Just 8 per cent of UK energy and utility companies have deployed intelligent automation initiatives widely at scale, a report has found.
This is compared to 16 per cent in France and India and 23 per cent in the United States.
Executives of 529 utility companies across the globe were surveyed in consultancy firm Capgemini’s report titled Intelligent Automation in Energy and Utilities: The next digital wave.
Published yesterday (28 May), the report found many executives are “underestimating” the potential of intelligent automation such as artificial intelligence (AI). Despite this, it found a “significant rise” in the use of AI in the past two years.
The report found that AI is helping the sector in a variety of ways, from “boosting efficiencies” to “contributing to the fight against climate change”.
Examples of AI being used in the UK include that of EDF Energy which uses Amazon’s Alexa as a service channel to help consumers in areas such as account balance inquiries, learning next payment dates and submitting meter readings.
Aidan O’Sullivan, head of University College London’s energy and AI research, said: “The proliferation of virtual assistants in homes, combined with data, could fundamentally disrupt the way we buy and use electricity.
“The integration of energy data with products like Alexa and Google Home may lead to AI home energy management systems where, for example, rather than turn on your washing machine yourself, you schedule it to run when the electricity price is going to be lower.”
Open Utility meanwhile was mentioned as having “spearheaded” its peer-to-peer activity using its algorithm-based platform, Piclo Flex, an online marketplace for renewables.
The report further looked into rule-based technology, technology which includes automated IT and robotic processes.
United Utilities for example was hailed as a “pioneer” in using robotic process automation in its back-office operations. Since 2017 the North West’s water company has automated more than 20 processes, with a further 12 being developed.
Genevieve Wallace Dean, United Utilities’ head of robots, said: “The benefits are not just time savings, but making the process robust.
“We know the robots aren’t going to go on holiday or be off sick.”
Another UK water company, Severn Trent, was also used as an example.
Severn Trent’s advanced detection model uses data from its network to help identify locate and manage leaks. Figures show that the time it takes to find leaks has been reduced by over half, with leaks being reduced by more than 16 per cent in areas where it has been piloted.
Read more about AI in the latest edition of Flex, Utility Week’s quarterly publication focused on technology.