Technological Trends That Will Rule the Energy and Utilities Industry in 2020
The utility industry is currently facing intense competition from the service providers and introducing new technologies and innovative products. Satisfying customer expectations has become the most important concern of the industry.
FREMONT, CA: Over the past decade, new and advanced technologies, along with market forces, have overgrown to the rate of change. Moving forward, the racing pace will only enhance, and the business implications will expand. Smart companies will keep the risk and issues both at the front and center as the risks create and implement their strategic plans.
Non-traditional tech giants like Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft all are making trouble in the markets with as-a-Service business models. Similarly, traditional equipment manufacturers are reinventing the business models and later becoming the providers of services instead of creators of capital assets.
Startups, when considering the utilities, have been investing heavily in EV-charging infrastructure. Utilities are also interested in owning a particular infrastructure because they can monetize many more and enough channels within their existing network than any private organization can. They can also eliminate or reduce losing customers to competitors.
If utilities are not able to capture the market in the coming years, they'll be forced to partner with the organizations that do, or risk being pushed out of the market altogether. Utilities can't afford to miss this unique opportunity. Within two decades, it was predicted that the EVs would represent up to 10% of utility load and up to 50% of electricity consumption for residential customers recharging at residence.
Most of the utilities are pursuing digital-transformation initiatives. This, in turn, reflects the enhancing and widening of the complexity of their business and their infrastructures. For example, IoT devices at the network's edge mean better intelligence and more significant management challenge.
One solution is to think of these intelligent networks enhancement as neural networks. Artificial intelligence and machine learning can enable automated and real-time management of such systems.
This intelligent automation will also be essential for managing the EV-charging infrastructures, microgrids, and even the residential customers that are opting for the alternative energy sources. For all these reasons, 2020 will be the year utilities wake up to the need for intelligent automation.
