How AI-Driven Storm Response Can Boost Reliability
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Artificial intelligence, or AI-driven storm response, is something that every electric utility should be evaluating due to its positive impact on reliability and customer costs. Simply put, AI can increase response efficiency for all stakeholders, from utilities to customers to vendors to regulators and everyone in between.
The Benefits of AI-Driven Storm Response
The main benefit of AI-driven storm response is that it can quickly assess a situation to accelerate decision making and rapidly direct resources to predicted areas of storm impact.
The result is enhanced efficiency, which in turn would reduce the restoration costs that utilities are forced to pass on to customers. Utilities paid over $12 billion in weather-related costs in 2022, which indicates that there is some opportunity for improvement. And the U.S. has experienced 14 years in a row that had at least ten ‘billion-dollar’ weather events.
So, how exactly could AI improve efficiency? Well, first off, it could be used to more quickly mobilize crews, which would logically speed up the repairs. Also, the technology could help crews avoid obstructed roads, improving safety and reducing delays. It could also be used to automatically track things like time and expenses in a much more efficient manner, reducing the number of costs that might slip through the cracks and would therefore be unrecoverable.
Of course, the technology is not foolproof – the correct platform must be carefully selected depending on the needs of the business, and employees must receive hands-on training so they are well versed in its usage. But assuming this is the case, the sky is the limit for the technology.
From my chair, anything that can accelerate emergency response is a boon for emergency preparedness. This is particularly true when it comes to technology. For this reason, I am completely onboard with the notion of AI-driven storm response and I hope that its adoption will only grow going forward.
