Utilities Tech Outlook Weekly Brief
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The energy sector is greatly benefiting from the power of AI and machine learning by ensuring smooth operation, enhancing customer experience, and preventing unexpected events.
FREMONT, CA: Utilities and energy providers are increasingly interacting with new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). When coupled with other innovative technologies, AI has the potential to facilitate the active management that will be required for the energy grid of the future. Powerful intelligence can balance grids, manage demand, initiate actions, allow self-healing, and help offer a host of new products and services. Indeed, AI not only lends itself to the energy transition but also facilitateS efficient and effective utility operations by analyzing unstructured data. The utility industry has great potential to embrace AI in the coming years. Below are a few use cases.
• Precision Forecasting
As the energy value chain becomes more intricate and dynamic, the utility providers adopting robust and accurate forecasting technologies will only have a strong foundation for sustainable business growth. For such sustainable growth, load forecasts are vital for utilities. AI technologies are shown to have matured to the point of offering real practical benefits for this. Machine learning could be used to forecast supply and demand in real-time and streamline economic load dispatch. AI-based systems are being designed, developed, and deployed across the globe in myriad applications, mainly because of their symbolic reasoning, flexibility, and explanation capabilities.
• Predictive Maintenance
IoT and machine learning are at the heart of predictive maintenance in the energy and utility sector. From power lines and machinery to power stations and maintenance, vehicles are equipped with sensors that collect operational data. By coupling this sensor-driven data with custom AI solutions, utility providers can identify failing assets and even predict the remaining useful life of that particular machinery. Predictive maintenance also prompts utilities to take preventative measures that will help them avoid downtimes and streamline maintenance activities to reduce maintenance costs. Besides, AI can detect usage patterns, payment history, and other customer data that may signal irregular behavior.
• Enhanced Customer Service
AI applications could allow utility providers to craft electricity prices that maximize their margins while minimizing customer churn. It could also be used to create individual offers and services to help utilities retain their most profitable customers. In this era of prosumers (consumers generating their renewable energy )AI can be used to more quickly match producers with customers. Besides AI-powered, virtual agents will revolutionize the sector by responding to consumer queries and offering instant assistance. These virtual agents will be able to automatically segment customers based on service history and provide alerts of debts. The development of natural language processing will eventually unlock the ability to automate customer service fully.
AI and machine learning open a wide range of exciting possibilities for utilities. The current application suggests that it can deliver real value for those who seriously aim to flourish. The opportunities and rewards are waiting for those who wish to take the plunge.
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