The Essence of IT-Strategy for Electric Utilities - An Evaluation by Case Study THE ESSENCE OF IT-STRATEGY FOR ELECTRIC UTILITIES -An Evaluation by Case Study

Electric utilities are increasingly aware of the potential of IT and its impacts on their business operation. However, in order for a utility to be able to translate all these potentials into real benefits, an IT strategy is needed to manage the developments, acquisitions, and the utilization of IT systems within the organization. Today, quite a few electric utilities have prepared or are in the process of preparing an IT strategy to guide IT developments within their organization. This report provides an evaluation of the IT strategy, formulated by a utility, based on some well-defined criteria drawn from strategic management models. It attempts to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the strategy and the various measures that can be taken to further enhance the effectiveness of the strategy. The case study that resulted in this report has been carried out in cooperation between a Swedish utility and the Center of Competence in Power Engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm.