Oracle Empowers Utilities with New Advanced Distribution Management System Enhancements

Rhea-AI Summary

Oracle (ORCL) has unveiled significant enhancements to its Utilities Network Management System (NMS), focusing on advanced distributed energy resource (DER) management. The system, currently serving six of the top 10 U.S. utilities and over 61 million customers, introduces improved features for managing grid stress and optimizing performance.

Key updates include enhanced Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) capabilities with new forecast and trend monitoring settings, a 7-day forecast algorithm, and expanded models for battery energy storage systems (BESS) and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE). The Oracle Utilities Flex SCADA module received improvements in device monitoring and control, while new features in DER orchestration, outage management, and power restoration were added to optimize grid operations.

Positive

• Expanded market presence serving 6 of top 10 U.S. utilities
• Enhanced forecasting capabilities with 7-day advance planning
• Improved grid optimization through real-time BESS and EVSE monitoring
• Advanced fault response and outage management capabilities

Negative

• None.

Insights

Enterprise Software Analyst

Oracle's enhancements to its Network Management System (NMS) represent a strategic expansion in the critical utilities infrastructure market. These updates specifically address the growing challenges utilities face with distributed energy resource (DER) integration and extreme weather resilience.

The announcement carries particular weight given Oracle NMS's existing market penetration - serving 6 of the top 10 U.S. utilities and supporting over 61 million customers. The new capabilities target high-growth areas in the utility sector:

• Advanced 7-day forecasting algorithms for more efficient resource planning
• Enhanced battery energy storage system (BESS) modeling
• Improved electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) management
• Modernized SCADA capabilities with real-time monitoring and control

Most significantly, these developments position Oracle favorably against competitors like Schneider Electric and GE in the rapidly evolving utility management software space. The modular architecture allows utilities to implement targeted solutions without full-scale replacements, potentially accelerating adoption cycles.

The third-party validation from Guidehouse Insights reinforces Oracle's credibility in this specialized market. While no revenue projections are provided, these enhancements should strengthen Oracle's recurring revenue streams from its utility customer base as they navigate the complex transition to renewable energy integration.

Utility Industry Specialist

Oracle's NMS enhancements address critical pain points in today's utility operations landscape. The timing is particularly relevant as utilities face dual pressures from increasing extreme weather events and the accelerating integration of distributed energy resources.

The system improvements focus on operational challenges that directly impact utility economics:

• Better demand response capabilities that can reduce peak capacity requirements
• Enhanced DER orchestration to optimize behind-the-meter assets
• Improved outage management to reduce downtime costs
• Faster service restoration to improve reliability metrics that affect regulatory outcomes

What's particularly valuable is Oracle's approach to both grid-side and customer-side DER management. This unified approach helps utilities maximize return on increasingly complex networks of distributed resources while maintaining grid stability.

The improvements to fault location, isolation, and service restoration (FLISR) capabilities within substations could meaningfully reduce outage duration metrics that directly impact utility financial performance and customer satisfaction scores.

Oracle's modular deployment approach also aligns with utility capital planning cycles, allowing for phased implementations that can spread costs over multiple budget periods - an important consideration for regulated entities with complex approval processes for technology investments.

Modern, scalable grid operations expand distributed energy resource orchestration, improve forecasting, and optimize reliability

DALLAS, March 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- DISTRIBUTECH -- Oracle today announced new Oracle Utilities Network Management System (NMS) features to help control room operators and program managers manage distributed energy resources (DERs) throughout their lifecycle. These ADMS enhancements help utilities alleviate grid stress through better demand response and DER management while optimizing performance using both front-of-the-meter and behind-the-meter data and tools. New innovations also help users address increasing extreme weather events with rapid response, restoration, and decentralization.

Used by six of the top 10 U.S. utilities and supporting over 61 million customers, Oracle Utilities NMS offers a single, unified model to help optimize grid performance and integrate renewable energy resources. The modular and composable architecture—combining outage, distribution, DER, and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system management with analytics and advanced applications—enables utilities to deploy required components in a cost-effective, phased approach.

Extended DER capabilities
New features in the Oracle Utilities Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) module of Oracle Utilities NMS enhance grid event management and optimization. This includes new forecast and trend monitoring settings that provide users with deeper insights into expected load and the impact of DER reductions for planned events. Additionally, a new 7-day forecast algorithm allows for event planning up to a week in advance with hourly forecasts, enabling faster and more efficient forecast generation with fewer resources.

"Oracle has made notable advancements with its DERMS platform since its initial release by developing grid- and edge-DERMS solutions aimed at utility-scale DER and aggregated DER portfolios, respectively," said Michael Kelly, associate director for market intelligence and advisory firm Guidehouse Insights. "In targeting DERMS from a grid management (grid DERMS) and customer and programs perspective (edge DERMS)—end-to-end DERMS solutions facilitate greater coverage and visibility from the customer to the network."

Oracle Utilities DERMS also now supports grid-connected energy resources, providing new data to aid in network optimization. An expanded model for battery energy storage systems (BESS)—used by utilities to store energy from renewable sources and release it when needed—adds real-time and forward-looking data for more cost-effective resource optimization. Similarly, an enhanced model for electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) includes technical data and smart charging modes to optimize EVs and charging stations. These enhancements help grid operators effectively utilize DER resources while helping better manage voltage and loading conditions.

New integrated capabilities in the Oracle Utilities Flex SCADA module enhance the Oracle NMS platform by enabling the deployment, commissioning, monitoring, and control of field devices. An enhanced interface helps users quickly access, and act on, high-level data, including historical and real-time trends, while dynamically setting or adjusting limits for devices such as feeder breakers and reclosers based on measured values. Additionally, a fully modernized calculation engine enables users to more easily create and update calculations to reflect real-time data changes. Users can customize power measurements or complex aggregations and apply them to individual devices or entire device classes.

"Control room operators and program managers need a modern, integrated ADMS platform to simplify DER management, deliver more value on both sides of the meter, and make their critical operations easier," said Brad Harkavy, vice president, Oracle Utilities. "Oracle Utilities NMS provides a comprehensive, data-driven approach to managing both traditional grid infrastructure and emerging DERs. The system's modularity enables our customers to scale with ease and implement just the functionality they need at just the right time."

Additional new features and updates in Oracle Utilities NMS include:

• DER Orchestration: To optimize behind-the-meter, customer-owned DERs, an enhanced module develops demand response and DER event dispatch strategy templates. Users can leverage the templates to activate load shedding and load shaping—through economic, emergency, and reliability events—more seamlessly integrating customers, assets, and programs while reducing energy costs and supporting decarbonization initiatives.
  
  
• Outage Management: To optimize safety and efficiency, the improved Oracle Utilities Outage Management System (OMS) enables toggling of all crew assignments in the viewer. Operators can quickly identify unassigned outages, deploy open crews, and track assigned locations for crews unable to provide real-time updates due to poor network coverage.
  
  
• Flexible Operations: To promote work efficiency and productivity, an updated Oracle Utilities NMS Flex Operations browser client allows utilities to quickly scale and onboard call entry personnel anywhere. New outage and abnormal device status summaries also provide remote users with enhanced situational awareness to help manage events and crews more effectively during major incidents.
  
  
• Power Restoration: To help improve reliability and reduce outage duration, new features enable operators to activate Oracle Fault Location, Isolation, and Service Restoration (FLISR) within substations. Utilities can benefit with more comprehensive fault response and miscoordination event handling capabilities, both inside and outside substations.

To see these technologies in action, visit Oracle at DISTRIBUTECH (Booth #3712). You can also learn more at Oracle.com/utilities or LinkedIn.

About Oracle
Oracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at oracle.com.

Trademarks
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SOURCE Oracle

FAQ

What are the key features of Oracle's (ORCL) enhanced Network Management System?

The enhanced NMS includes improved DERMS capabilities, 7-day forecast algorithms, expanded BESS and EVSE models, and advanced SCADA monitoring features.

How many utility customers does Oracle's (ORCL) NMS currently serve?

Oracle's NMS serves over 61 million customers and is used by six of the top 10 U.S. utilities.

What new forecasting capabilities does Oracle (ORCL) offer in its DERMS update?

The update includes new forecast and trend monitoring settings with a 7-day forecast algorithm providing hourly forecasts for event planning.

How does Oracle's (ORCL) enhanced NMS improve power restoration?

It enables operators to activate Fault Location, Isolation, and Service Restoration within substations, improving reliability and reducing outage duration.