Summary
We know that GE's CEO has lunch 2X a week with the Brass in Washington... We know that GE has the most to gain or loose should they not get the contract to participate in this two billion dollar project. GE Infrastructure, GE Wind, GE... the list goes on and I am confident that all of the right people are talking to the right people. We think that understanding energy management and creating a system for open architecture prior to building the project is a must.
Analysis
I am going to keep this short just to set the hook… I want you, the reader, to think about the value the magnitude of this project and then while you’re doing that I want you to think about how a project like this is run. When one company comes in and installs a system such as this they embed their code into the systems and control. This “code” allows only their team to manage this project and to manipulate the technology. If our government actually understood the potential harm in such practice they would require what is known as open architecture code to be used in place. The reason is a company can then hold the project hostage and after winning the initial installation they become the managers of the project in full. Some would argue that this is ok, but watch as the billing for services continues to climb and all of the profitability is now going into the pockets of the entity that is the self appointed managers. There are systems in place such as at Hill AFB also known as Area 51 that use open architecture. A platform called PECOS manages all systems and the beauty of this is ten or twelve years done the road when electronics fail or corrode new systems can then be installed in place of the corrupt or obsolete as the case may be. This is only an option when open architecture is mandated. Security, energy, and other long term projects, especially when they come at such a price tag as we see here demand oversight and fully thinking it through from the positions of consultancy prior to bid acceptance and putting a single entity in charge of something so valuable.
Les Burk consults with leading institutions through GLG
Analyses are solely the work of the authors and have not been edited or endorsed by GLG.
