Holistic asset management for utility network companies

Sustainable asset efficiency has turn into one of many key drivers in decision-making for asset planning and grid modernization enterprise processes. New rising know-how permits AI-powered digital twins to function the sensible grid. Nonetheless, operators should stability intermittent renewable power consumption to supply a managed, secure output.

A balanced transition between previous and new techniques

The demand to meet present long-term contracts and an abundance of recent calls for for industrial electrification pose new challenges to grid administration. Discovering the correct stability requires load forecasting and simulation to forestall web congestion. Economical optimization should consider new market dynamics and guarantee dependable operation.

Current community property are getting old, and extra clever asset administration methods should emerge to take care of and substitute the grid inside tightening budgets. Asset funding planning should discover a stability between these techniques whereas minimizing danger and carbon footprint.

To handle the grid of the long run, utility firms should shift from conventional asset administration to a holistic method. This shift will broaden insights so these firms can take strategic, tactical steps to optimize operational community growth and operation choices.

Asset lifecycle administration

Holistic grid asset administration adopts a lifecycle view throughout the entire asset lifespan to acquire a secure, safe, dependable and inexpensive community. Utility firms should break down the inner departmental partitions between the silos of grid planning, development, operation, upkeep and alternative to permit end-to-end visibility. They need to join underlying know-how techniques to create a single pane of glass for all operations. A shared knowledge mannequin throughout working techniques serves as the idea for integration, simulation, prediction and optimization by utilizing generative AI fashions to drive next-level enterprise worth.

The objective of asset administration is to optimize capital expenditures (CapEx) and working bills (OpEx) in a seamless transition between the timescale of the planning horizons. The next determine demonstrates the complicated planning and optimization aims required for a holistic view of the asset administration lifecycle:

A top-down strategic method for whole-life planning of asset funding portfolio matching future ESG targets wants to attach with a bottom-up upkeep and alternative technique for present property. Asset funding planning (AIP) ends in venture portfolio administration and product lifecycle administration to plan, prioritize and run asset growth and alternative initiatives inside the boundaries of accessible funds and useful resource capability.

Actual-time operational knowledge gives an asset well being view that drives condition-based upkeep and alternative planning. That is the area of enterprise asset administration (EAM) for upkeep execution and asset efficiency administration (APM) for technique optimization. Historically, a disconnect on the tactical degree has separated these planning and optimization methodologies. On the identical time, operational danger administration requires respecting well being, security and atmosphere (HSE) administration and course of security administration to handle probably hazardous operations. The upkeep restore and overhaul (MRO) spare elements technique should align with the asset technique when it comes to criticality and optimum inventory worth.

Acknowledgment of the complexity of planning with multidimensional aims on totally different timescales is the place to begin for adopting a holistic view of asset administration.

Learn extra about power transition