Reading Electric Power Research Institute’s report “An Introduction To AI, And Requirements For The Electric Power Industry“, there are several things that pop out. 

1. The Utility Industry is facing a huge challenge

Industry 4.0 will force utility industries to work differently, focus more on solving problems, not just on sustaining the processes. AI will play a big role when it comes to optimizing the utilities processes. Here the various teams will have to work on understanding the data to build the right abstracts in order to develop better algorithms. 

2. Not taking the “Closed Loop” into consideration

The report misses a consequence of the distributed power generation, and that is what we at The Oakree call the closed loop. In order to deliver resilient, carbon-negative energy, the Utilities need to look outside of the box and understand that it is a loop and not a linear production. Carbon-negative energy begins by closing the loop between production and operation, using the data to reduce the cost of operation. 

3. Distributed Power generation

The report mentions the fact that the Utility Industry has to become more distributed but only talks about solar and wind, energy generators that today are under some pressure when it comes to the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF). Biomass and thermal energy are not mentioned, both areas still can evolve a lot.

4. Conclusion

The article is on point when it points to the fact that Utilities need to attract AI experts who have a deep understanding of power generation and distribution. The Oaktree also says that they are needed when analyzing all the data, bringing it back to manufacturing when the next generation of power plants are developed. Power plants would like software to have continuous minor updates and then when a new plant is being built, there will be major updates. 

The biggest challenge will be recruiting talent and to change our organizations to handle all the data in the best possible way.