The early days of AI on the grid

Catalyst · 8 Mar 2024 · 37m

What this episode covers

David Groarke, managing director at Indigo Advisory Group, discusses the state of AI in the US utility sector, contrasting the current software-driven wave with the failed hardware-focused smart meter rollout of the 2000s. He highlights three key use cases: wildfire management using camera and lidar data, customer propensity modeling to detect EVs via smart meter data, and predictive maintenance of substations. Groarke argues that while full grid automation is a distant goal, incremental AI applications are already delivering value by leveraging existing infrastructure and open-source tools.

Mentioned

Companies
Indigo Advisory Group, PG&E, Duke Energy, Southern California Edison, ABB, Siemens, Schneider Electric, Energy Hub, Bloom Energy
Products
AMI
Tools
TensorFlow, PyTorch, LIDAR

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • IoT For All Podcast · 22m

    How Computer Vision Ensures Grid Reliability | Noteworthy AI's Chris Ricciuti | Internet of Things Podcast

    Chris Ricciuti, Founder and CEO of Noteworthy AI, explains how the company uses vehicle-mounted smart cameras and edge AI to help electric utilities inspect the grid at scale. He details the transition from manual binocular inspections to automated computer vision, highlighting challenges like aging infrastructure, extreme weather, and increased demand from EVs and data centers. Ricciuti describes real-world applications, including identifying deteriorating wood poles and accelerating storm damage assessments to reduce restoration times from hours to minutes. The conversation covers the necessity of high-quality data for training models across varying environmental conditions and advises utilities to start with defined, high-ROI use cases rather than seeking silver bullets.

  • Over the Air · 31m

    Managing Energy At The Edge: Navigating The Modern Grid With Itron

    Nick Tumilowicz, Director of Product Management at Itron, discusses the challenges of managing the aging electrical grid amid the energy transition, focusing on transformer capacity limits and the shift to underground infrastructure. He explains how Itron leverages its installed base of smart meters as edge compute devices to enable real-time, autonomous load management for distributed energy resources like EVs and solar. The conversation covers the long sales cycles in the utility sector, the cultural differences in grid adoption between the US and Europe, and the importance of balancing technological innovation with customer incentives.

  • EE Times Current · 36m

    Smart Grid

    Dr. Bri-Mathias Hodge, Chief Scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), discusses the technical and political challenges of modernizing the US electrical grid. He explains how advanced metering, storage technologies like lithium-ion batteries, and demand forecasting are enabling a more reliable, cost-effective, and sustainable energy system. The conversation highlights specific implementations such as Excel Energy's use of wind plants for regulation reserves and NREL's work on autonomous energy systems for smart communities like Pena Station Next.

  • Moore's Lobby · 56m

    Aligning Passion With Purpose: A Journey to Electrification and Sustainability

    Dr. Mital Kanabar, Senior Director of Innovation at GE Vernova, discusses the 'energy trilemma' of security, affordability, and sustainability as power demand surges from EVs and AI data centers. He explains how GE Vernova's GridBeats platform uses software-defined automation and edge AI to manage bidirectional power flow and grid stability without massive hardware upgrades. The conversation covers the role of small modular reactors (SMRs), cybersecurity in operational technology, and the workforce challenges facing the utility industry.

  • IoT For All Podcast · 23m

    Decentralizing the Energy Grid | Evergen's Nick McGrath | Internet of Things Podcast

    Nick McGrath, CTO of Evergen, explains how IoT software optimizes the transition to a decentralized energy grid by aggregating data from rooftop solar, batteries, and inverters. Evergen, formed through a collaboration between AMP Capital and CSIRO, shifted from manufacturing physical IoT devices to a software-only model in 2019 to scale faster and integrate with various OEM APIs. The company focuses on managing safety, predictive maintenance, and security (including ISO 27001 accreditation) across a fragmented ecosystem of hardware manufacturers to provide energy retailers with a complete grid view.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Catalyst. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.