FEATURE

As Asia-Pacific utilities confront rising renewable penetration and grid complexity, Nikunj Desai, Area Vice President, Asia, Itron, says realtime data, AI and edge intelligence are emerging as the foundation for flexibility, resilience and customer-centric energy systems.

How can real-time data, AI and edge intelligence unlock grid flexibility and DER integration?

The accelerating shift to a decarbonised, decentralised and digitalised energy system is reshaping the traditional electricity grid, which was originally designed for one-way power flow from central generation to passive customers. Today, the grid faces bidirectional dynamics driven by solar PV, battery storage and electric vehicle charging.

Growing pressures on the grid have made stability and flexibility harder to maintain. These pressures demand a paradigm shift: utilities can combine real-time data, artificial intelligence and grid edge intelligence to gain granular visibility, automate decision-making and orchestrate flexible resources at scale.

Beyond operational agility, edge intelligence also redefines how utilities think about data, connectivity and resilience. By processing data where it originates at the edge, utilities can act

Nikunj Desai, Area Vice President, Asia, Itron www. intelligentcio. com

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