The energy landscape is shifting with the rise in electrification of transit and the rise of renewable energy shaping a new energy era that is changing the way we think about infrastructure decision making. This presentation will articulate how electrification of transit and an increase in renewables will impact medium and long-term infrastructure planning by providing examples and a practical perspective (case study) to demonstrate how Asset Management decision-making played a vital role in a utility company’s response to this change. This utility company is a key contributor to several electrification initiatives. They recognized the challenge associated with these initiatives and the overall success of the first implementation phase with minimal disruption to current operations. They are also preparing for electrification of the government transit’s first all-electric bus garage to support future procurements of battery-electric buses (eBuses) and will be working on the design and implementation of charging systems infrastructure across the city(?). Over the past 20 years, more than 50 renewable energy systems have been installed on City buildings and properties. In 2020, the city developed recommendations for the utility to achieve greater outcomes for energy efficiency, demand management, and renewable energy. The city also mandated installation of renewable energy systems on all buildings, where feasible, by 2020. The rate of development in electrification and technology in the transit sector is faster than implementation of major infrastructure developments; changes in demand patterns impact everything from the transmission and distribution networks to generation, dispatch and peak-load system capacity design; so it is not possible to “wait and see” before committing to infrastructure investment decisions. This presentation will cover how the utility is dealing with these changes by ensuring an appropriate long-term decision-making framework is in place to assure business continuity and reduce the impact on climate because it poses a particular risk for asset owners and operators. AMCL will present best practices for long-term decision-making and how the impact of change should be taken into account during the development of long-term infrastructure planning processes, in the context of a public utility.
Dr. Imad Khan is a registered IAM[1] Asset Management Professional (AMP) and Professional Engineer (P.Eng) with over 17 years of experience in the energy business advisory and consulting services in utilities, infrastructure, and other industries, including the oil & gas sector. He has successfully led and delivered many medium-large scale projects worldwide with a strong focus on people, process, plant and technological improvement. He championed and implemented ISO55001 asset management standards in businesses resulting in organizations receiving accreditation. Dr. Khan is an active expert in revising ISO 55001 Standard in Technical Committee TC 251. He performed Capability Assessment & Roadmap Development using 39 core capabilities defined by the Global Forum on Maintenance and Asset Management (GFMAM). He developed many SAMP with organizations worldwide. Dr. Khan relocated from the UK to Canada in 2017 and is based in the Toronto office.
