Move Fast and Scale Responsibly in Power Procurement

You’re probably not surprised to learn that “move fast and break things” is not one of the guiding principles of the power industry. This is true for aviation, medicine, structural engineering, and many other regulation-intensive sectors. These industries are regulated because the downside risk can be catastrophic and often irreversible. It’s not just because “bureaucrats hate innovation.” Regulation serves as the encoded memory of previous disasters and reflects the determination of industry professionals to avoid repeating them.

The Dangers of a Hasty Approach

‘Ship now, fix it later’ may be acceptable when rolling out a new social media feature. However, that mindset is dangerous in sectors where it can trigger costly systemic failures or even risk human life.

The real challenge is to innovate aggressively while treating real-world harm as a non-negotiable constraint rather than optional drag.

Bridging the Gap Between Innovation and Reliability

This shift must take shape at the intersection of Silicon Valley’s data-driven push to quickly add resources to the grid and utilities’ mandate to deliver reliable, affordable power. Bridging these priorities requires rethinking how we procure new generation and demand-side resources. We need to keep pace with large load growth while maintaining safe, reliable, and affordable operations.

Key Procurement Strategies for Responsible Speed

1. All-Source Procurements

   All-source procurements allow technologies to compete on total system value. This approach reduces the risk of locking into a non-ideal portfolio.

   
   

2. Parallel Workstreams

   Procurement groups can establish a “supply feasibility” team. This team scores projects based on transmission, interconnection, siting, permitting, and developer strength. Meanwhile, a “deal structuring” team identifies the right instruments, such as PPAs, utility ownership, build-transfer, hybrid supply, behind-the-meter, or dedicated customer arrangements.

   
   

3. Pre-Qualifying Projects

   We should go beyond standard proposal compliance. Projects should meet detailed feasibility criteria, including interconnection progress, development maturity, siting controls, and financing readiness.

   
   

4. Improved Evaluation Tools

   Procurement platforms can organize bids around consistent scoring criteria. They can automate comparisons and surface trade-offs across price, risk, timing, and deliverability. This automation eliminates the need for manual analysis.

   
   

5. Scoring Projects on Value and Deliverability

   Value includes cost, emissions, and reliability. Deliverability covers schedule certainty, interconnection risk, and permitting risk. If a project has high value but low deliverability, it should not anchor a new resource portfolio.

   
   

6. More Transparency

   Shared workflows and audit trails make it easier for internal teams, regulators, and stakeholders to see how decisions were made.

   
   

The Role of Technology in Procurement

New approaches and platforms can help responsibly speed up power procurement. The goal is not speed for its own sake. Instead, we aim to help utilities meet rising demand safely and reliably while reducing the friction that slows down procurement decisions.

In practice, this means using software to remove manual handoffs and duplicated work. By automating repetitive tasks, structuring bids and inputs, improving traceability, and providing teams with a shared, audit-ready view, procurement teams can move quickly. They can still meet reliability, compliance, and cost goals.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we must embrace the mantra to move fast and scale responsibly. By implementing these strategies, we can ensure that our procurement processes are efficient and effective. This approach will help us meet the increasing demand for electricity while maintaining the highest standards of safety and reliability.

Let’s work together to create a future where energy procurement is streamlined, transparent, and data-driven. This will ensure we can efficiently manage the growing demand for electricity while minimizing risks and maximizing value.