How Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie Optimizes Investment Decisions

Asset Investment Planning (AIP) is an approach to investment planning and optimization specifically designed for asset-intensive organizations. This document summarizes how Accenture and IFS Copperleaf helped HydroQuébec TransÉnergie make higher-value asset investment decisions, improve performance and manage risk.

Client

Hydro-Québec is a world leader in the field of hydroelectricity. With a total installed capacity of 36,643 MW, Hydro-Québec provides a clean, renewable and reliable supply of electricity to all Québecers. It also sells power on wholesale markets in northeastern North America. Hydro-Québec employs approximately 20,000 employees across its divisions.

Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie is a leader in transmission system design, operation and maintenance. Recognized the world over for the reliability of its grid, it spares no effort to stay at the forefront of the industry in this regard. Its transmission system is the most extensive in North America, comprising 519 substations and more than 33,915 km of lines at various voltages. The division’s fixed assets total $19.9 billion.

www.hydroquebec.com

Challenge

Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie engaged Accenture to perform a capabilities assessment. This assessment identified the need to improve the company’s long-term strategic asset planning through enhanced business processes and AIP technology. The following strategic goals were established for this initiative:

• Update processes to improve the efficiency, consistency and transparency of their planning process, and enable the creation of robust, defensible plans;

• Establish tight integration with financial and asset management systems (SAP);

• Incorporate AIP into their enterprise reporting, as well as their financial and operational management tools; and

• Optimize investment decisions across both capital and O&M.

https://www.hydroquebec.com/residentiel/

Approach

Accenture documented Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie’s business processes related to long-term strategic asset planning, and articulated a vision for their desired future state.

Accenture also defined functional requirements for the AIP technology and conducted high-level business process design for a number of areas including:

• Investment strategy & planning

• Prioritization & optimization of investments

• Investment plan performance & change

Hydro-Québec evaluated multiple technology options and selected IFS Copperleaf as their AIP solution.

Together, Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie, Accenture, and IFS Copperleaf enhanced Hydro-Québec’s asset management business processes, implemented IFS Copperleaf, and integrated it with SAP. Certified consultants from Accenture led the project, working closely with the software team from IFS Copperleaf.

Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie envisions additional phases to enhance the capabilities that were successfully delivered in 12 months with the completion of phase 1 in September 2014.

Outcomes

• Multi-year outlook of upcoming asset investments, including multiple project planning views (dollars, manpower, and equipment to be purchased)

• Stage gate approval process to standardize the project planning process, more accurately predict project needs, and improve work scheduling

• Ability to prioritize asset investments within various asset portfolios to manage risk and select those that deliver the greatest value to Hydro-Québec

• Visibility into the value of investments targeted at managing asset-related risks, growth requirements and improvement opportunities

• Better integration between investment projects in the pipeline and projects in execution (enabled by SAP integration)

• Improved budget management through integrated reporting of planned versus actual investment projects

• Eliminated data integrity errors through integration of multiple systems

• Improved overall decision quality due to consistent investment evaluation process

• Improved collaboration through use of centralized enterprise tool to manage investments

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Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie invests close to $2 billion in the development, modernization and long-term operability of the power system on an annual basis. We needed a tool to help us plan and manage those investments more strategically—across various stakeholder groups and approval levels throughout the company.

With IFS Copperleaf, we have aligned our investment planning and management process with best practices, to ensure that our capital investment projects fully support our corporate goals, and that our planning processes factor in all of the resources—financial, labour and materials—required to execute those projects.”

Marie-Claude Roquet P. Eng., Chief of Planning and Asset Management Hydro-Québec TransÉnergie

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