The ISO will use the Actuate tools to marry historical data with real-time information so users can have online access to reports containing scheduled energy loads and forecasts. As a result, energy companies will be able to more easily access online information to better plan for production and establish pricing, Berberich said.

He said the upgrade is an opportunity for the grid operator to eliminate some of the costs associated with maintaining separate BI tools. He added, though, that it would be difficult to estimate the exact cost savings associated with standardizing on BI tools.

'We are creating value on a number of fronts,' Berberich said. 'First, we have reduced support costs because we don't have so many disparate reporting tools. Training costs are reduced because we don't have to train on a collection of tools.'

Berberich also said workers will be more efficient because they won't have to use separate tools for different tasks.

While he acknowledged that it's generally difficult to get BI users to change tools, the ISO has so far been successful in its effort by clearly laying out the advantages of the new products. Officials have worked to create a 'bit of excitement around the new product' that may make it more attractive to users than the tools now in use, Berberich said.