Executive Overview

Electric utilities today face unprecedented pressures: capital-intensive grid modernization, decarbonization mandates, resiliency requirements, rate scrutiny, and rising public expectations. Many of the industry’s most persistent challenges: cost overruns, schedule slippage, change order cost escalation, unclear accountability, and unforeseen disputes all stem from a familiar root cause: a lack of timely knowledge for proactive decision making.

Standardized, Timely Information Matters to all Stakeholders

Large EPC partners, construction managers, and major suppliers frequently possess more current, more granular, and more actionable project information than the utility owners funding these programs. This imbalance increases business risk, erodes financial performance, complicates regulatory reporting, and ultimately undermines customer trust.

To counter these risks, leading utilities are embedding a single, contractually mandated Project Management Information System (PMIS) into their contractually mandated Technical Specifications – Division 1, General Requirements. When the PMIS becomes the enforceable system of record, not merely a reporting tool, it serves as the utility company’s most effective instrument for:

• Real-time project risk visibility
• Cost and schedule discipline
• Regulatory transparency
• Claims prevention
• Strengthened project oversight
• Improved customer and regulator confidence

1. Why Technical Specifications, Division 1 – General Requirements Must Mandate a Single Project Management Information System (PMIS)

The Utility-Specific Problem

When major capital projects, such as data centers, transmission lines, substations, underground work programs, grid hardening, power plant retrofits, and DER integration are managed through email, spreadsheets, and scattered point solutions, everyone on the project suffers:

• Delayed detection of risks (safety, environmental, construction execution).
• Blind spots in cost to complete, impairing rate case filings and prudency reviews.
• Slow internal decision cycles, creating avoidable schedule impacts.
• Increased chance of delays in resolving disputes when all relevant and timely data is not shared.

This directly exposes utilities to prudency challenges, regulatory audits, and avoidable customer rate impacts.

The Remedy

Division 1 must require a specific PMIS platform as the authoritative system of record for all communications, documentation, approvals, and reporting.

Strategic Value for Utility Company C-Suite Executives

Executive Priority / PMIS Benefit

CEO: Protect capital portfolio, maintain public trust / Real-time, accurate evidence of program performance; fewer surprises

COO: Operational efficiency and risk reduction / Reliable field data, enforced workflows, and early-warning indicators

CIO: Cybersecure, integrated, standardized technology environment / Centralized data governance and reduced tool sprawl

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2. Contractual Technical Specifications – Division 1, General Requirements for PMIS Enforcement

To ensure enforceability, Technical Specifications – Division 1, General Requirements must explicitly address:

Designated Project System of Record

The PMIS is contractually defined as the single source of truth for project data, documentation, and approvals.

Access & Onboarding

The Electric Utility Company PMO staff, contractors, subcontractors, engineering firms, and inspectors must be onboarded and trained, before mobilization.

Real-Time Communications

All submittals, RFIs, field reports, change orders, scope change issues, outage coordination documentation, safety notices, progress reports, non-compliance reports and schedule updates must originate and reside in the PMIS.

Issue & Risk Tracking

Issues (technical, safety, regulatory, environmental, outage related) are logged and automatically routed to all responsible assigned team members with notices and alerts to associated supervisors and managers.

Reporting Cadence

• Weekly construction/field progress
• Monthly cost and forecast
• Aging of RFIs, submittals, and change orders
• Regulatory relevant compliance logs

Change Management

The content and format of every requested change must be prescribed to include contractual entitlement, cost impact, schedule impact, and supporting documentation (referenced drawings, specifications and supplier/vendor/subcontractor back-up) before work proceeds.

QA/QC & Regulatory Compliance

Inspection results, testing, start-up/commissioning documentation, as-builts, and safety/environmental compliance logs must be captured in the PMIS.

Training & Enforcement

Non-use or misuse of the PMIS constitutes contractual non-compliance with real consequences.

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3. Utility Oversight and Governance

With a properly configured and implemented single PMIS, Utility Company PMO staff can:

• Verify contractor provided cost and schedule data rather than passively receive it.
• Integrate project management data with facility management, asset management, outage management, HR, and financial systems.
• Ensure project decisions can be made proactively and rest on objective, time-stamped, auditable records.

A clear RACI structure aligns all team members, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, designers, inspectors, PMs, project controls teams, and Electric Utility Company organization representatives.

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4. Reporting & KPIs for Utility Capital Programs

A PMIS may be configured to generate system derived, non-editable dashboards, graphics, notices and alerts to reports on:

• Schedule variance (critical for outage windows)
• Earned progress vs. plan
• Cost performance & forecasts to complete
• Safety & environmental compliance
• Aging cycle times for approvals (invoices, submittals, RFIs, change orders, etc)

These objective metrics create regulatory ready, audit defensible documentation.

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5. Change Management in a PMIS: Protecting Ratepayers and the Utility

Changes to scope, schedule, cost, and quality standards represent the highest financial exposure points in major utility projects.A PMIS-enforced change process ensures:

• No undocumented commitments
• No entitlement claims without evidence
• No scope creep hidden in inadequate, unplanned assumptions
• No “after-the-fact” cost surprises

This strengthens the utility company’s prudency defense, protecting customers, stakeholders, and shareholders.

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6. Quality Assurance, Safety & Regulatory Compliance

Utility projects face stringent compliance requirements across:

• NERC/FERC
• CPUC/PUC equivalents
• State environmental agencies
• OSHA and industry safety standards
• Local permitting and inspection authorities

A properly configured and implemented PMIS centralizes this documentation, enabling:

• Pre-audit preparation
• Rapid regulatory response with less scrutiny
• Reduced fines, penalties, and rework
• Safer and more predictable field operations

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7. Training, Adoption, and Organizational Change

A properly configured and implemented PMIS only creates value when all parties use it correctly and consistently.

Contractor contractual Technical Specifications- Division 1, General Requirements should require:

• Mandatory role-based training
• Usage metrics (frequency of logins, workflow actions/aging/completion rates, notes and alerts, data completeness)
• Enforcement actions for non-compliance
• Leadership alignment across all team players and project stakeholders

This ensures a culture of disciplined execution.

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8. Expected Outcomes for Electric Utilities

• Reduced Business Risk through earlier detection of issues and proactive responses.
• Financial Predictability in cost-to-complete and cash flow projections.
• Regulatory Confidence from audit-ready documentation.
• Stronger Competitive Position when pursuing funding and building public credibility.
• Greater Customer Trust due to predictable rate adjustments, fewer outages, fewer cost overruns, and schedule conformance, fewer project delays.
• Lower Dispute Frequency and dramatically stronger legal positioning.

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Example: Lessons Parallel to other MegaprojectsMultiple capital programs have benefited from the use of a PMIS to resolve claims and control billion dollar developments. Utility capital intensive projects such as data centers, transmission corridors, substation rebuilds, undergrounding programs, and multi-year grid modernization portfolios benefit from:

• A single auditable project record
• Faster cycle times for approvals
• Strong legal defensibility
• Multi-stakeholder coordination at scale
• Lower total cost of delivery

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9. Implementation Roadmap for Electric Utilities

• Contract Integration
  Insert Division 1 PMIS obligations.
• Process Engineering
  Map PMIS workflows to utility construction and regulatory processes.
• Configuration & Pilot
  Test on a representative/pilot project (substation, line, plant upgrade).
• OCM & Training
  Drive adoption across utility staff and constituent partners.
• Operate & Audit
  Use PMIS metrics for daily dashboard oversight and weekly executive reviews.

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Conclusion
For electric utilities navigating rising capital demands, regulatory scrutiny, cyber risks, and customer expectations, a contractually mandated PMIS is not a software decision—it is a governance and risk-mitigation strategy.

It transforms fragmented project data into decision-grade information, breaking down information silos and enabling stronger control of cost, schedule, compliance, and customer outcomes.

Learn MoreForesee Consulting’s sister company, Foresee Innovations, Inc. develops technology tools that integrate with Electric Utility Company financial software systems to improve cost and resource forecasting that mitigates regulatory scrutiny and facilitates Rate Change approvals.

Click this link to learn more: CURA™ Forecasting | Foresee Innovations