From Idea to Impact: How One Utility Is Affordably Redefining Innovation at Scale

Kim Getgen, Founder, InnovationForce | Driving Innovation for a Better World. Top 500 Female Founders and Fast Company's Top 10 Most Innovative Workplace solutions of 2024.

Utilities are no strangers to ambitious goals—net-zero commitments, complex grid modernization, driving affordable electrification. But when it comes to executing innovation that supports these priorities, most are still stuck in a cycle of idea overload and decision paralysis that many affectionately refer to as “pilotitus” or more politely as “pilot purgatory”.

That’s why the recent release of Portland General Electric’s 2024 Innovation Impact Report is so groundbreaking and worth a closer look. It’s more than just an open innovation challenge. It reports the actual activity the utility embarked on and the results it achieved. It’s also a useful playbook for how utilities can turn innovation from a buzzword into a measurable advantage.

What They Achieved in 18 Months:

62% faster pilot time
343% increase in innovation portfolio growth
$562,000 in operational savings per idea

They have a balanced portfolio of projects advancing decarbonization, resilience, AI readiness, and customer-centric program design

This kind of transformation doesn’t happen by accident.

It’s the result of putting process and structure behind innovation, not as a side project, but as a strategic capability.

The Power of Purpose-Built Innovation

Since 2022, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside PGE’s Strategic Innovation team as they scaled their program from the ground up.

At the core of their success is a framework for organizing ideas, aligning cross-functional teams, and accelerating the path from insight to execution. It’s a model grounded in research from my co-founder, Harvard’s Dr. Linda Hill, and built into the DNA of the InnovationWorks platform.

With this approach, PGE was able to:

Reduce the administrative burden of managing innovation
Shorten feedback loops and improve stakeholder alignment
Empower employees across the organization to submit, shape, and scale ideas with real business value

What Other Utilities Can Learn

What makes PGE’s progress so compelling is that it’s repeatable. And PGE didn’t wait to have the perfect culture, budget or resources to support the innovation that the lines so urgently needed by the operational lines of business. Instead they focused on building the capabilities to support a framework would work internally and could scale.

A few takeaways:

Speed matters: 12–48-month decision windows (or longer) are too long when the grid is changing daily. Innovation corporate governance framework must move at the pace of transformation.
Value is measurable: Innovation can (and should) be tied to measurable outcomes like OPEX savings, customer impact, and strategic alignment.
Innovation is a team sport: The myth of the lone genius doesn’t work here. Real results come from collaboration—across departments, with partners, and even across industries.

Looking Ahead

The energy transition demands more than ideas—it demands implementation. We’re proud to support R&D/innovation consortiums like CEATI and utilities like PGE who are bold enough to reimagine not just the grid, but how they operate and innovate from within.

Because innovation isn’t just about one technology. It’s about a commitment to have the courage to develop the capabilities that empower talented employees to do things differently.

Ready to Go From Idea to Impact? Let us Fast Track You for Success

If you're a utility leader looking to accelerate your innovation journey, we invite you to learn more about our Fast Track program that allows you to implement the framework PGE used in 4 weeks or less.

We’ll help your team learn how to:

Identify high-impact opportunities already hiding in your documents with AI.
Reduce decision-making time by up to 85% with Creative Abrasion, Creative Agility and Creative Resolution.
Align innovation efforts to your strategic and regulatory goals.

No long RFP process. No months of setup. Just meaningful outcomes.

Let’s build the future of energy—faster, and together.

Visit www.innovationforce.io to learn more or schedule a meeting with us to learn more.