Tech Talk | The age of AI and edge intelligence for utilities

A majority of utilities in different parts of the world are actively pursuing AI and ML projects, Itron’s latest Resourcefulness insight report has found.

In the survey of 600 utility executives from the US, Canada, France, UK, India and Australia, over 80% reported being engaged in such projects, with almost one quarter reporting them being “fully integrated” into their operations and over half of the remainder saying they have made significant investments in mature projects.

Such figures leave no doubt, if there was any with the current hype, that the age of AI is here in the increasing move to digital technologies to meet the challenges of a decentralising energy sector requiring decisions and actions to be made closer and closer to real time.

The Resourcefulness study conducted annually on different aspects of the energy system sheds new and timely insight into the current ‘state of play’ of AI and ML in a cross-section of the world’s utilities.

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The top current use of AI/ML emerges as safety, which is cited among the top utility challenges, with the greatest impact believed to be on helping to detect and manage potentially dangerous situations, the survey found.

Other areas where benefits are gained include cyber threat detection, helping utilities optimise asset utilisation, cited by almost half, enabling them to achieve sustainability goals and enhancing consumer engagement and satisfaction.

Despite the benefits, AI is known to be energy intensive, particularly the latest generation generative AI, and the increasing demand for energy, driven primarily by data centres, but also by new construction and sustainability initiatives like solar, wind and EVs is cited by one-third of the executives as their number one challenge.

Another challenge, cited as the biggest barrier to implementing AI/ML by almost half, is the lack of expertise in this area.

Other leading concerns are a perceived high cost, data issues such as governance, standardisation and scalability and the risks of unproven technology operating a critical infrastructure.

Notably, almost two-thirds emphasised the need for more proven technology above all else.

They also request ongoing consulting and support for the technology and meeting regulatory
compliance as well as employee education.

Commenting that the findings provide an in-depth look at how utilities are grappling with historic growth in electricity demand while keeping safety front and centre, Marina Donovan, vice president of global marketing, ESG and public affairs at Itron, said: “As utilities continue their journey toward a more connected and intelligent grid, the integration of AI and ML becomes both a necessity and a strategic advantage to meeting today’s challenges.”

Where to from here?

For AI and ML to deliver full value, quality data that is trusted is needed to train and improve the models.

In this context, edge intelligence from devices such as sensors, smart meters and services are key.

More than one-third of the survey respondents see AI and ML enhancing edge intelligence environments through real-time anomaly detection and a similar proportion see it improving distribution system efficiency.

Edge intelligence and AI/ML also are expected to work together to better manage demand response, load shedding and shifting.

In its conclusions, Itron turns to Gartner’s five steps to implement AI, starting with small, quickly solvable, impactful use cases.

The second step is to build and assemble the skills for the use cases to be solved, with others including gathering the appropriate data, selecting the AI techniques linked to the use case and structuring the expertise and accumulated know-how.

Concludes Donovan: “Our findings reveal that the age of AI for utilities is here, and the strategic deployment of these technologies is crucial for enhancing safety, improving consumer engagement and achieving long-term sustainability goals.

“The commitment of utilities to harness the power of AI and ML will be a driving force in shaping the next generation of smart utility management.”

Jonathan Spencer Jones

Specialist writer
Smart Energy International

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