April 9, 2024

Modernizing grid performance amidst growing demands

The energy and utilities sector faces an increasingly complex landscape. With aging infrastructure, escalating energy demand, regulatory pressures, and the urgent shift toward renewable energy, utility companies are at a critical juncture. The necessity for a resilient, efficient, and sustainable grid has never been more pronounced. Moreover, the industry grapples with the integration challenges of operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) systems, alongside the looming threat of cyber-attacks targeting critical infrastructure.

It’s no surprise that our preliminary research shows that 80% of utilities don’t have a generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) strategy.

The smart grid transformation challenge

As utilities strive to modernize the grid, the deployment of smart meters, devices, and sensors has surged, generating vast amounts of data. However, the sheer volume of this data presents a formidable challenge.

Furthermore, traditional data management solutions falter under this load, struggling to provide the actionable insights needed for real-time decision-making. Utilities are thus caught in a bind: how to harness this data deluge to enhance grid reliability, improve customer service, and meet regulatory compliance requirements, all while ensuring data security and managing costs.

Neudesic infographic, "80% of utility providers say they don't have a generative AI strategy."

Neudesic Smart Meter Analytics on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform for Energy

In response to these challenges, Neudesic has forged a powerful partnership with Databricks and released its groundbreaking smart meter analytics solution on the data and AI company’s next generation lakehouse technology—the Data Intelligence Platform for Energy. The innovation is set to transform the utilities sector by leveraging AI in utilities to optimize grid modernization. As Mike Rossi, Global Vice President for Energy and Communications at Neudesic, mentioned in our recent press release, "The AI boom across leading energy and utilities companies is becoming real. We're just in the early days of what’s possible."

This partnership combines Neudesic's deep industry expertise and Databricks' advanced AI technologies. Together, they introduce a solution that addresses the utilities industry's most pressing challenges: aging infrastructure, energy demand forecasting, and the transition to renewable energy integration, among others.

Driving grid modernization with data intelligence

The smart meter analytics solution, unveiled at the Utility Analytics Summit in Nashville, marks a significant milestone. It is one of the first offerings on the Data Intelligence Platform for Energy, heralding the next evolution of lakehouse technology. This collaboration aims to engineer data and AI in utilities solutions that tackle the energy industry's complex challenges head-on.

David Bess, Global Vice President of Industry Solutions at Neudesic, highlighted the potential: "Our clients are becoming active participants in building a smarter energy grid. This solution improves every aspect of utility functions, from cleaner power generation to more reliable delivery."

The smart meter analytics solution enables utility companies to orchestrate billions of daily data points with near-real-time analytical capabilities. This empowers grid operators to use AI for understanding grid health, energy demand forecasting, and enhancing customer service through precise billing automation and theft detection functionalities.

Immediate benefits of the strategic partnership

This collaboration opens the door to innovative solutions for managing energy consumption, setting the stage for significant advancements in smart meter technology and its applications.

Energy efficiency gains from smart meter analytics

Studies show that smart meter analytics can lead to substantial energy savings in the residential sector by enabling tailored energy efficiency campaigns. Utility companies can achieve a crucial goal for optimizing energy use.

Improved General Rate Case planning

Databricks’ built-in Generative AI and AI assistant capabilities are enabling utilities to improve the accuracy and quality of their rate case submissions. These new AI capabilities increase the chances of utilities getting favorable rate case decisions from regulators. Tasks that once required hours of manual research can now be significantly sped up with the help of retrieval augmented generation and generative AI.

Operational efficiency through Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)

AMI plays a pivotal role in enhancing the security of the smart grid by facilitating the real-time monitoring and control of the network. This includes the detection of anomalous events and conditions, demonstrating an effective approach to grid analytics.

Impact on renewable energy integration

The use of AI in utilities, including smart meter data analytics, significantly supports the integration of renewable energy sources. This enhances energy efficiency, enables predictive maintenance, and improves the controllability and efficiency of renewable energy generation.

Improving utilities cybersecurity with smart grids

Data stream mining can enhance the security of advanced metering infrastructure through an intrusion detection system. This ensures the secure operation of smart grids by analyzing performances of various data stream mining algorithms to detect potential security breaches.

This solution offers immediate benefits to utility companies, providing a robust framework for ingesting, storing, and analyzing advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) data. It represents a leap forward in managing massive data volumes, putting utility companies in the analytics driver seat.

Neudesic's position as a strategic partner of Databricks, coupled with its recognition as the US Partner of the Year in AI by Microsoft, underscores our commitment to driving industry transformation. Bilal Khursheed, Worldwide Power & Utilities Leader at Microsoft, emphasizes Neudesic's vital role: "Their industry expertise and technical capabilities can help our customers increase resiliency, reduce operational costs, and accelerate time to market."

A new chapter in energy and utilities

The Smart Meter Analytics Solution on the Data Intelligence Platform is just the beginning of Neudesic and Databricks' collaborative journey. It paves the way for utilities to navigate the challenges of modernization, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance, driving the global energy sector towards a more sustainable and efficient future.

To discover how this solution can transform your utility's operations and customer service, contact us.