Estimates from the Electric Power Research Institute suggest that data centers could account for 9% to 17% of total U.S. electricity demand by 2030, up from https://innovatenexes.com/network-safety-measures.html roughly 3-4% today. Effective risk management with AI as a tool positions gas utilities to handle environmental challenges confidently. AI not only predicts potential flood risks but also empowers utilities to respond swiftly and efficiently. By doing so, the chance of disruptions decreases significantly, leading to a more reliable service and improved safety. Utilidata’s Karman software platform and an NVIDIA GPU-empowered chip are embedded in Aclara smart meters and will soon be in other distribution system hardware, said Utilidata VP, Product, Yingchen Zhang.
Electric sector gas use fell 3% in 2025, partly on solar, battery rise: EIA
By analyzing vast amounts of payment data in real time, AI can flag suspicious behavior (like unusual patterns or spoofed identities) before the transaction goes through. Srikumar Rao, Managing Partner and Global Head of Engineering at Wipro Limited, said the partnership is built on a common goal of reshaping industrial intelligence and its practical application. He noted that combining Wipro’s domain knowledge in Energy & Utilities with its AI platforms and Kongsberg Digital’s digital twin technology will allow businesses to merge engineering intelligence with operational insight. He added that this will help enterprises create more autonomous operations that can respond to change, manage complexity, and strengthen resilience at scale.
The future of AI in utilities: Emerging trends and technology
The companies expect the initiative to help asset-intensive organisations accelerate innovation, strengthen operational continuity, and achieve lasting gains in productivity, safety, and sustainability. Machine learning transforms vegetation management into a utility risk tool—cutting wildfire threats and improving grid resilience. Utilities often have engineering standards, outage procedures, regulatory filings, maintenance logs trapped in binders, file cabinets, or disconnected systems.
Artificial intelligence consulting services
But in at least three states with high concentrations of data centers, electric bills climbed much faster than the national average during that period. Prices, for example, surged by 13% in Virginia, 16% in Illinois and 12% in Ohio. “There are certain parts of the country where data centers are driving the cost higher in some of these markets. That’s not in our territory,” Sideris said, pointing to the Northeast and other parts of the Midwest. The convergence of accelerating energy demand, aging infrastructure, and earlier, more intense fire seasons means utilities cannot afford to treat wildfire preparation as a seasonal project. Regulatory scrutiny is intensifying, with California’s Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety and counterparts in other western states pushing for documented, measurable mitigation outcomes.
- Avista’s successful adoption of third-party AI/ML “began with a mindset,” said Barrington.
- Since 2000, the electric power sector has reduced its emissions of carbon dioxide by 20% and sliced criteria air pollutants by 80%.
- A growing number of filmmakers, editors and post-production teams are drawing a clear distinction between AI that increases efficiency and removes friction from the creative process, and AI that creates.
- Helping clients meet their business challenges begins with an in-depth understanding of the industries in which they work.
- AI-powered fraud detection adds a critical layer of protection to billing systems without slowing anything down.
AI-powered chatbots can also personalize customer service by analyzing customer data and providing tailored recommendations. While this approach can be effective for achieving program goals, it tends to favor higher-income households with large energy bills that could produce greater savings. It also helps explain why Home Energy Reports (HERs) from utilities have typically only been sent to homes with the highest bills. The return on the HERs could be much higher if targeted based on data that shows which homes have the highest inefficient usages instead of targeting just based on consumption. This type of proactive customer support – either through an email or through an opt-in text message – can solve a lot of issues before anybody is motivated to reach out to a utility call center. In fact, proactive, high bill alerts have been shown to reduce high-bill related calls into a call center by 50%, which is a significant cost savings for utilities.
For example, a utility might capture multiple images of a single distribution pole (via remote aircraft systems or ground crews). AI can ingest and process the photos to recognize anomalies such as a cracked insulator or missing pole cap. The AI solution can identify high-risk poles for the engineers to validate and dispatch field crews. And that means adopting technology and embracing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
Wipro and Kongsberg Digital Join Forces to Advance AI Digital Twin Solutions for Energy & Utilities
While we acknowledge the potential of WIT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. And, with a large legacy nuclear fleet, Duke is extending the lifelines of its nuclear plants and upgrading them to produce more power.
Duke Energy’s $103B Capex Plan Signals AI Data Centers Are Reshaping Utility Investment
- ACES ETF offers exposure to renewable energy companies increasingly tied to data center growth.
- While the threat looms large, rate increases are not inevitable, according to PowerLines.
- The convergence of digitalization and infrastructure modernization is creating significant investment potential within the utilities sector.
- It’s the sort of statement that seems so obviously self-evident that it’s not worth uttering.
- It’s easy to see how this kind of information can benefit a utility’s customers and also significantly improve customer support.
When Reich visited a PG&E utility command center weeks later, she saw hundreds of workers manually scrubbing through video footage, while only a handful of experts knew what to look for. Congruent Ventures led the raise, which included participation from First In, Overline, Bull City Venture Partners, and St. Elmo Venture Capital, the investment arm of customer Texas Area Telecom. It brings the Raleigh, North Carolina-based startup’s total raised to $5.35 million since its 2023 inception. For those eager to dive deeper into Oracle’s offerings, the upcoming Oracle Customer Edge Summit from April offers an excellent opportunity. More details about Oracle Utilities can be found on their website, as well as insights shared via LinkedIn.
Email Automation
Utility companies collect vast amounts of data from various sources, but this data is often in different formats and lacks standardization, making it difficult to analyze and optimize. To address this challenge, utilities must develop data management systems that standardize and integrate data from different sources. ⦁ Chatbots are available 24/7 and can handle a high volume of customer queries, providing fast and efficient customer service. This frees up customer service reps to focus on more important tasks and complex issues and queries.
Sophisticated algorithms help make sense of the data and translate it into information and offers that a utility can make to a customer that can help solve their problems. In other words, it’s like having a massive army of super smart data scientists constantly poring over every utility customer’s energy usage. Competition isn’t the only thing that’s focused the attention of utilities on improving their customer service.
The platform also features solutions like the AI self-serve advisor that offers seamless support and analytics to track and analyze performance to better understand user behavior and refine service strategies. It also provides AI-powered search for accurate and context-aware results, and an AI agent assistant using natural language processing (NLP) for performing tasks and supporting customers. US-based startup Resilient Entanglement offers a climate-resilient energy management system (EMS).