How Asset Management Technology Can Enhance Grid Reliability
Best-in-class asset management is going to be critical for electric utilities as new demands put a strain on the grid. These new demands include the addition and integration of renewable energy sources, the expected explosion in electric vehicle growth (EV), and of course our old friend climate change. EV usage in particular could have a dramatic impact, as it is expected to increase electricity consumption by 25% just 15 years from now.
Using Asset Management Technology to Mitigate the Challenges of an Evolving Grid
As you know, utility infrastructure in many parts of the country is old. While water infrastructure gets most of the press on this, there is a fair potion of the electric infrastructure that is also getting up there in age. For example, countless transformers and other equipment and components are 40 years old or more.
Although the bulk of this aging electric equipment will be able to remain in service for many years or even decades to come, it does highlight the need to constantly ensure proper maintenance practices. And optimizing maintenance schedules requires optimizing asset management practices.
There are many elements to effective asset management, but the most cutting-edge approach is grounded in technology. Specifically, monitors and sensors can be attached to grid assets to collect and feed data to software that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (MI) algorithms to provide real time awareness of what is going on across the service territory. These technologies can predict malfunctions before they occur, and can even automate pieces of the maintenance process.
It should be clear how this approach can improve overall reliability. First, by predicting malfunctions before they occur, the technology can help avoid outages caused by faulty equipment. Similarly, it can be leveraged to increase the lifespan of equipment, again reducing outages by minimizing repair downtime. And finally, by automating pieces of the maintenance process, costs should go down while employee safety improves.
The bottom line is that the world is changing, and electric utilities are facing the brunt of this change. Luckily, forward-thinking utilities can use technology-driven asset management practices to soften the impact.
