning to integrated platforms like ARCOS to unify data, streamline communication, and enhance real-time decision-making. By centralizing storm response activities, from damage assessment to crew deployment, these platforms help utilities restore more safely and quickly by ensuring everyone works from a single source of truth.
Key Takeaways for Utility Leaders
- Map your current emergency response workflows and identify specific pain points before evaluating technology solutions.
- Build clear communication into every step of your storm response—and into every step of your technology transformation process.
- Take a team approach to implementing new solutions to ensure that feedback from every level of the organization is reflected in the result.
- Build cross-functional teams to bridge IT and operations.
Watch the full conversation and explore other sessions from the ARCOS EMPOWER Virtual Summit.
