Energetica India Magazine - September 2022

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Now Integral to Smart Power Solutions 58 energetica INDIA- September_2022 The utilities’ space is rapidly trans- forming today. It’s shifting from the conventional and a highly-regulated en- vironment to a tech-driven market at a fast clip. Collating data and optimizing manpower is a constant struggle. The smarter optimization of infrastructure has increased monumentally with the outbreak of the pandemic, and also the dependency on technology. There is an urgent need to balance the supply and demand for which Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) can come into play. Data Science, aided by AI and ML, has been leading to sever- al positive developments in the utilities space. Digitalization can increase the profitability of utilities by significant percentages by utilizing smart meters for grids, digital productivity tools and automating back-office processes. Ac - cording to a study firms can increase their profitability from 20 percent to 30 percent. Digital measures rewire organizations to do better through a fundamental re- boot of how work gets done. Customer Service and AI According to a Gartner report, most AI investments by utilities most often go into customer service solutions. Some 86% of the utilities studied used AI in their digital marketing, towards call cen- ter support and customer application. This is testimony to the investments in AI and ML that can deliver a high ROI by improving speed and efficiency, thus enhancing customer experience. The AI that’s customer-facing is a low-risk in- vestment as customer enquiries are of- ten repetitive such as billing enquiries, payments, new connections etc. AI can deliver tangible results for business on the customer service front. Automatic Meters for Energy conserva- tion As manual entry and billing systems are not only time-consuming, but also sus- ceptible to errors and are expensive too. The Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) System has made a breakthrough. The AMR enables large infrastructure set ups to collect data easily and also ana- lyze the cost centers and the opportu- nities for improving the efficiencies of natural gas, electric, water sectors and more. It offers real-time billing informa- tion for budgeting. It has the advantage of being precise compared to manual entry. Additionally, it is able to store data at distribution points within the networks of the utility. This can be easi- ly accessed over a network using devices like the mobile and handhelds. Energy consumption can be tracked to aid con- servation and end energy theft. Predictive Analytics Enable Smart grid options By leveraging new-age technologies, utilities can benefit immensely. These technologies in the energy sector help in building smart power grids. The en- ergy sector heavily relies on a complex infrastructure that can face multiple is- sues as a result of maintenance issues, weather conditions, failure of the sys- tem or equipment, demand surges and misallocation of resources. Overloading and congestion leads to a lot of energy being wasted. The grids produce a hu- mongous data which help with risk mit- igation when properly utilized. With the large volume of data that continuously pass over the grid, it can be challenging There is an urgent need to balance the supply and demand for which Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) can come into play. Data Science, aided by AI and ML, has been leading to several positive developments in the utilities space. Digitalization can increase the profitability of utilities by significant percentages by utilizing smart meters for grids, digital productivity tools and automating back-office processes. Raj Darji CEO and Founder, Aarav Solutions POWER SECTOR