Published Article
Now More than Ever:
The Case for Alliance Partnerships
July 2009
By Parvez Patel and Robert Zabors
In recent years (now known as ‘the good old days’) as utilities focused on capital projects to meet projected load growth¹, managers of supply chains faced a two-front battle — investing in growth while managing existing assets.
They faced a difficult set of challenges:
- Increasing supplier power due to labor shortages and consolidation of service & materials providers
- Rising fuel costs that increase parts and service costs
- Volatility and increases in commodity prices, as global markets forecasted tight supply and increasing demand, driving up costs for key components in generation, transmission and delivery
- Aging infrastructure and aging workforce
- Stricter compliance while facing uncertainties of future regulation and technologies (e.g. Smart Grid)