Utility Disruptors Report 2019:

Artificial Intelligence,
Electric Mobility and
Blockchain
June 2019 | Published by the Utility Analytics Institute
Table of Contents
More Data Means More Disruption..............................................................2

Disruptor Question 1
How (and should) my company think about Artificial Intelligence?...........3

Disruptor Question 2
How can utilities enable the growth of electric vehicles and mobility?......7

Disruptor Question 3
What opportunities for Blockchain exist for utilities?................................10

More Data Means More Disruption | Page 1

More Data Means More Disruption
The exponential accumulation of data is a global phenomenon that is turning many
industries on their heads. Research suggests that the amount of data doubles roughly
every two years, with output expected to surpass 44 zettabytes, or 44 trillion gigabytes,
by 2020. With this level of expanding information, disruption is inevitable.
The utilities industry has evolved drastically in the past decade upon the introduction
of smart meters and the smart grid concept, which brought a major revolution in the
amount of data that utilities collected. But the presence of data alone does not elicit
disruption; it is what is done with that data that really matters.
Utilities are getting past the challenges of incorporating and managing data and more
foundational analytics, making way for more advanced applications and technology
adoption from other industries—this is where the disruption
is occurring.
Rising to the challenge
Utilities that want to thrive have put digital transformation at the forefront. These
companies seek to harness their data, rather than run from it. This is putting a spotlight
on a handful of data and analytics innovations, which utilities must understand, develop
and implement to succeed in today’s environment. In 2019, the Utility Analytics Institute
(UAI) identified three major forces that present both analytics challenges and
opportunities for utilities:
• The advancement of Artificial intelligence (AI)
• Electric vehicles (EVs) and mobility
• Understanding and leveraging Blockchain technology
This report will describe these phenomena as they impact utilities now and in the future.
It also will provide insights from utilities using analytics to create opportunities within
these areas of disruption, as well as highlight specific projects and initiatives.

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Disruptor Question 1
How (and should) my company think about Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial intelligence has erupted across markets, promising organizations the
capability to transform and optimize the business rapidly. Defined, artificial
intelligence is the “development of computer systems able to perform tasks that
normally require human intelligence.”1 Although techniques such as machine
learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) are increasingly utilized within the utilities
sphere, AI in the sense of true, autonomous artificial intelligence is still immature—
and the areas of ML and DL are still experimental in many cases.
Yet, significant opportunities do persist across the utility value chain today.
Use cases in customer operations, smart grid, outage management, asset
management, supply chain and market operations (to name a few) hold
enormous potential for utilities.
How utilities adopt AI
AI will not become widespread simply because the market is becoming more
populated with solutions, although this is a factor. There are still barriers for utilities
that will pose challenges at least in the near term. One needs to understand how
utilities will adopt AI to predict where and how AI will thrive—and how it could fail. challenges, architectural complexity, cultural acceptance, and hiring and nurturing the
Build right talent all hold back utilities. Moreover, these projects tend to be experimental in
Many utility analytics teams are at least starting to pursue projects that leverage nature, and although many are strategic with high-reward potential, they often
AI, and they are developing strong competencies in machine learning and deep are high-risk and can be slow to produce meaningful results.
learning-based applications. According to a Midwestern utility IT director, “as Some might wonder why utilities tend towards a “build” strategy; the answer lies
analytics skill sets at utilities grow, more high-value use cases will integrate in the desire to harness AI as a strategic core competency. According to Raiford
AI where needed…it is a matter of IT, business and analytics teams across the Smith, a former utilities executive who now works with Google, “In order to
business working together to realize the necessary architectural and analytical succeed in the digital future, analytics need to be part of each utility’s strategy.
conditions.” Many of the obstacles that have stalled utilities in other analytics Just like no one in their right mind would outsource their corporate strategy, why
efforts play an even bigger role when it comes to developing AI technology. Data would they outsource analytics?”
1
Google definition.

More Data Means More Disruption | Page 3

 Artificial
Intelligence
Early artificial intelligence
stirs excitement
Machine
Learning
Machine learning
begins to flourish Deep
Learning
Deep learning break-
throughs drive AI boom

1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s

FIG 1. A
 rtificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Deep Learning Hierarchy. Since an early flush of optimism in the 1950s, smaller subsets of artificial intelligence—
first machine learning, then deep learning, a subset of machine learning—have created ever larger disruptions. Source: NVDIA, 2019.

More Data Means More Disruption | Page 4

Buy
Vendors are encouraging utilities to adopt AI through platforms and application-
based technologies; many also are weaving AI-based capabilities into new versions of
existing solutions such as outage management systems (OMS), enterprise resource
planning (ERP) and customer information systems (CIS). One example is interactive
voice response (IVR), where new AI-enabled solutions can gauge things such as
customer stress level through vocal cues. As a line item, the cost of these solutions
is typically lower than developing something in-house; however, the actual value
elicited is not always a guarantee. “Value is often diminished by acquiring a solution
looking for a problem,” warns the CTO of a prominent Texas municipal utility. “Even
the best AI solution in the world might not yield value to a utility if it doesn’t fit a
problem correctly, or if it doesn’t mix well with what they do day-to-day. There’s a
cultural element to getting people to truly understand the value that is brought in
by a particular product.” Furthermore, over-adoption of vendor-based solutions
limits the level of ownership and internally built consensus for AI; many utilities are
finding that the cultural acceptance and success of holistically developed solutions
far outweigh that of an externally developed tool, regardless of how good it is.
Experiment
Thanks to a growing number of cloud-based, low-cost/low-risk point solutions,
utilities can generate quick wins (or quick, inconsequential losses) and cultural
buy-in in AI. These can be a useful foot-in-the-door for users with no previous
experience with AI, providing self-service options for well-understood tools such
as photo and speech recognition or time-series analysis, for example. If access to
these more “basic,” readily accessible AI tools is enhanced, utilities can capitalize
on many small, but impactful developments while providing opportunities to
enhance awareness, and build consensus around AI.
In all scenarios of adoption, many utilities report that cultural barriers will im-
pede AI. According to the director of strategic technology adoption at a Western
investor-owned utility (IOU), “there needs to be an element of democratization,
the ability to leverage many brains. Organizations and teams need to know what
kinds of questions can be asked, and how to ask those questions. That requires
re-training of a broader workforce.”
AI portfolios will deliver success
Not surprisingly, many utilities are not sure where to start when it comes to
incorporating and prioritizing AI efforts—where will they get the most value? Should
they buy or build? How can talent be acquired or trained? How can risk be minimized?
Many utilities want to own and internally develop their strategic analytics
competency, but with AI it is important to start small and not base stakeholder
confidence on one or two large projects that could fail to deliver. With the state of AI,
success is not a guarantee, even with the best team and best toolset available.
Other industries are taking a portfolio-based approach to AI projects: a mix of
low-cost/low-risk projects (i.e., “quick wins”) that can generate value paired with
a small number of long-term, transformative projects (often high-cost and at least
medium-risk). There are readily available, cloud-based AI solutions that do not
need much expertise or training to adopt. Examples of these projects might be
the recommendation tool for CSRs, or a tool to analyze phrases and vocabulary in
complaints on social media. These types of solutions will not be transformational,
but they will help build faith in the potential of AI while internal competency is
being developed through the more strategic, complex projects.

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Near-term AI Use Cases
AI, particularly ML and DL, is playing a role at many utilities today, and those
capabilities are posited to evolve and expand. Following is a list of example
use cases where AI has transformative potential in the near term:
1. Predictive Maintenance: pattern recognition via machine learning has been
widely adopted in asset and infrastructure management. AI will enable utilities
to understand more of their assets in real time further and further downstream,
allow them to forecast and test extensive maintenance scenarios, and ultimately
optimize their operational planning around assets. Specific use cases such as
predictive and condition-based maintenance (CBM) for assets take advantage of
the ability to identify and correlate patterns with past events and performance
of similar assets to predict asset health in real time, determine more accurate
maintenance requirements, and eliminate the risk of catastrophic failures.
2. Visualizing assets and vegetation: drones and other image-gathering technologies
are becoming widespread, but insufficient manpower limits the ability to analyze
images and video. Artificial neural network technology can alleviate that stress
by classifying assets and detecting asset flaws. It also can support vegetation
management by determining the type of work that needs to be done, helping
utilities to prioritize that work more effectively.
3. Smart Grid: AI is an expanding area for system management and control
optimization automation. Capabilities such as automated lateral switching,
FLISR, and the ability to integrate and optimize DER will improve rapidly with the
expansion of AI techniques. The Department of Energy recently announced a
plan to leverage AI in developing an autonomous grid. One early application will
incorporate data from satellite imagery, operational and geospatial systems,
meters and other network devices to build a simulated model of the electric
distribution system that can proactively identify areas of vulnerability and
prioritize action.
More Data Means More Disruption | Page 6
4. Customer experience and engagement: Like many industries today, utilities
want a 360-degree view of the customer but are limited by inadequate data. AI
can help build out a more refined view of the customer along many dimensions,
including propensity to behave in more specified ways, under variable conditions
(e.g., file complaints, sign up for programs, or not pay their bill). Propensity
models can go further to inform recommendation systems. For example, a CSR
can be told to make a proactive call to a customer, and/or can be informed of a
“next best action” to pursue when they are already on the phone with someone
(for example, program enrollment or offering rebates).
5. Safety & operational reporting: safety and other operational departments
at many utilities struggle with the ability to transfer written information to
usable data. As a result, valuable intelligence remains isolated and unusable.
Document automation can be enabled by natural language processing to
eliminate transcription and data entry efforts that might otherwise be impossible
or take years to complete.
6. Fraud and revenue protection: many utilities are already heavily invested in
targeting these areas through the observation of patterns and usage. In most
cases today, human intervention is required to verify what the analytics have
found. AI efforts are growing to minimize human intervention and enable these
processes to be more autonomous.
Disruptor Question 2
How can utilities enable the growth of electric vehicles and mobility?
Utilities are spending big when it comes to facilitating the growth in electric
vehicles (EVs) and availability of electric vehicle service equipment (EVSE), and
regulators are on board. At the end of 2018, The California Public Utilities Board
(CPUC) approved roughly $1 billion in state investor-owned utility (IOU) programs to
incentivize residential, workplace and public charging programs and infrastructure.
In the spring of 2019, Duke Energy requested nearly $80 million to support similar
developments. Recently, Oregon regulators adopted a rule that will compel utilities
to increase the pace and magnitude of EV adoption.
With many states reporting more than 100% year-over-year growth in EV sales,
utilities do not just have the responsibility to facilitate safe integration of EVs—they
have a valuable business opportunity. With the possibility of EVs providing electric
supply back to the grid (vehicle to grid, or “V2G”), there are additional opportunities
to enable grid services. Data and analytics will be crucial to understand trends in
penetration, identify infrastructure weak points and provide insight to the most
valuable opportunities. investment will be compensated.2 This presents a lot of analytical challenges in the
short and long-term.
Fundamental EV analytics are reliability-focused
The impact of EVs on the power grid is the primary concern for utilities, especially at Take predicting EV impact on the grid, for example. With a lack of historical data for
the distribution level. Issues such as voltage instability and deviations, peak loading, analyzing EV charging patterns and adoption patterns evolving alongside dropping
capacity constraints and increased technical losses, underpin the need for network unit costs, standard methods of forecasting penetration and impacts are not viable.
reinforcements. For example, residential neighborhoods with a high penetration of Organizations such as the National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL) and the
EVs, public fast-charging stations and/or charging depots may spawn peak loads that Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) have invested heavily in developing modeling
cannot be supported by existing feeders, transformers or substations. Therefore, and simulation analytics to support this challenge, as have utilities in high-
network reliability motivates many of the fundamental analytics projects for utilities. penetration areas, but there is still a lot of ground to be covered to prepare for an
electric mobility future.
Early on, utilities must plan for EV penetration to inform future infrastructure
investments. Planning involves forecasting EV demand and its impact on the grid, 2
 egardless of whether there is a regulatory push, utilities will want to do their own investment planning
R
developing cost-effective ways to fortify the grid, and recommending how utility to prepare for an increase in EV charging, whether EVs are owned by their customers or traveling
through their service territory.

More Data Means More Disruption | Page 7

The Data Headache
Even as utilities work to better understand adoption rates and charging patterns
(at home, work, depot, on the road/travel, fast vs. slow charging, etc.), data
presents a Catch-22. More data means more ways to understand the situation;
unfortunately, the quantity, structure, synchronization and quality of the data
all contribute to a high level of complexity. In addition, access to all this data may
be limited by lack of standardization, limited communications infrastructure and
lack of edge computing resources.
The Behavior Headache
Matching locational and temporal charging patterns to the grid may be the hardest
part. Because behavior and range anxiety heavily influence charging, demand is
difficult to predict. Therefore, continuously updated forecasts of charging patterns
need to be overlaid on grid models to predict where impact will occur and adjust
for it. Renewable integration has forced the development of grid models for
interconnection, but these may be too static and lack enough granularity to
inform grid operational planning at a high degree of confidence for the EV future.

Mapping EV Analytics
A map of the EV future can help utilities navigate analytics requirements. Figure 3
provides an overview of analytics for three phases of EV maturity: planning/pilot,
• IoT
moderate to high penetration and V2G integration.
COMMUNICATIONS • SCADA networks
• Manufacturers telematics, etc. During the planning/pilot phase, there will be challenges in obtaining quality
data, plus difficulty in predicting locational and temporal impacts. At moderate-
to high-penetration, algorithms must be sophisticated enough to orchestrate
• Vehicle systems (future) managed charging with the utility’s distribution management function. (Note: it
•T raffic sensors
• Smart EVSE (future) and cameras is unclear whether distribution energy resource management systems (DERMs) or
EV/GRID DATA
• Smart meters • Grid sensors some other analytics will be ready.) With V2G, utilities will need to focus on access
• Smart phones •IEDs to vehicle availability to provide services (state of charge, customer preferences),
and interoperability of charging infrastructure. In all stages, as with any utility
project, security and privacy will be integral.
PLUS, ACQUISITION • Customer trip logs Looking further into the future, there is even more to consider with advances in
OF DATA FROM • Manufacturers sales forecasts technology and new business models emerging—all of this will rely on how well
EXTERNAL SOURCES • Demographic data, etc. the data can be leveraged. China is investing in roads with embedded solar panels
that could eventually enable wireless charging while driving. Car manufacturers are
looking to autonomous vehicles as a future market – those vehicles are likely to be
electric. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) will likely establish new patterns of charging.
FIG 2. E
 V Communications and Data Add to that, the advances in AV will yield even more data through telematics.

More Data Means More Disruption | Page 8

EV Analytics Beyond Reliability
Reliability isn’t the only force driving analytics use in planning and operations
in the context of EV growth. Analytics are essential to enabling:
• Increasing utilization of electric assets. Increased use of EVs can improve asset
utilization by increasing non-peak electricity use; this has the potential to reduce
electricity rates for all customers. This can happen only if there is a way to manage
charging through influencing customers’ behavior or sending automated signals to
control charging.3 Customer analytics, applied to market studies and customer data
(internal and external), can be used to design and target market Time-of-Use rates
(TOU) to encourage charging in non-peak hours.
• Integrating of renewables. For places like solar-intensive California with its
famous duck curve,4 EVs allow for more efficient use of renewable resources.
The objective is to shift EV charging from early evening when fossil fuels supply
electricity to early in the day when solar energy is available.
• Encouraging EV adoption. EV is a large chunk of electrification and of benefit to
utilities in the long run, providing revenue while supporting utilities’ clean energy
objectives. Customer research and analytics will figure into developing the right
set of incentives and targeting promotion to drive adoption of EVs (including
electric bicycle, moped, motorcycle and scooter options), especially for those
customers who currently are not likely to be early adopters (low and middle-
income consumers).
• Enabling grid services. The concept of V2G with EV batteries providing electricity
and/or services such as ramping has been around for almost a decade. Utilities
are piloting the technology (Austin Energy, EDF, E.ON, SCE, PG&E, etc.), but it has
yet to be commercialized. Depot charging of EV fleets is likely the most viable
application. The same analytics and infrastructure used for grid-to-vehicle will
3
Signals can be sent to vehicle telematics, smart EVSE, or electric panel.
serve V2G, but an additional layer of complexity will be required to meet grid 4
 versupply of solar during the day is not being utilized, while EV charging occurs in the evening when
O
needs while accommodating customer preferences for charging. solar resources are not available.

More Data Means More Disruption | Page 9


PLANNING/PILOT
Primary activities
Predicting grid impacts;
developing cost-effective
ways to fortify the grid;
incentivizing EV adoption
Role of analytics
Long term EV demand
forecasting; predicting grid
impacts
Analytics challenges
Lack of historical data on
charging patterns, incom-
plete network models for
simulation; lack of data on
EV incentive effectiveness
Utility business value
Regulatory approval; elec-
trification; new business
opportunities
Domestic, fleet (public transit, delivery, service, ride sharing), autonomous vehicles
Home, public, work, or depot charged—standard charge, fast charge, wireless charging
FIG 3. E
 V Maturity: Activities, Analytics, Challenges and Business Value
More Data Means More Disruption | Page 10
MODERATE TO
HIGH PENETRATION
Primary activities
Developing and operating
charging infrastructure;
designing TOU rates; enable
smart charging
Role of analytics
Segmentation of charging
patterns; short term
demand forecasting and
impact prediction; simulat-
ing TOU rates; algorithms to
orchestrate smart charging
Analytics challenges
Lack of data quality, syn-
chronization; algorithms
for operating EVs with be-
hind-the-meter resources;
incorporating customer
preferences for charging;
insufficient edge storage of
charging data
Utility business value
Renewable integration; in-
creased revenues; optimized
asset utilization; revenue
from new business models
V2G
Primary activities
Developing and operating
enabling infrastructure
for energy and ancillary
services; accommodating
new technologies
Role of analytics
Algorithms to provide price
signals; verify action & com-
pensate service; optimiza-
tion to manage EV charge/
discharge along with other
BTM recources
Analytics challenges
Access to vehicle avail-
ability to provide services
(state of charge, customer
preferences); limited
inter-operability of charging
infrastructure
Utility business value
Renewable integration;
increased revenues;
optimized asset utilization;
access to ancillary services
provided by EV as battery
Disruptor Question 3
What opportunities for Blockchain exist for utilities?
Blockchain is not a disruption to the utilities industry. Rather, it is a tool that
utilities will leverage to address other disruptive forces—digital transformation,
decarbonization, evolving customer expectations, etc. Leveraged effectively,
Blockchain can elevate previously unattainable use cases across the utility value
chain with a high level of auditability, transparency, security and immutability.
Those that want to get ahead of disruption are already asking:
• What Blockchain applications are most relevant to the organization?
• How far can Blockchain technology be leveraged?
• What are the limitations today and in the future for Blockchain technology?
Blockchain can’t be transformational on its own
One of Blockchain’s greatest strengths is that it increases transactional efficiency,
which can drastically reduce administrative costs where it is adopted. But if you
want to solve broader utility business problems, Blockchain needs to be paired
with analytics. That is because Blockchain is an enabling technology that is
transactional, in contrast to analytic. Transactional applications run the business
(i.e., completing tasks and processing information), while analytical applications
manage the business (i.e., monitoring for quality and accuracy, and making
corrections where needed).
The most impactful applications of Blockchain will be carried by advances in data
analytics. Functions in metering and billing, green certificates and carbon trading,
grid management, demand-side management, IoT integration, asset management,
and mobility payments, cannot be enabled with just a transactive tool—they need
to be “programmed.”
To put it into context, think about the 1990’s computer game, Lemmings. If systems,
parameters, and boundaries are not developed by the player, the lemmings will
Blockchain is a distributed ledger and more
inevitably proceed to their deaths by doing what they are programmed to do—walk
forward. In a blockchain-enabled use case, the blockchain is the lemmings, while There are still many us that want to know, what is Blockchain? For those new to
analytics are the player. the concept, Blockchain is a shared, encrypted, “distributed ledger” maintained
Blockchain will enable new functions, by a network of computers. A Blockchain consists of a linked list—a chain
established use cases and new business models of transactions from initiation to completion—that is synchronized for data
Blockchain has developed significant momentum in the utility space; some protection. See figure 4.
utilities even have personnel dedicated to exploring Blockchain applications that The network registers and validates all recorded transactions. Other applications
flow across the value chain: metering & billing, market settlement, green certificates allow users to create, read, write, append and delete. Blockchain can’t append
and carbon trading, grid management, IoT and asset management, demand-side and delete, which is why it is immutable. In financial settings, Blockchain
management (DSM), and mobility and charging payments. According to a recent reduces transaction processing time and cost by eliminating the need for a
study, 41% of utilities report that they need their workforce to have skills to middleman and performing continuous validation to prevent errors. That is
understand and apply Blockchain.5 Table 1 illustrates how several utilities are why banks are drawn to this technology.
currently pursuing R&D and pilots for Blockchain.
In the last few years, Blockchain has added “smart contracts” to its capabilities.
Several major banks have adopted Blockchain at scale for trading functions, Smart contracts are account holding objects, predefined rules determining
whilst industrial companies have discovered its usefulness in the realm of supply preferences such as quality, price and quantity, which interact with other
chain. In the utility context, Blockchain is predominantly being investigated for: contracts to make decisions, complete transactions and store data, all in
• Tracking credits. For tracking RECs (PJM) or, in the case of California, Low an automated fashion.
Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) electric vehicle credits (Silicon Valley Power, PG&E),
Blockchain automates purchases via smart contracts, provides a reporting system
for certificates of origin, and eliminates costs associated with aggregation of small
certificates coming from distributed energy resources.
• Energy trading. For now,6 Blockchain is not likely to replace the functions of energy
commodity trading platforms because issues of scale (faster communications, clear-
ing and settlement) can be addressed more effectively with conventional solutions.
Centralized Distributed
Clearing Model Clearing Model
5
 igitization and the Future of Energy, DNV GL, May 2019.
D
6
Enerchain, an exchange for bilateral energy trading that is being tested by some European utilities, FIG 4. B
 lockchain’s Distributed Ledger Network
is a proof-of-concept project testing more end-to-end energy trading applications..

More Data Means More Disruption | Page 11

 However, Blockchains can make the process of imbalance settlement significantly
TABLE 1. U
 tility R&D and Pilots. more efficient, while improving granularity of tracking between buyers and sellers.7
• Asset Tracking. Blockchain’s ability to process and store transactional information
UTILITY FUNCTION TYPE USE OF BLOCKCHAIN
is widely recognized as a solution for complex supply chains. In the context of
Transactive Tracking production and consumption utility assets, it can greatly improve traceability and facilitate “transactions”
Alectra Energy/Virtual Pilot for settlement of a 20-home VPP, including (service, remove, order replacement, etc.) throughout the full asset lifecycle.
Power Plant trading tokens
The full spectrum of blockchain-enabled possibilities is not exhaustive, and as
Transactive Tracking data from devices in a microgrid
analytics improve and expand, so will blockchain’s potential. Other impactful
Ameren Pilot
Energy using the distributed ledger function areas may include:
• Decentralized Grid Management. Independent and utility-backed startups
Facilitating verification of consumption/ are investigating how Blockchain-enabled solutions can better coordinate
Transactive
Avista R&D production on a micro-grid using Blockchain
Energy transmission and distribution systems and provide better visibility and control
paired with edge computing
into downstream assets and DER. Right now, the latency of Blockchain systems
Asset
Recording the chain of custody associated is a challenge, as the necessary verifications need to occur in real-time.
PG&E Pilot with steel reels used for carrying overhead
Management
cables throughout their life cycle • DER Interconnection. Blockchain can enable a more efficient interconnection
process for distributed generation. Current processes include many steps that
Tracking require accurate, consistent and confirmed information from the customer,
PG&E Pilot Tracking LCFS created by EVs
Credits consulting engineer or contractor, and the utility. Blockchain’s automated data
verification could streamline the interconnection using smart contracts that
Tracking Developing Blockchain-based tool for track- execute notifications when conditions are met.
PJM R&D
Credits ing renewable energy credits
• DR and Managing Peak Demand. A Blockchain platform could help manage
systems, endpoints and cyber-security, related to peak demand, without pursuing
Silicon the entire TE construct. In the context of demand response (DR), a distributed ledger
Tracking Tracking Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS)
Valley Pilot
Credits created by EVs charging at a parking garage could store references to smart meter data, and validate results of standardized
Power
measurement and verification, and financial settlement for DR programs.
Automation of gas trading (automation of
trade processes such as confirmations, ac-
Energy tualizations, invoice generation, settlement,
Wien Pilot
Trading audit, reporting and regulatory compliance.
In addition, trading companies can benefit
from reducing risks and cyber-attacks). 7
 lockchain Technology in the Energy Sector: A Systematic Review of Challenges and Opportunities,
B
Andonie, Robu, Abram, Geach, Jenkins, Flynn, McCallum, & Peacock, 2019.

More Data Means More Disruption | Page 12

• IoT device authentication and management. There are many IoT devices
outside of the control of utilities (Sense, NEST, smart inverters, etc.) that are
penetrating the market and will be useful in enabling DR, as well as supplying
much-needed information for network management. In addition to facilitating
and recording commands within decentralized IoT networks, Blockchain’s one-
way encryption and distributed ledger can prevent tampering with authentication
records, alleviating many of the security concerns associated with integrating
these devices.
How to move forward
Blockchain applications and technology are moving quickly, but few areas have
come to scale for utilities. Conceptually, the transformative potential of Blockchain
is becoming better understood, but utilities should be wary of undertaking
transformative projects today. Instead, more humble applications of Blockchain
should be adopted to build expertise and organizational buy-in. The basics of
analytics project conceptualization also apply: don’t use a solution to find a
problem, be agile, and accept failure (preferably expedient failure) as an inevitable
component of success.

More Data Means More Disruption | Page 13

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