As the utility industry continues to modernize and evolve, infrastructure and operations leaders face a critical question: How do you manage a rapidly growing, increasingly complex network — without increasing headcount or compromising reliability? The answer lies in embracing automation, orchestration, and the foundational data strategies that make AI and advanced analytics possible.
At Itential, we’ve been working alongside leading utilities to build that foundation — and we’re excited to share our insights and real-world results at the upcoming UTC Telecom & Technology Conference.
Real-World Results: Southern California Edison’s Transformation
One of the most exciting stories in this transformation is happening at Southern California Edison (SCE). We’re proud to be working with SCE to deploy an orchestration framework that scales automation across every layer of their infrastructure.
This isn’t about scripts and one-off automations. It’s about vendor-agnostic, API-first orchestration that connects systems, enforces governance, and creates structured, trusted data. It’s about making the grid not just more efficient, but fundamentally more intelligent.
For SCE, the results are already clear:
⚡ Provisioning time cut from 45 days to same day.
⏳ Manual changes reduced by 80–90%, saving over 1,000 engineering hours per month.
🔐 A trusted data environment that supports predictive maintenance and real-time incident response.
Learn more about how SCE is preparing for the grid for the next era of operations in their latest UTC journal article.
Itential has been instrumental in our journey to modernize and automate SCE’s network infrastructure. By providing a centralized orchestration platform, we’ve been able to create a vendor-agnostic automation framework that scales across our entire network—from Zero Touch Provisioning for Cisco refreshes to MPLS transport, firewalls, and beyond. With automation at the core of our strategy, we’re not just improving efficiency—we’re redefining how utilities manage network operations in the age of AI and digital transformation.
Matt Deibel
Manager – Grid Automation Services at Southern California Edison
Orchestration as the Foundation for AI-Driven Grid Operations
Utilities know that AI isn’t a magic bullet. It needs structured, trusted data — and a clear way to execute decisions across complex infrastructure. That’s where orchestration comes in.
At SCE, AI initiatives like Project ORCA are already leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) to power predictive analytics and real-time incident response. But every lesson we’ve learned points to the same conclusion: AI is only as effective as the operational foundation it relies on.
Without reliable data, consistent workflows, and tight integration across systems, even the best AI can’t deliver real results. That’s why automation and orchestration aren’t just enablers — they’re prerequisites. They transform fragmented, manual processes into coordinated, machine-to-machine workflows that AI can build on.
With Itential’s vendor-agnostic, API-first orchestration platform, SCE is turning AI from a vision into a reality. Itential’s architecture exposes automation workflows as secure APIs that AI agents can trigger in real time — moving from simple monitoring to trusted, AI-assisted actions across the grid.
This is how SCE is moving beyond scripts and tickets to an infrastructure that’s not just faster — it’s fundamentally smarter, more resilient, and prepared for the next era of grid operations.
Join Us at the UTC Telecom & Technology Conference
This journey is what we’ll be sharing at this year’s UTC Telecom & Technology Conference. Our joint session with SCE and WWT will offer a behind-the-scenes look at how this orchestration-first approach is helping SCE build the intelligent, AI-ready grid of tomorrow.
Session: Modernizing the Grid for an AI-Driven Future
📅 Thursday, June 19 | 🕑 2:15 PM
🎤 Speakers: Matt Deibel (SCE), Craig Hammond (SCE), Karan Munalingal (Itential), & Zach Hoffman (WWT)
You’ll hear how SCE prioritized automation use cases to build momentum, the role of orchestration in integrating legacy and modern systems, and how they’re turning AI from a promising concept into a real operational advantage.
Let’s Build the Intelligent Grid — Together
At Itential, we’re passionate about helping utilities move beyond isolated scripts and tribal knowledge to orchestrated, AI-ready operations. Whether you’re just beginning your automation journey or you’re scaling across multiple infrastructure domains, we’d love to show you how orchestration can unlock a smarter, safer, and more adaptable grid.
Join us at UTC to see the future in action — and discover how your utility can build the operational foundation for the next era of intelligent, resilient grid operations.
Tags: AI API Network Orchestration UTC Utilities
Kristen H. Rachels
Chief Marketing Officer ‐ Itential
Kristen serves as Chief Marketing Officer for Itential, leading their go-to-market strategy and execution to accelerate the adoption and expansion of the company’s products and services.
