Modern NMM auguments GIS, transforming spatial data into a single authoritative model used across planning, operations, protection and market domains.
The global power grid is experiencing an unprecedented transformation. Aging infrastructure now operates alongside new, diverse and increasingly distributed energy resources (DERs). Large-scale renewables, customer-sited generation, EV charging equipment and load-intensive commercial developments are all reshaping how electricity flows.
On top of that, utilities face the intense data challenges that come with thousands of daily updates from grid assets, maintenance activities, connected DERs and operational adjustments such as switching. The manual processes of the past don’t offer the speed and precision that are required in this environment.
Core operational technology platforms, like energy and distribution management systems, are purpose-built to optimize real-time grid operations, not manage an onslaught of electrical network data from various sources. As network models drift out of sync, even subtle inaccuracies can propagate through planning and operational analyses, undermining both situational awareness and regulatory compliance.
To address the realities of the changing grid, utilities are turning toward network model management (NMM) technology as an orchestrated, automated and standards-based approach to managing near real-time grid data. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) remain essential for managing asset location and spatial data, but they aren’t designed to maintain an operational electrical model of how the grid behaves or keep that model consistent across systems. Modern NMM augments GIS, transforming spatial data into a single authoritative model used across planning, operations, protection and market domains.
When utilites prioritize strong data management and anchor operations in real-world grid conditions, they can interconnect systems through shared standards and common semantics, enabling seamsless coordination across the organization.
At the core is the “single source of truth,” a continuously updated, topology-aware network model that captures the electrical, spatial and operational relationships across the entire system. This unified foundation is the key to unlocking a number of enterprise-wide advantages:
- Consistent, accurate models across all functions. By synchronizing data from different systems, NMM ensures that planners, operators and protection engineers work from the same validated information.
- Automated ingestion, validation and updates. Continuous updates enable operators to respond to real-time changes and model future scenarios with confidence.
- Standards‑based interoperability. With CIM-aligned architecture, data flows seamlessly across functional domains, as well as with external entities like markets, aggregators and regulators.
- Scalability for the grid of the future. As DERs, EV infrastructure and utility-scale renewables grow, NMM provides the scalable framework needed to integrate and manage new grid assets to maintain system reliability.
As such, many leading utilities are embracing this shift and becoming operational data-driven organizations. Instead of maintaining isolated databases, they are orchestrating a continuously accurate digital representation of the grid. This allows them to take full advantage of advanced analytics, real-time situational awareness, timeseries planning and emerging operational models that require a unified, trustworthy data foundation.
When utilities prioritize strong data management and anchor operations in real-world grid conditions, they can interconnect systems through shared standards and common semantics, enabling seamless coordination across the organization. They also unlock higher levels of automation, freeing teams to focus on higher value activities instead of routine data correction or reconciliation. A data-centric approach gives utilities access to enterprise-wide insights that inform decisions across planning, operations, protection, compliance and customer engagement.
Modern network model management serves as the connective tissue that makes this transformation possible. By delivering the accuracy, speed and alignment required for today’s grid, it enables utilities to operate with greater precision, respond to changing conditions and build the resilient power systems that customers will depend on in the years ahead.
Authors:
Sally Jacquemin is vice president, power and utilities at Emerson’s Aspen Technology business. She is an industry professional with extensive experience in digital solutions for operational technology, overseeing strategic customer engagement, solution strategy and global growth opportunities for the digital grid management portfolio, which includes SCADA, distribution management, transmission management, generation management and distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) applications. She establishes and executes corporate strategies to ensure the company’s continued innovation and market leadership in the power and utilities industry. She has earned a BSE in industrial and operations engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.
Arnaud Gredin is a product management leader at Emerson’s Aspen Technology business, responsible for the vision, strategy, and direction of modeling and system integration within the AspenTech Digital Grid Management solution suite. Backed by 20 years of experience in the power & utility industry, he drives innovation in grid data management, network modeling, and enterprise integration, helping utilities modernize operations and plan for the evolving energy landscape. He holds a master’s degree in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.
This article was originally published in the June 2026 issue of the Grid Modernization and Flexibility magazine.
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