By : Douglas Nunez,

Global Power Industry Expert, AVEVA.



A digital overhaul of the power and utilities sector – Power 4.0 – is
delivering enhanced process efficiency, improved asset utilization,
centralized visibility, better regulatory compliance, enhanced
sustainability and stellar returns on investment



Power is a sector that can benefit immensely from digital
transformation, and yet it is one where change often unfolds at a
glacial pace. McKinsey & Company observes that “extraordinary inertia”
has resulted in many energy companies and utilities, failing to unlock
significant value from digital, despite running pilot projects in
analytics, process digitization and automation. Breaking out of that
inertia will need far bolder action than these companies have been
willing to take so far.



Utility providers that have already overcome the inertia and embraced
digitalization have reaped transformative rewards. Just as technology
and digital tools are transforming industries — a shift that has been
dubbed as Industry 4.0 — a digital overhaul of the power and utilities
sector has been underway with Power 4.0. A combination of cloud
technologies, the internet of things (IoT), big data analytics,
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) is delivering
enhanced process efficiency, improved asset utilization, centralized
visibility, information integration, better regulatory compliance, and
acute situational awareness to utilities. For example, smart grids now
have access to a treasure trove of data insights that give them the
nimbleness to quickly adjust course or respond to changes in supply
and demand. The result is not just improved decision-making, but also
significantly lower costs.



Growing reliance of digital tools

A recent AVEVA whitepaper, Digital Acceleration in the Power Industry,
finds that a power plant can reduce fuel costs by up to 28%,
maintenance costs by 20% and operations costs by 19.5% by introducing
new digital solutions.



Moreover, there is growing awareness of, and reliance on, these
digital tools. A Capgemini survey of 200 senior executives from global
utility companies — they expect improvement from digital technologies
to increase by 27% in next 5 years, compared to 21% improvement over
the past 25 years.



Process efficiency and resource optimization

One of the biggest impacts of Power 4.0 can be experienced in process
efficiency and asset utilization. For example, by leveraging AI and
predictive learning technologies, utilities can feed process and asset
usage information back to the engineering stage of the lifecycle,
enabling a complete digital value loop. Similarly, resources can be
optimized, or conserved, by leveraging digital twin technology, which
simulates the entire plant before any assets are even built –
improving safety, reliability and profitability – and when carbon use
is factored in, helping lower utilities’ carbon footprint.



Elsewhere, an array of sensors and IoT devices are feeding data back
to a common hub, empowering utilities with centralized visibility and
integrated information. Real-time data is enabling collaboration, both
upstream and downstream, with vendors and customers. It also
facilitates collaboration across departments and geographical
locations within the organization. A unified operations center is a
core requirement of Power 4.0, which energizes the whole team with
informed, and rapid, decision-making.



When working in silos, teams often waste up to 50% of their time
searching for and verifying information. But a system that unifies all
data from discrete sources, including 1D, 2D, and 3D data into a
single trusted platform, can instantly provide actionable insights. As
a secondary benefit, utilities are alerted to emerging opportunities
and possible pitfalls unavailable to organizations without the
heightened situational awareness that Power 4.0 tools bring in their
wake.



A stable and sustainable future

There is increasing pressure from consumers and regulators for
utilities to reduce emissions and accelerate the switch to renewables.
Power 4.0 technologies play a crucial role in delivering both
sustainability targets and regulatory compliance. They make it
possible for utilities to maintain and interoperate multiple types of
assets, including centralized power stations, battery storage
facilities, or wind and solar deployments — these will work seamlessly
without causing grid instability and imbalance. Simultaneously,
advanced ML-driven processes ensure that corrective measures are taken
instantly. This intelligent ecosystem can also predict — and therefore
prevent — equipment failure or potential downtime.



CFE: 10x return on investment

Power 4.0 can be seen action in Mexico, at the Federal Electricity
Commission (CFE). The organization has leveraged the AVEVA Smart Grid
portfolio to overcome the many challenges it was confronted with —
including complying with governmental reform standards; keeping up
with growing energy demands from within and outside of Mexico; and
needing to structure its assets, workforces and operations with the
Smart Grid Maturity Model, which is international policymaking
standard. CFE also wanted to implement diverse information
technologies and telecommunications like graphical systems and SCADA
Systems that integrate mobile workforce operations. Ultimately, it was
aiming for centralized visibility and control of 38 transmission
substations and 140 sub-transmission substations throughout Mexico’s
Northwestern territory.



CFE turned to AVEVA solutions, including Workflow Management, AVEVA
System Platform, AVEVA Edge, AVEVA BI Gateway and AVEVA Mobile
Operator. Implementation of these solutions has resulted in CFE
harnessing operator input to make predictive decisions, mitigate
risks, and reduce costs. It is now successfully generating,
distributing, and marketing electric power for almost 35.3 million
customers, and roughly 100 million people throughout Mexico and
bordering nations. It is also the government provider for 99% of power
transmission throughout Mexico.



CFE has created reusable substation templates to reduce re-engineering
and enhance standardization. It is able to orchestrate dynamic energy
transmission models, and use archived maintenance data to monitor and
benchmark asset health. Further, by integrating AVEVA Mobile Operator
with its SAP system, it can view utilities assets transparently and
more effectively and share real-time information with its mobile
workforce on demand.



CFE reports the benefit of its digital transformation in terms of
return on investment. For every dollar invested, the authority
recovers up to $10.



Digital solutions have a transformative role to play in delivering
reliable and sustainable electricity while minimizing risks and
lowering operational costs. Consumers in turn benefit from an assured
supply that is more efficient, predictable and environmentally
friendly.