The skills to make better use of data are “scarce and interdisciplinary” across the utilities sector, an expert has warned.
Speaking to Utility Week for a report on breaking down trust barriers in the data revolution, Eric Brown, the chief technology officer at the Energy System Catapult, said that while utilities firms were generally supportive of taking a more data-driven approach, this was not always translating into firm strategies.
He said: “There is a willingness to make it happen, it’s now more a case of how than if.
“You need to be quite clear on the business case for what you’re going to do. You need to prioritise the outcomes you are after and reflect back on how you get to that.”
He added: “The skills needed to make this happen are scarce and interdisciplinary.
“The digital community in any utility needs to understand about the utility – they can’t just have generic digital skills and those skills are very scarce so there is a barrier there to gain the genuine interactions.
“You also need people who can ask the right questions to evaluate or make the right decisions to support openness.”
Brown pointed out that this also needs to be reflected in the supply chain and the infrastructure being put into place.
“It’s not just about data. You need to think about the communications infrastructure needed to make this happen.
“Networks are going to have increasing amounts of digital infrastructure. That’s communication, data and algorithms to do analysis to make use of the data.
“All the data in the world is no use unless you use it and you have to use it in a way that’s of value – to your business but hopefully also for the wider system.”