The Utility Inspection & Geospatial Alliance (UIGA)
Our belief at UIGA is that the utility inspection space is undergoing a rapid and fundamental change in its approach to the maintenance of healthy assets, vegetation management, storm response, and wildfire mitigation. We believe in connecting utilities to their peers and the right technology partners to better enable their transition into a more automated, digital grid.
Our Founders
Ken Maness
Co-Founder and VP of Utility Research
Ken has been working in the utility industry since 2002. He worked for 12 years at Energy Central and provided advertising services, research, and content offerings for the global power network. His focus then shifted for the next six years to a sales professional of utility related software. In August of 2020, he was hired by TMG Consulting to start a new division, TMG Research where he was responsible for the overall growth and direction. Under TMG Research, Ken co-founded the Utility Imagery & Inspection Consortium which he led for over three years and garnered membership from utilities all over the globe. Ken is now co-founder and VP of Utility Research at the Utility Inspection & Geospatial Alliance, where he is responsible for overall growth and the group’s alignment of connecting utilities to their peers and the right technology partners to better enable their transition into a more automated, digital grid.
Todd Hagen
Co-Founder and Director of Utility Research
Todd Hagen has served the utility industry since 2006. He started his energy career at Energy Central where he sold advertising services, event sponsorships, research, memberships, and content marketing for brands like EnergyBiz, Intelligent Utility and Utility Analytics Institute (UAI). Most recently Todd was Director of Industry Research at TMG Consulting where he helped to co-found Utility Imagery & Inspection Consortium (UIIC). Todd has now co-founded Utility Inspection & Geospatial Alliance (UIGA) where he continues to serve utilities and solution providers who are dedicated to transitioning to a more automated and digital grid through the use of imagery and geospatial intelligence.
Use Cases We Cover
Asset Management
Vegetation Management
Wildfire Mitigation
Storm Restoration
Audience
Overall utility audience of over 6,500+ utility inspection and geospatial professionals.
Utilities We Serve
Community-Driven Excellence
For Utilities, By Utilities
This utility-only portal is a dedicated platform designed exclusively for utilities to access essential resources, industry insights, and collaborative tools. This hub provides a central space to find the latest research, regulatory updates, and best practices to drive efficiency and innovation.
Service Providers
Join other service providers in the industry and get a genuine connection to utilities looking to level up their inspection capabilities. Whether you specialize in inspections, maintenance, consulting, or technology solutions, this opportunity connects you to the right decision makers.
Upcoming Events
UIGA Insight Exchange
The UIGA Insight Exchange (UIX) is a series of virtual knowledge-sharing sessions designed to foster collaboration among global utilities and industry associations. Hosted approximately 10 times per year by UIGA staff, these interactive discussions explore critical topics, including:
Asset Inspection
Storm Response
Vegetation Management
Wildfire Mitigation
Each session features a utility presenting its real-world use cases, best practices, model development, POC development, and challenges, providing valuable insights for industry peers. UIX sessions run for one hour, with recordings available via the UIGA Utility Portal for ongoing reference and learning.
We Invite You to Join UIGA & Help Drive the Future of Utility Inspections
The utility inspection landscape is rapidly evolving – ushering in a new era of predictive asset management, new technologies and analytics being used for vegetation management, increased analytics for storm preparation and response, and comprehensive strategies that help utilities effectively mitigate wildfires. Our Partnership Program is designed to connect utilities at all levels along the maturity curve with innovative solution providers who are committed to the long-term success of their utility partners.
Why Become a Member?
We are fortunate to be in an industry that for the most part is noncompetitive, where utilities can come together, collaborate, and share best practices such as:
- What tool should I use to capture my imagery data?
- Once I have the data, how can I clean it up and store it so it becomes actionable to not only my group, but across my entire organization?
- How does AI / ML factor into this?
We have a group of utilities from all over the world that are going through, or about to go through, some of the same challenges you are facing. This alliance allows you to get help where you might be stuck or help other utilities as they progress through their own journey.
Technology Integration Support
Allow UIGA to facilitate the introductions to solution providers around the globe that can help you with your unique challenges.
Insight Sharing
Stay ahead of trends with access to exclusive industry insights, case studies, and pilot opportunities. Through our dedicated utility-only hub, members can reach out to ask questions, share insights, research solutions, view presentations, listen to UIX recordings or schedule meetings with their peers.
“Here at UIGA, it is our goal to collaborate with utilities, industry associations, and solution providers to foster a community of thought leaders who will play a role in accelerating the remote inspection space in a responsible and meaningful way.”
Ken Maness, VP of Utility Research
Service Providers
At UIGA, we recognize the essential role that solution providers play around every point in transforming utility inspection and infrastructure management. Our relationship with solution providers is built on partnership, innovation, and the shared goal of helping utilities succeed. Utilities are dealing with an overwhelming amount of noise in this emerging space, and we provide a landscape for who is out there, which technologies and solutions might be applicable to their business, and what solutions actually are ready to go!
Our relationships span the entire spectrum from those that help with the collection of data, companies that can help establish a data management strategy, technology providers that are offering advanced analytics solutions around AI/ML, and those that help bring everything together.
“When you boil everything down; there are two common themes that you must be prepared for:
- This is hard work
- You need to have a culture that is accepting of change.”
Todd Hagen, Director of Utility Research
Industry Partners
UIGA collaborates with leading technology companies, data platforms, equipment manufacturers, and solution developers to accelerate innovation across the utility inspection landscape. Our relationship with industry partners is grounded in shared goals: improving reliability, reducing risk, and enabling a smarter, more responsive grid.
