Our Approach to Artificial Intelligence

By VEC Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Towne

It seems you can’t go anywhere these days with­out hearing about Artificial Intelligence and how it is going to change our world. There is a broad range of views on AI, to be sure. At VEC we have begun to explore AI and understand how it can change our work, stepping thoughtfully into the possibilities and working to grow our team’s skillsets to take advantage of this opportunity.

How Are We Using AI Today?

At VEC, we believe the best way to grow is to learn side-by-side with our col­leagues, and that's exactly how we're approaching artificial intelligence. We are taking a thoughtful, hands-on approach: exploring AI together as a team, shar­ing what works, and staying focused on solving real problems that affect our day-to-day operations and the services we provide to you. In the office setting, we’re using AI to do things like refine interview questions for job applicants and assist with internal training or writing emails – and we’re finding that AI can do a lot to support our people, freeing them to maximize their truly human strengths in pursuit of our mission.

We're also putting AI to work in ways that directly benefit the quality of ser­vice to our members. By analyzing historical usage patterns and local weather data, we're beginning to use predictive tools to forecast peak power demand. That means we can deploy our load reduction resources more strategically dur­ing high-stress – and high cost – periods on the grid. It is also helping us under­stand how future predicted weather can impact our reliability many years into the future, and influence how we think about infrastructure investment today to prepare for that future.

Taking Good Care With Cyber Security

As we embrace these new tools, we're deeply committed to proceeding with caution when it comes to cybersecurity. The electric grid is critical infrastruc­ture, and we take that responsibility seriously. We are exceedingly careful about how those tools connect to our internal systems. Every new technology we con­sider must meet our standards for protecting member data and safeguarding grid operations. AI offers real opportunity, but not at the expense of the trust you place in us every day.

Looking Forward to What’s Next

Our commitment to affordability has always meant doing our work as ef­ficiently and cost-effectively as possible. We believe AI, deployed strategically and with the utmost care, can bring new efficiencies across many of our func­tions. This year, each VEC department has a goal to learn about AI within their work function and deploy a solution, even a simple one, that helps them do their work more efficiently, all within a secure technology environment. This is an exciting opportunity for us and done well it provides growth opportunities for our excellent team.

These are still early days, and we don't have all the answers. We do know that in today’s environment, approaching AI with prudence, curiosity, and a clear focus on serving our community is the responsible path forward. We believe AI, done in a cautious and smart way, can help us in our mission to affordably and reliably bring electricity to you. We look forward to the journey and as always, we welcome your thoughts and questions.