Preparing for the Rise of AI in Electric Utilities

Possibly no industry has so many parts that so perfectly lend themselves to operation by artificial intelligence as electric utilities.

AI offers huge gains for the electric power sector, from billing to wildfire control, from systems management and integration to customer relations, from energy resource control to weather forecasting, and from fuel-use management to predictive maintenance. Portland General Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric, for example, have been using it for wildfire prevention.

One advantage of AI is that it will wring more power out of the system by managing transmission and usage as never before. AI will, it appears, make utilities more efficient by a yet unknown amount.

AI also will increase the demand for electricity as it is deployed throughout society. This is a little-addressed shadow hanging over the future of the power sector and society.

Another shadow that comes with AI is the impact on employment: Will so many people be needed to handle billing, line surveillance and general customer relations? Are there other jobs for them in utilities?

One big question: After a system has been handed over to AI control, can it be retrieved?

The United States Energy Association has scheduled a virtual press briefing on the future of the electric power sector in the AI era for Wednesday, March 6, at 11 a.m. EST.

For this briefing, the USEA has assembled a panel of experts qualified to answer questions from a panel of reporters on all aspects of AI, which is changing faster than its adoption rate by the electric utilities.

Mark Menezes, USEA President and CEO, will give opening remarks and contribute to the discussion. Llewellyn King, the briefing organizer, will serve as moderator.

The experts:

Rob Austin, Senior Program Area Manager, EPRI

Marc Spieler, Senior Managing Director, Nvidia

Sacha Fontaine, Principal Industry Consultant, SAS

David Derigiotis, Chief Insurance Officer, Embroker Inc., and authority on AI

Clinton Vince, Head of the U.S. Energy Practice, Dentons, and its AI-covering think-tank

The reporters:

Jennifer Hiller, The Wall Street Journal

Adam Clayton Powell III, PBS

Ken Silverstein, Forbes

Herman Trabish, Utility Dive

Rod Kuckro, Freelance