https://www.iotworldtoday.com/wp-content/themes/ioti_child/assets/images/logo/IoTWorldToday-mobile-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
    • Back
    • Roundups
  • Strategy
  • Special Reports
  • Business Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Industry Perspectives
    • Featured Vendors
  • Other Content
    • Back
    • Q&As
    • Case Studies
    • Features
    • How-to
    • Opinion
    • Podcasts
    • Strategic Partners
    • Latest videos
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Editorial Submissions
  • Events
Iot World Today
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
    • Back
    • Roundups
  • Strategy
  • Special Reports
  • Business Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Industry Perspectives
    • Featured Vendors
  • Other Content
    • Back
    • Q&As
    • Case Studies
    • Features
    • How-to
    • Opinion
    • Podcasts
    • Strategic Partners
    • Latest videos
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Editorial Submissions
  • Events
  • newsletter
  • IIoT
  • Cities
  • Energy
  • Homes/Buildings
  • Transportation/Logistics
  • Connected Health Care
  • Retail
  • AI
  • Metaverse
  • Development
  • Security
ioti.com

Energy/Utilities


Getty Images

Image shows equipment, cables and piping as found inside of a industrial power plant

IoT in Utilities: A Look at Future Applications

Innovation lag is holding the industry back from future changes, leading to the need for reliability and security when it comes to IoT in utilities.
  • Written by Lisa Kosan
  • 19th August 2019

Utilities customers expect the television to turn on, clean water to gush from the tap and the furnace to kick in if the temperatures dip. 

Those unceasing demands for reliable service, however, could be holding the utilities industry back from innovating for the future, analyst said. 

“Keeping the power flowing isn’t a trivial responsibility,” said Neil Strother, principal research analyst with Navigant. “Utilities are not geared to the speed of a startup or Silicon Valley. They’ve made a commitment to keep millions of lights on.” 

Matt Schnugg, senior director of data and analytics, ML/AI at GE Power Digital, agreed, adding that conservative investment policies and unwieldy governance structures can also hinder innovation. 

As a result, utilities “may not have evolved as quickly as the technology has innovated or the business model has evolved,” he said. 

Along with financial and governmental institutions, utilities are among the slowest industries to move to the cloud, analysts said. Mounting cyberattacks demand vigilant security protocols and there’s a strong tendency to want to keep data and compute nearby.

Wide-scale cloud adoption by utilities is unlikely, at least in the foreseeable future, Schnugg said. “There are always latency issues with processing and the need for real-time analysis, so those servers are generally located on prem for use in the control room.” 

In the meantime, the balance of compute will likely shift toward the edge given the proliferation of connected devices and potential for fully automated intelligence sharing.

“I can send off thousands of cores running an algorithm with 15 years of data on the Eastern sea board, scale up, and back,” Schnugg said. “You can’t achieve that on premises from a cost-efficiency perspective.” 

Cloud-based platform solutions, however, that ingest data from multiple nodes and third parties can provide vital intelligence, said Lance Brown, vice president, customer service solutions for Smart Energy Water, a SaaS and analytics provider in the utilities industry. 

For example, you can analyze data from hundreds of utility users in an area to gauge average consumption, identify anomalies in usage because of leaks and suggest opportunities for conservation programs or demand response buying to eliminate strain on the grid, said Brown, formerly the director of customer service with Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power. “It’s all scalable and we can eliminate real waste.”  

The American Society of Civil Engineers’ most recent infrastructure report card indicates that 6 billion gallons of treated water are wasted every day because of leaking pipes, a problem that sensors and analytics can help reduce significantly. 

Also, billions of dollars of investment are still needed in aging and “unintelligent” utility infrastructure over at least the next decade, in part to collect data that will fuel AI and machine learning, according to the engineers. 

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
Tags: Oil and gas Remote monitoring Energy/Utilities Other Content Features

Related Content


  • Image shows an Oil and gas industry pump jack
    Digital Oil Field Technology Brings Well Sites Online
    mCloud plans to connect to more than 3,000 well sites by the end of 2023
  • Image shows downtown, Near North, Chicago Riverwalk, Marina City skyscrapers on the background
    Smart Street Lighting Coming to 30 Cities in the U.S. and Canada
    While many cities have already transitioned to LED streetlights, only a minority have also made the switch to control and dimming features
  • Image shows a communication satellite over the Earth.
    Dubai to Use Satellite IoT Terminals for Utilities Industry
    The move follows the nation’s wider roadmap to incorporate space technologies into its grid
  • Image shows an ISQ unmanned aerial vehicle
    Hannover Messe 2022: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Inspection Drones
    ISQ’s inspection drones have been developed to help streamline operations at solar farms

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your IoT World Today account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Latest News

  • Utility wires
    Itron Teams With Microsoft, Motorola to Accelerate Decarbonization
  • Worker in the offshore industry
    Ericsson is Bringing IoT to Offshore Industries
  • Image shows wind turbines in a field
    Robots to Take on Wind Turbine Cleaning, Inspections
  • Image shows a newly installed water meter with seal.
    New IoT Service Targets Accelerating Sustainability Goals

Roundups

View all

IoT Product Roundup: Canonical, InfluxData, Wiliot and More

23rd June 2022

IoT Product Roundup: Cisco, Telit, Draganfly and More

9th June 2022

IoT Deals, Partnerships Roundup: Google, Arm, Senet and More

26th May 2022

White Papers

View all

The Role of Manufacturing Technology in Continuous Improvement Ebook

6th April 2022

IIoT Platform Trends for Manufacturing in 2022

6th April 2022

Latest Videos

View all
Image shows Unilever's Alberto Prado at AI Summit 2022 in London

AI Summit 2022: Unilever’s Alberto Prado

Prado talks about how Unilever is using AI to accelerate the speed of new discoveries and gives them access to more breakthrough innovation

Image Shows John Lewis' Barry Panai at AI Summit London 2022

AI Summit 2022: John Lewis’ Barry Panayi on AI in Retail

Panayi talks about data and AI in retail and how individuals and the technology can work together

E-books

View all

How Remote Access Helps Enterprises Improve IT Service and Employee Satisfaction

12th January 2022

An Integrated Approach to IoT Security

6th November 2020

Webinars

View all

Rethinking the Database in the IoT Era

18th May 2022

Jumpstarting Industrial IoT solutions with an edge data management platform

12th May 2022

AI led Digital Transformation of Manufacturing: Time is NOW

9th December 2021

Special Reports

View all

Omdia’s Smart Home Market Dynamics Report

7th January 2022

Cybersecurity Protection Increasingly Depends on Machine Learning

28th October 2020

IoT Security Best Practices for Industry and Enterprise

20th October 2020

Twitter

IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

AI Summit 2022: Unilever’s Alberto Prado dlvr.it/STMpRN https://t.co/1dyLREr8N6

5th July 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Seoul Robotics Expands 3D Perception Platform across South America dlvr.it/STMhSV https://t.co/a10l3Eb2Kn

5th July 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Microsoft Extends Secured-Core Program to IoT Devices dlvr.it/STMg4k https://t.co/laBPF5VjC4

5th July 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Spot the Robot Dog Helps Police Ahead of Boston’s Fourth of July Celebration dlvr.it/STKWjb https://t.co/LdRg7a2xqU

4th July 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Another 59,000 @Teslas being recalled over a software glitch affecting the vehicle’s Emergency Call safety system… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

4th July 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Join us in the premier #tech destination of #Austin this November 2-3 for our next #IoT event. Connect and collabo… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

4th July 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

SoftBank, May Mobility Team on Autonomous Driving dlvr.it/STJrW0 https://t.co/mOYoBsgs14

4th July 2022
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Firefly-Inspired Robots Enable Motion Tracking, Communication dlvr.it/STJn0H https://t.co/ksRSzYcR4z

4th July 2022

Newsletter

Sign up for IoT World Today newsletters: vertical industry coverage on Tuesdays and horizontal tech coverage on Thursdays.

Special Reports

Our Special Reports take an in-depth look at key topics within the IoT space. Download our latest reports.

Business Resources

Find the latest white papers and other resources from selected vendors.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IoT World Series
  • Channel Futures
  • RISC-V
  • Dark Reading
  • ITPro Today
  • Web Hosting Talk

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Login/Register

FOLLOW IoT World Today ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X