Gabriel HawthorneChief Information Officer · Essays & perspective

Gabriel Hawthorne / Chief Information Officer

Three arguments about the numbers and systems a utility relies on

Perspectives from a life in leadership.

The archive.

Large loads and data centres

  1. Large loads and data centres5 min read

    Count each data centre once before it enters the load forecast

    Rural utilities are being offered more data-centre load than they have ever served, and much of it is the same few projects knocking on several doors. A forecast should count each project once, and only after its developer has put money at risk.

    Open essay

Cyber security and operations

  1. Cyber security and operations5 min read

    Rank a utility's systems by what stops when they fail, not by the network they sit on

    Utilities protect their control systems carefully and their business systems less carefully, because the compliance boundary says they may. The 2021 pipeline attack showed why that boundary is the wrong guide to what an attacker can stop.

    Open essay

Billing and member service

  1. Billing and member service5 min read

    Retire the rate codes before you replace the billing system

    Billing replacements fail more often because of accumulated tariffs than because of software. A cooperative should have its board retire unneeded rate codes before conversion begins, even when that delays the programme and costs it participants.

    Open essay