At Analytica Consulting, our commitment to delivering business value and empowering teams with technical expertise is at the core of our approach. Recently, this dedication was put into practice during a successful project for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. SMUD is a leader in clean energy and carbon reduction, as evidenced by the utility’s ambitious goal to reach zero carbon emissions in its power supply by 2030. One focus of SMUD’s 2030 Zero Carbon Plan (ZCP) is expanding proven clean technology, including the growth of customers’ rooftop solar and batteries. How will SMUD track the impact of behind-the-meter solar energy generation? The answer is automated, high-impact Power BI visuals developed by Analytica and SMUD for a wide range of users, including SMUD’s senior leadership and its Board of Directors.
This project required close collaboration between multiple teams and the upskilling of several business intelligence (BI) developers to ensure sustainable outcomes. Thanks to Analytica Consulting’s deep Power BI expertise and mentoring abilities, the project not only met these objectives but also provided significant long-term benefits for SMUD.
Power BI Expertise in Action
At the heart of this project was an Analytica consultant with exceptional Power BI skills, who quickly added value by developing visuals containing trusted data that refreshed automatically. These visuals communicate the quantifiable and positive contribution made by behind-the-meter solar, which helps SMUD’s leadership make informed decisions based on up-to-date information. Automating the data refresh and reporting process enabled the organization to move away from time-consuming manual reporting, allowing stakeholders to focus on higher-value business processes.
Analytica’s ability to streamline the reporting process and automate the visuals played an important role in the success of the project. However, the long-term value did not stop there.
Building Skills for the Future
In addition to delivering impactful visuals, Analytica mentored multiple developers on the project. Power BI knowledge and skills were transferred to SMUD’s internal team members, thereby increasing their capability to create and maintain reports going forward. This upskilling proved to be a key factor in the project’s success, as it empowered the team to continue delivering visual insights on their own, keeping the project on track even after the initial work was completed.
Long-Term Impact
By focusing on both delivering results and developing the client’s skills, Analytica Consulting helped SMUD not only achieve its immediate performance goals but also ensure sustainable success. With more team members now capable of analyzing data and developing reports, SMUD has been able to reallocate time previously spent on manual processes to higher-value initiatives. The ripple effect of this project continues to bring value to the organization, the community, and the world. SMUD is making progress toward its ZCP goals, the local area is benefiting from improved air quality and clean energy jobs, and the environment is being spared more planet-warming carbon emissions.
At Analytica Consulting, we believe that successful projects are built on a combination of technical expertise and a commitment to empowering teams. This project with SMUD is just one example of how we bring that belief to life.
