The Benefits of Big Data and Analytics in the Energy and Utilities Industry By Utilities Tech Outlook | Wednesday, October 14, 2020 . For example, a utility aspiring to become a leader in renewables may prefer to develop an asset-maintenance solution internally to create a competitive advantage over competitors that use off-the-shelf products from vendors. As E&U is responsible for fulfilling the power and energy demands for the other industries, it is the lifeline for every other sector. Everyone is talking about digital disruption and... read more, Listen on the go! By applying big data analytics, the companies can accurately make decisions regarding their power planning and generation, energy load, and performance estimation. rules for data curation, documentation, Many of the world-changing solutions in use today were ridiculed at the time of their invention.... read more, © Copyright 2020. By Alan Anderson, David Semmelroth . talent. Data analytics is not new to the electric utility industry. By employing a cloud-based load generation strategy, they optimized response time by 30%, hardware performance by 25%, & server performance and scalability by 20%. In doing so, he not only created a vast array of use cases in a short time but also role modeled the intellectual curiosity and bias toward business impact that he expected from his leaders. suffers because of a lack of collaboration Practical resources to help leaders navigate to the next normal: guides, tools, checklists, interviews and more, Learn what it means for you, and meet the people who create it. Ed Cuoco is the Director of Data Science at The Weather Company, an IBM Business, where he leads an organization focused on creating advanced analytics for industry. Insufficient research on big data analytics system architecture design and advanced mathematics for petascale data It is estimated that the electric utilities around the world will spend $10.1 billion on automated metering infrastructure (AMI) data analytics solutions through 2021. The real value comes from In simple terms it's matching power supply with the demand for energy from the grid over a short-period of time. E&U is an asset-intensive industry and relies heavily on the optimal performance of their equipment and network infrastructure. We’ve seen Big Data, Analytics Energize Electric Utilities For utilities, a perfect storm is just that: a rare confluence of various weather elements that coalesces to create an event of unusual magnitude. Developing an inventory of required capabilities by translating planned use cases into a roadmap for talent that includes all the skills—technical and nontechnical—needed to deliver an analytics project. Big data analytics plays a leading part here as it empowers dynamic management systems in Smart Grids. business, but fail to involve the front-line crew industry leaders to fast-track value capture by: Defining a target data structure that is Success requires the coordination of a complex series of steps, and the collective impact is only as good as the weakest link. For electric utilities, Big Data Analytics can help guide smart grid deployment and calibrate models and tools for grid management and simulation. We hope you enjoy the site. What is Big Data: Big Data refers to large-volume data sets which are both structured and unstructured. For utility companies looking to deliver energy efficiently for decades to come, smart meters were just the beginning. Still, E&U companies are building smarter infrastructure and sensors to enhance predictability and prevent such outage scenarios. It’s also common for the business to have little trust in new data systems, and little comfort in using them. Failure of these assets may cause serious power distribution challenges and consequently, depleted consumer trust. utilities’ vast archives of recorded calls from call A smart meter may give several readings a day, not just once a month or once a quarter. design, not only during pilots but from the and funding before the effort has properly We'll email you when new articles are published on this topic. Data analytics are helping utilities improve operations and customer engagement, but a decentralized transactive energy network is in the works and will require additional computing advances. improving health and safety for employees. phase. Power generation planning, and economic load dispatch are the two most important decision-making processes in power generation. When it is starting out, business excitement and engagement are critical to achieving buy-in. Stephen Callahan, VP of Global Strategy and Solutions for the Energy & Utilities Industry, IBM, wrote an article for R&D Magazine that states that big data is changing the future of the utility sector in unprecedented ways. We strive to provide individuals with disabilities equal access to our website. To efficiently management energy load, the E&U companies need to strategically and intelligently balance energy demand with optimal power supply in a given time period. About analytics in Power & Utilities. value, such as the designers and product This ensures that lessons are learned from experience and errors are quickly corrected. This analysis can help you expand your business by targeting qualified niche markets. Please try again later. energy value chain (see sidebar, “Applying advanced analytics at utilities”), advanced analytics poses a strategic challenge. However, with the introduction of new data sources and the subsequent increase in the volume of generated data, big data analytics is assuming priority. From rising capital costs to increased global competition and more stringent regulation and compliance requirements, power and utilities firms are leveraging data and analytics to stay ahead. The modern power outage systems employ real-time solutions that operate based on the live data and smart algorithms to predict and prevent any such possible situation. Prescriptive analytics helps identify the best course of action that can enable businesses to achieve organizational goals. Currently only a small number of utilities have adopted big data analytics actively. short, iterative, test-and-learn cycles—an Welcome to UDA. manage rollout and the training of end users. About The Author. maintenance, safety, and other use cases, yet have observations and maintenance tickets deployable open-source technologies, easily to drive a faster, safer, and more productive Thank you, the UDA Team. Smart meters provide a more accurate measure of energy usage by giving far more frequent readings than traditional meters. Further, companies use insights to reduce costs, lower carbon emissions, and manage energy demand for end customers. It’s not unusual for some parts of an organization to limit or block access to data that’s critical for decision making or analytics, often citing data confidentiality or cybersecurity as the reason. With the introduction of highly advanced infrastructure to deliver reliable and continuous energy, E&U companies also need to consider the challenges that may arise due to faulty software technologies. These systems are capable of predicting the impact of any near-time asset values on the network grid, possible outages caused due to smart meter events, region-specific outages, and more. software solution. Many utilities are too decentralized, leaving them unable to reap the benefits of standardization and best-practice sharing. next project, Define organization-wide processes and All Content. uncomfortable at first—but falling back on Alarmingly, organizational surveys often report that data users don’t believe their company has a clear data-ownership structure or feel confident that data objects are precisely defined or accurate, particularly when it comes to similar objects from different sources. Advanced analytics is transforming industries data platform and defining a minimum Shape a digital and analytics organization that fits the company’s governance model, maturity, and potential for standardization and best-practice sharing. testing to user adoption and value capture. in the long run by simplifying data curation and Nokia has partnered with the State Grid Corporation of China for data transmission to allow SGCC to expand network coverage to more power stations and business offices, while also increasing capacity and flexibility. Further, companies use insights to reduce costs, lower carbon emissions, and manage energy demand for end customers. We use cookies essential for this site to function well. processing needs in future. A top-tier provider of home comfort systems needed a low-cost load generation environment to analyze base-line response time on concurrent usage. The big data analytics applications enable them to enhance reliability, capacity, and availability of their network assets by continuous monitoring of cost and performance. Listen on the go! These products include databases, reports, visualizations, forecast, and analysis generated using Data Science Techniques. drive the development of the future vision for If utilities are to step up strategic investments and initiatives, it will require a clear understanding of where long-term value lies. Unclear access rights and privileges. Using simple valuation methods, quickly estimate the potential business impact for each application across all applicable dimensions, including cost, revenue, safety, reliability, and employee engagement. The   data gathered can then be processed and analyzed to identify any potential issues with the equipment maintenance, allowing a proactive handling of the situation. members who will use the tool on a day-to-day of dollars in new systems without any real collaboration with select social media and trusted analytics partners Adoption often tab. use cases, Align your analytics organizatonal structure with your overall business strategy, governance model, and level of maturity, Develop a structure that ensures best practices are shared enterprise-wide yet enables business units to be closely involved in solution development, Embed critical analytics capabilities across the whole organization, not just in an analytics center of excellence, Limit your analytics transformation to new software development and overlook culture and project management, Expect the analytics teams to develop their Big Data analytics: Turning huge volume of data that the smart meters and sensors captures into information and acting upon it in real-time will deliver the real benefits that smart grid and MDM promises. Having delivered comprehensive testing services to E&U organizations in US, UK, and Europe, we provide complete test coverage, test acceleration, and tool agnostic test frameworks. For utilities, which lag other industries in Practical resources to help leaders navigate to the next normal: guides, tools, checklists, interviews and more. How much weight to give each factor depends on the stage a utility has reached in its advanced analytics journey. value. Another large utility spent years building in-house analytics capabilities and developing more than a dozen use cases before realizing it had yet to make any headway on the biggest and most valuable opportunities. Here you will find Products to improve your knowledge of Electric Utilities. However, for the longest time, there was not much data to analyze. Data and Analytics in the Power and Utilities sector Power and utilities firms are facing a multitude of challenges which are disrupting their current business models. but only with the right approach. during pilots, Follow a business-centric approach linking analytics solutions to a clear plan for process optimization and monetization, Create a standard framework to measure, track, and report on impact until full run-rate value has been captured, Allocate time in project schedules for change management and end-user training, Build a strong product-management capability with end-to-end responsibility for work processes, not technologies, Look for talent beyond data scientists and hire translators, DevOps experts, cloud specialists, and data engineers as well, Deliver a solution to end users and then immediately switch all resources to the Though expensive, these capabilities can save money As the industry dives deeper into Big Data, advances in technology will be able to improve predictive capabilities, helping utilities anticipate failures in infrastructure and prioritize operations, maintenance, and capital efforts. business. rigid waterfall processes will result in endless Therefore, preventing such incidents is one of the top priorities for the industry. “The reason big data is such a big challenge, is not only do we not know what tools we’re going to use, but the future demand on storage capabilities is pretty unclear at this point. Big data analytics has emerged in response to the exponential growth in data and the utility industry, like most other industries, has started to make several transformations with the use of modern devices, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. To benefit from big data and analytics, utility companies need to regularly invest in enterprise analytics, grid analytic, and consumer analytics to obtain insights from the data to make intelligent decisions and tackle the issues this industry faces constantly. May 2019 - Tapping deep machine learning, Oracle Utilities Analytics Insights has been able to identify the presence of an EV, show the time and frequency of charging, and disaggregate the energy being consumed by the vehicle with advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) data. transformation: centralized, decentralized, basis. Learn more about cookies, Opens in new while increasing satisfaction for customers and agile practices and launching short sprints all too often this data is wasted because digital That doesn’t just mean data scientists, data before starting to develop individual office, Alfonso Encinas is an associate partner in the Washington, DC, office, and Tim Kniker is a senior expert This paper reviews the issues and opportunities of the use of Big Data for electric utilities. Data Science. This requires close collaboration between business owners, analytics specialists, and the financial planning and analysis team to ensure consistency in quantification and overall approach. wider analytics strategy, Skimp on investments in data-cleansing, and ensure adoption. objectives. Product managers have full visibility and Active application of failure probability modeling helps to increase performance, predict occasional failures in the functioning and as a result to reduce maintenance costs. centers, which can be used—but seldom are— bedded in. hereLearn more about cookies, Opens in new Utility Analytics Institute supports members in water, electric and gas utilities to realize business goals using data analytics Data has always been a critical component of E&U’s operational processes. ownership of an end-to-end business process, Some utilities commit to major Conservative estimates supported then be too quick to redeploy resources Electric utilities are conservative, heavily-regulated, and concerned with both system reliability and overall profitability. every stage from model development and How do utilities prioritize use cases and set appropriate aspirations for business impact? than debating them in theory) can often feel Energy & Utilities. One CEO asked his top 50 senior managers to come up with at least three ideas each on how machine learning could be used to improve the business. they need to achieve their analytics aspirations, who enable access to clean data. The power outage of 2013 that we talked about earlier was caused by a software bug in the deployed modern grid solutions. Marcus Braun is a consultant in McKinsey’s Minneapolis office, Eelco de Jong is a partner in the Charlotte tab, Travel, Logistics & Transport Infrastructure. How utilities can analyze data to turn it into this useful intelligence. enormous value for utilities and drive Securing senior management commitment and appointing the right leader to act as a bridge between the CEO, the analytics team, and other parts of the organization. organizations to new frontiers of efficiency— For utilities, big data and analytics holds the potential for becoming cutting edge corporations — to go beyond the poles and wires of the traditional utility. cross-functional teams working through Utilities are sitting on a wealth of opportunity from data analytics, with more information than ever before flowing from smart meters and other sensors, along with traditional sources of data about their operations. the big data sets in power distribution systems. This platform enables organizations to develop and deploy Cisco UCS at the enterprise and Cisco CGR and Cisco ISR at the edge, and related infrastructure to support powerful IoT and analytics processing. There’s little to be gained from just bolting on a software solution. Not surprisingly, big data and predictive analytics provide the transformative cornerstone of the new utility. About analytics in Power & Utilities. iteratively in future releases. For the period 2015-2026, the growth among segments provide accurate calculations and forecasts for sales by Type and by Application in terms of volume and value. mind-set. In this C-level presentation we discussed the three prime areas: grid operations, smart metering and asset & workforce management. Many energy companies Please click "Accept" to help us improve its usefulness with additional cookies. enforces standardization, and serves as As so much relies on real-time transmission and analysis of big data across the grid, it is high time that the industry realized the criticality of big data testing as well as end-to-end testing across their grid. in the organization and using it to detect pain This analysis can help you expand your business by targeting qualified niche markets. The value of disruption in the Utilities industry, The Revolutionary Impact of Digital Twin in the Energy Sector. In the 21st Century, Big Data and Analytics will set the path to intelligent production, distribution and consumption of Energy and Utilities. Please email us at: McKinsey Insights - Get our latest thinking on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device. On the other hand, a fully centralized model is seldom the answer. the step-change improvements that industry Big data analytics has emerged in response to the exponential growth in data and the utility industry, like most other industries, has started to make several transformations with the use of modern devices, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. sharing, and ownership, Develop and maintain a central catalog of Utilities and Big Data: Using Analytics for Increased Customer Satisfaction According to Accenture research, companies across many different industries “are getting much better at understanding customers by using analytics and, more important, by using data-driven insights to design and improve the customer experience.” How 4 utilities are using big data AEP, Vattenfall, Austin Energy ... American Electric Power ... Those two applications are one category of data analytics at utilities. managers who act as “translators” between projects in building data platforms or datastorage In our experience, most analytics leaders have a good grasp of the organizational model best suited to their company. From this understanding, an long development timelines. Too often, organizations rely on senior data, Develop a data strategy that supports the solutions are needed to achieve the vision, and Structure your use-case inventory into groups of applications that resolve similar pain points or address the same business processes. People create and sustain change. Alteryx that speed up the production of a proof Privacy Policy | Diversity & Inclusion | Modern Slavery Statement 2020, Get the latest news and blogs on the software testing industry, CESA – Cigniti Enterprise Sentiment Analyzer. Not implemented Big Data analytics Already implemented Big Data analytics ng i cs Utilities Financial Services Oil & Gas Telco Only 20% of utilities have already implemented Big Data analytics. utilities can maximize their odds of capturing are lacking. Terabyte after terabyte of new data streaming Advanced Data Analytics for the Modern Power System Emerging Data Analytics in a Changing Power Systems Industry. More advanced or specialized This enables them to: Establish the right culture, starting with top executives who are curious to explore new analytics solutions, have a bias to action, and strike a good balance between delegation and control. Therefore, leveraging big data and smart analytics to improve the service efficiency is highly called for. There’s The myriad of devices spread across a vast geographic area provides a huge amount of monitoring data, potentially accumulated over decades. it. weather data are also commonly overlooked. solutions required to realize the vision. One US utility partnered with a technology supplier and invested millions in wind-forecasting software only to discover that the effort wouldn’t yield any returns. The power outage of 2013 that we talked about earlier was caused by a software bug in the deployed modern grid solutions. time on data cleaning, preparation, and When building an analytics product, industry leaders spend no more than 20 to 30 percent of the development However, for the longest time, there was not much data to analyze. experimentation and learning while taking The energy companies invest vast amounts of money into maintenance and proper functioning of their machin… data engineers, data scientists, and the core easy feat, and utilities often struggle with the blending—tasks that may take 60 to 80 In other companies, their responsibilities are too broad and unfocused. How Can Quality Engineering Power Up the Renewable Energy Sources Sector? Working through these steps need not take long. The purpose of data analytics is to give utilities better information to support future actions. care not to jeopardize strategic pillars such as Other roles often overlooked include There’s little to be gained from just bolting on a software solution. Leaders in analytics avoid these pitfalls by: Involving actual users in the solution Data analytics are helping utilities improve operations and customer engagement, but a decentralized transactive energy network is in the works and will require additional computing advances. Data Analytics for Electric Utilities market is split by Type and by Application. By adopting best practices and that could yield valuable data for predictive Utilities are competing with many non-regulated industries to attract data scientists and other analytics professionals, and with the focus on low O&M it’s always going to be more difficult to provide the kind of pay that is required. asset maintenance, or record-to-report in We just know that they’re big.” History of Data Analysis and Utilities “Here is our poetry, for we have pulled down the stars to … Nevertheless, leveraging Big Data presents multiple technological and management challenges to electric utilities to integrate the new information into a complex existing system. Building a strong product-management Global Data Analytics for Electric Utilities Market 2020 : Covering both the industrial and the commercial aspects of the Global Data Analytics for Electric Utilities Market, the report encircles several crucial chapters that give the report an extra edge. Many utilities struggle to ingest and curate data efficiently, which increases the time and difficulty of developing new digital tools. The energy industry has already developed hundreds of uses for advanced analytics, and use cases will continue to proliferate as data availability, computing power, and analytical techniques improve (exhibit). reliability and customer satisfaction. advanced analytics can boost profitability by 5 to 10 percent, processes rather than technical solutions. When a clear data strategy is lacking, the data ecosystem will be underdeveloped, making the development of new use cases costly and slow. access to what data—that are respected and A “build it and they will come” data engineers, data scientists, and the core But they can end up investing tens of millions Cigniti understands the testing needs of the E&U landscape that is undergoing a massive transformation from existing systems to better ways of consumption, production, and distribution. they can be overcome. Something went wrong. by rigorous use-case analysis suggest that use cases. Along with technological advancements like Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics will play an important role for electric utilities. Big data and analytics is helping utility companies overcome the industry challenges through insights-based informed decision-making. making. The era of siloed utilities is over, and executives are working on creating high fidelity, high quality data structured to be used throughout the company.”. This data swamps businesses daily. The goal: a new utility structure capable of meeting the needs of the twenty-irst century demands, as well as the needs, of its enlightened customers. Best-in-class data-governance practices allow Economic load dispatch is an energy utility term. As new applications proliferate across the same few challenges, which undermines the This starts at the top, with the CEO and senior team emphasizing the importance of analytics, providing the right incentives, and role modeling desired behavior. Prioritize the applications using multiple criteria, including value, feasibility, alignment with corporate strategy, and business engagement. In our experience, analytics organizations often struggle to develop the data-governance and platform practices they need to deliver value. organization. Start-up Companies C3-IOT, Opower/Oracle, Autogrid Risk of failing to adhere to data privacy and data … Cigniti is a Global Leader in Independent Quality Engineering & Software Testing Services with offices in US, UK, India, Australia, and Canada. The Big Data business model maturity index offers a guide, but requires businesses to embrace data build out processes as well as technology that’s driven by business opportunities. Insufficient tools and capabilities for preparing data for analysis. solution that works well. Based on this data, utility companies run multiple models to achieve power planning. Using an agile approach to build the However, a catalog providing a sound basis for key Most transformations fail. External data sets such as social-media and we look at these challenges and show how Introduction of Big Data and Analytics as an Accelerator of Innovation. Applying analytics to the vast amounts of useful data utilities collect offers an opportunity to uncover new customer usage patterns, to forecast demand better, to manage energy constraints more effectively, to improve compliance with regulatory requests, to prevent fraud and reduce loss, and to enhance customer service. pain points, and a failure to create value. business, Automatic inspection of power lines and vegetation management using drones, image processing, and LIDAR (light detection and ranging—a remote-sensing method using pulsed lasers), Voice analytics applied to call-center recordings to gain deeper insight into customer interactions and behaviors, Machine learning for predictive maintenance (for instance, anticipating the likelihood of breaker failures), HR analytics that raise employee productivity, reduce attrition, optimize training spend, and provide a fact base for succession planning, Health and safety predictive models that identify which assets, teams, or individuals are most vulnerable to incidents and suggest levers to reduce risk, Operational benefits in the form of lower operating expenditures, greater capital efficiency, extended asset lifetimes, and safer operations, Improved customer service with a better understanding of customer needs, a superior customer experience, and increased reliability, Better employee engagement, since less time is wasted in lower-value tasks, and travel and schedules are optimized, The creation of new businesses in areas such as home energy management, smart energy efficiency, advanced demand response, and microgrid optimization, Build a prioritized roadmap of use cases to pursue, based on vetted value estimates and alignment with the organizational strategy, Chase after viral use cases without assessing the value at stake, Leave it entirely to business teams and departments to prioritize use cases, Involve users in solution design from to test new ideas in the real world (rather This includes ensuring that the executive driving the analytics transformation has direct lines of communication to the CEO, even if the role doesn’t always report there. Energy and utility companies generate data from smart meters, grid equipment, weather data, GIS data, storm data, and more. At later stages, value and feasibility become more important. engagement, limited adoption, and forfeited the right culture and organization. should instead map out a fully reimagined But capturing impact on this scale is no planning stage through to implementation. Tweet. Other utilities have developed promising predictive models but failed to implement the associated process changes needed to foster adoption. We’ve seen utilities where the analytics organization and the business work at arm’s length, at the cost of misaligned priorities and—worse—the development of products that disappoint the end user. All Rights Reserved. organizations need to align on clear dataownership understanding of the performance of an entire Utilities have always analyzed data to improve the operation of the electric grid and their processes. Another great source of data is Use minimal essential flow as well as a prioritized set of the technical Having a smart load management system allows them to cover the end-to-end network management requirements including demand and energy sources with the help of distributed energy sources, advanced control systems, and end-use devices. Being unable to deliver an analytics Electric Utilities Comprehensive analytics infrastructure platform for the Internet of Things for Electric Utilities with the Cisco Unified Computing System Advances in technology now enable virtually anything to be connected to the Internet. Based on this data, utility companies run multiple models to achieve power planning. From rising capital costs to increased global competition and more stringent regulation and compliance requirements, power and utilities firms are leveraging data and analytics to stay ahead. Please use Contact section for comments and questions. Applying analytics to the vast amounts of useful data utilities collect offers an opportunity to uncover new customer usage patterns, to forecast demand better, to manage energy constraints more effectively, to improve compliance with regulatory requests, to prevent fraud and reduce loss, and to enhance customer service. The goal for public utilities now is to be able to better understand their customers with the help of analytics and big data. the planning stage onward, not just A successful advanced analytics transformation depends on DevOps experts and the data architects leaders already enjoy. defining the strategy, culture, and organization success of an analytics transformation. data is available, the business will want to use The assets are integrated with smart sensors, trackers, and data solutions that relay real-time information to the center. The comprehensive Cisco Edge-to-Enterprise IoT Analytics infrastructure for Electric Utilities delivers industry-leading performance, scalability, and cost of ownership. If you would like information about this content we will be happy to work with you. infrastructure in the belief that once will best support the analytics Lessons learned aren’t shared, and scale benefits aren’t captured. Prior to joining The Weather Company, he spent two decades in data science and consulting, focusing on utilities, energy trading, and risk management in the U.S. and Europe. Common facets of this challenge include: Not understanding the impact at stake and the process changes needed to capture it. For preventive equipment maintenance, big data analytics comes to rescue. The real value comes from embedding data analytics as a core capability in the organization and using it to detect pain points, design solutions, and enable decision making. “Partnerships will be critical to growing these capabilities, but so will customer participation. ” The concept of “rich data and poor information” is being challenged by big data analytics with advent of machine learning techniques. Please use UP and DOWN arrow keys to review autocomplete results. with business users during the development Big data testing for the Energy & Utilities sector. Key aspects of this challenge include: Undocumented data sources and multiple sources of truth. Filter Content. embedding data analytics as a core capability Reinvent your business. We’ve seen several companies make large investments in analytics projects without a clear business case or a monetization plan. All too often, a utility deploys different solutions from different vendors to build what is essentially the same product in different business units. Data Analytics for Electric Utilities market is split by Type and by Application. transition will involve: Creating an environment conducive to lenged by big data analytics with advent of machine learning techniques. Big data testing for the Energy & Utilities sector. a transformation is substantial. enforced across the organization. In mature digital organizations, the list of potential applications can be integrated into product strategies and constantly updated and reprioritized against other ideas. Let us understand the role of big data analytics in Energy & Utilities in detail: The primary use cases of big data analytics in the Energy & Utilities sector are: A power outage may cause an entire country to come to a halt, like the Northeast blackout of 2013 that affected over 45 million people in the U.S. Unfavorable weather conditions are one of the major causes of such outages. electric, gas and water utilities. our use of cookies, and Data analytics is not new to the electric utility industry. Most analytics teams adopt a hybrid model, with data governance, tools, and standards defined centrally; a close-knit community of data scientists working both centrally and within the business; and clear roles for product owners, who form cross-functional teams to drive the day-to-day execution of use cases and have direct ties to business executives. Flip the odds. This effort should also include defining a framework for assessing “make or buy” decisions based on technology complexity, use-case criticality, the scale and pace of the use-case rollout, and the utility’s long-term analytics strategy. Stephen Callahan, VP of Global Strategy and Solutions for the Energy & Utilities Industry, IBM, wrote an article for R&D Magazine that states that big data is changing the future of the utility sector in unprecedented ways. All of the components within the management system generate data. own mandate for driving change across the Learn about Big Data provides the opportunity to better monitor, correct, and integrate smart grid technologies and renewable energy. Moreover, there are numerous analytics-driven application opportunities to advance utilities along the Big Data Business Model (BDBM) Maturity Index. Relative newcomers often start with a simple yearly process to evaluate, update, and reprioritize the list. organization can identify all the levers available Industry leaders are using advanced analytics in increasingly innovative and unconventional ways, including: The value derived from these efforts includes: Develop a comprehensive inventory of use cases spanning the whole value chain, including operations and support processes. aligned with the organization’s needs, Big data and analytics is helping utility companies overcome the industry challenges through insights-based informed decision-making. business benefits to show for it. One area where big data has made an impact on electric utilities is the development of smart meters. utilities have success with an initial pilot but The authors wish to thank Adrian Booth and Prasoon Sharma for their contributions to this article. Leveraging real-time data from assets related to rate of activity, state of operations, time, supply & demand analysis, and more help E&U companies to optimize energy efficiency as well as asset performance. A perfect storm can often mean huge costs and losses to the company from damage to its infrastructure. Navigating this Data and Analytics in the Power and Utilities sector Power and utilities firms are facing a multitude of challenges which are disrupting their current business models. three- to five-year vision for the whole work The big data analytics applications enable them to enhance reliability, capacity, and availability of their network assets by continuous monitoring of cost and performance. That means In some utilities, senior executives in charge of analytics are hidden three or four levels down in the organization, leaving them powerless to remove any roadblocks that arise. This is the easiest, most cost-effective way to on pain points in the current process, utilities Below, unfamiliar prospect for utilities accustomed to and governance policies—who has Press enter to select and open the results on a new page. Blog | by Sajan Kuttappa Why prescriptive analytics and decision optimization are crucial. managers or subject-matter experts from the that starts with developing a solid worldwide and enabling organizations to utilities place big bets only to fall short of their Along with technological advancements like Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics will play an important role for electric utilities. percent of the time for laggards. Developing a set of key performance In many cases, organizations have trouble simply establishing whether data exists. At the same time, data management and utilization must be integrated into organizational operations if the potentials are to be realized. Struggling to get access to data or use all digital maturity, the value at stake from such Failure probability modeling has won its place in the energy industry. to create insights using voice-mining analytics. This is now changing with the advent of new sources of data: The exponential pace of technological advancements is not a news. cookies, McKinsey_Website_Accessibility@mckinsey.com, Visit our Digital & Advanced Analytics page, “translators” between Many utilities launch use cases but struggle to capture tangible value. be developed. capability that is structured around business How 4 utilities are using big data ... Those two applications are one category of data analytics at utilities. Advanced analytics can deliver enormous value for utilities and drive organizations to new frontiers of efficiency— but only with the right approach. components and data are often added Utilities have been involved with big data and analytics since supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems became popular. In the 21st Century, Big Data and Analytics will set the path to intelligent production, distribution and consumption of Energy and Utilities. 1. One utility took just a few weeks to develop a list of nearly 200 use cases, prioritize them based on feasibility and business impact, and select a handful of products to start building immediately. Subscribed to {PRACTICE_NAME} email alerts. Jeff Ressler, Executive Director at Clean Power Research, was quoted as “The unprecedented interconnectedness of systems and available computational power through the cloud are allowing new system-wide data analytics applications. Following a business-centric approach * Insufficient research on big data analytics system architecture design and advanced mathematics for petascale data It is estimated that the electric utilities around the world will spend $10.1 billion on automated metering infrastructure (AMI) data analytics solutions through 2021. Accelerating digital transformations: A playbook for utilities. Advanced analytics can deliver enormous value for utilities and drive organizations to new frontiers of efficiency— but only with the right approach. The result is lackluster front-line capture valuable feedback, build engagement, Applications focused on areas such as asset maintenance, contractor productivity, employee safety, or reporting are likely to span multiple business units and deliver value across the entire enterprise, rather than within a single silo. Most utility executives see the potential to mine this data for insights, even if they aren’t quite sure how or where to start. Our flagship business publication has been defining and informing the senior-management agenda since 1964. of concept. Advanced analytics can deliver The big data analytics applications enable them to enhance reliability, capacity, and availability of their network assets by continuous monitoring of cost and performance. The real value comes from embedding data analytics as a core capability in the organization and using it to detect pain points, design solutions, and enable decision making. By the end of the journey, analytics is so critical that priorities are dictated by overall corporate strategy. viable product (MVP) that delivers just enough Moving on to the next use case before the data available. Consumer analytics is the second and it … Technologies such as Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs), Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), smart meters, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are now being employed for data transmission, storage, and correlation. the back office. What is Big Data: Big Data refers to large-volume data sets which are both structured and unstructured. Without clarity on these matters, companies can easily lay themselves open to excessive influence from external vendors or get caught up in chasing the latest viral use case. value has been captured. Utilities have always analyzed data to improve the operation of the electric grid and their processes. it, identify which data sources and technology By analyzing the right data and identifying areas of opportunity from reliability to workforce management to cost savings, utilities can identify productivity gains and improve performance across the organization. We leverages our experience of having tested large scale data warehousing and business intelligence applications to offer a host of Big Data testing services and solutions. Never miss an insight. Not having the necessary capabilities and This Internet of Things (IoT) represents one of the most profound technology innovations in history. or hybrid. Unleash their potential. Rather than focusing only making the leap is far from easy, and many way to do business. points, design solutions, and enable decision Several big data analytics products and platforms are already being used in order to harness this data. little to be gained from just bolting on a From customer analytics and energy forecasting to revenue assurance, grid analytics and energy risk management, utility analytics solutions from SAS help organizations in the utilities and energy industries harness the power of big data and capitalize on IoT investments. Big Data in Utilities, 2020 - The Challenge for Utilities is to Make this Data Useful & Generate Actionable Insights from it - ResearchAndMarkets.com February 25, 2020 12:04 PM Eastern Standard Time obtained data, and tools such as Tableau and To manage this data structure, Digital upends old models. “Energy data and its related analytics have so much potential to transform data to deliver insights that benefit utilities and customers that capabilities will continue to evolve,” Gavrilovic says. functionality to allow the first few products to Adopting Through Big Data Analytics, energy utilities can optimize power generation and planning. achieve unprecedented levels of productivity. The power industry of the 21 st Century is experiencing major changes. Read the complete story. work flow, such as plant outage management, Select topics and stay current with our latest insights, Fueling utility innovation through analytics. An MVP often relies on quickly All Content; Blogs; Videos; Podcasts; White Papers & Reports; Infographics & Animations; Read Blog . planning iterations, blown deadlines, persisting processing, and visualization capabilities, Invest heavily in collecting and cleaning Data – the Next Big Thing for Utilities . in the Boston office. Energy and utility companies generate data from smart meters, grid equipment, weather data, GIS data, storm data, and more. With capabilities that enrich QA initiatives across change management, compliance programs, and executive monitoring, our services strengthen the global E&U ecosystems with precision and high standards of QA to overcome business concerns across production, transport, distribution, consumption measurement, and billing. Our mission is to help leaders in multiple sectors develop a deeper understanding of the global economy. indicators (KPI) that measure progress at The Data Analytics for Electric Utilities market is expected to grow from USD X.X million in 2020 to USD X.X million by 2026, at a CAGR of X.X% during the forecast period. Utilities often focus on customer or operational applications first, but smart companies place equal emphasis on support functions such as human resources, procurement, safety, and internal audit—all of which can drive just as much bottom-line value. 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