---
id: "entity-northeast-us-electric-utility"
type: "entity"
entityType: "organization"
canonicalName: "Northeast U.S. Electric Utility Company"
aliases: ["Northeast U.S. electric utility", "the utility (anonymized case study)"]
source_timestamps: ["§ How the Portfolio Runs"]
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2026/01/manage-your-ai-investments-like-a-portfolio"
source_title: "Manage Your AI Investments Like a Portfolio"
tags: ["utilities", "regulated-industry", "case-study"]
related: ["concept-stage-gates", "question-low-regulation-adaptation"]
sources: ["spine"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-spine"
originDay: 1
articleStem: "hbr-foci-61-ai-investments-portfolio"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/01/manage-your-ai-investments-like-a-portfolio"
sourceTitle: "Manage Your AI Investments Like a Portfolio"
---
# Northeast U.S. Electric Utility Company

> **Type:** Organization (regulated electric utility) · **Role in source:** Case study — anonymized.

An unnamed electric utility company in the Northeast U.S., used as an example of disciplined stage-gate progression in a highly regulated industry. The company established an **AI Center of Excellence (AI CoE)** that gathers ideas, evaluates business needs, develops proofs of concept, and then escalates projects to senior management, regulatory, and legal teams. Final production approval requires **CEO and CIO evaluation of ROI**.

It exemplifies [[concept-stage-gates]] under heavy regulatory burden. The authors note a 'lighter version' of this rigorous process suits lower-regulation industries — the unresolved detail tracked in [[question-low-regulation-adaptation]].

*Note: anonymized in the source and not independently verifiable; the pattern is consistent with regulated utilities' governance practices.*