Top 5 Utility Technology Trends for 2020

My friends at Energy Central just published an article that outlines the top-5 utility technology trends for 2020.  Nothing on the list is a surprise, but I do think it’s worth discussing the article because it’s a good summary of what is happening in the utility world. 

What are the Top Utility Technology Trends for 2020?

Here is Energy Central’s list, in no particular order:

• Artificial intelligence (AI) – The rationale is that we now have access to so many devices and data sources that we will need an AI algorithm to make sense of it all.  The primary areas in which AI will become increasingly important for utilities are in regard to incorporating renewable energy sources into the grid, predicting outage-causing events, analyzing customer usage patterns, and optimizing equipment performance.  
• Digital twins – This refers to the deployment of virtual asset models that provide real time and predictive performance insights.  The primary benefits include cost-reduction, maintenance optimization, and reduced equipment downtime.
• Edge computing – This basically refers to easing the transfer of data between gathering tools like sensors and modeling or analyzing tools like SCADA.  By streamlining the transfer of the data between the components in the system, real time intelligence can be obtained.
• Security – As I’m sure you know, cybersecurity is rapidly becoming a critical function, and this trend must continue in order to keep one step ahead of malicious hackers.  There should be an increased emphasis on identifying and mitigating asset vulnerabilities, as well as increasing the cybersecurity competence of the organization as a whole by hiring experts.
• Blockchain – There are lots of articles online that describe how Blockchain works, so I won’t go into the nuts and bolts of it here, but just know that the main benefits include facilitating transactions between disparate third parties, and incorporating extra layers of security into systems.  This is a technology that is not quite ready for primetime in the utility industry, but it’s on everybody’s radar and people much smarter than me are working on it.

So, there you have it – the top 5 utility technology trends for 2020.  What do you think of this list?  Drop me a comment and let me know!