Holistic asset management for utility network companies – IBM Blog

Addressing challenges of the power transition with grid asset administration

The power transition is gearing as much as full velocity as renewable power sources substitute fossil-based techniques of power manufacturing. The grid itself should inexperienced to function inside the environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets and develop into carbon impartial by 2050. This shift requires power utility corporations to plan their grid asset administration holistically as they discover a new steadiness between strategic targets.

Sustainable asset efficiency has develop into one of many key drivers in decision-making for asset planning and grid modernization enterprise processes. New rising expertise permits AI-powered digital twins to function the good grid. Nevertheless, operators should steadiness intermittent renewable power consumption to supply a managed, steady output.

A balanced transition between outdated and new techniques

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

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

To handle the grid of the longer term, utility corporations should shift from conventional asset administration to a holistic method. This shift will broaden insights so these corporations can take strategic, tactical steps to optimize operational community improvement and operation selections.

Asset lifecycle administration

Holistic grid asset administration adopts a lifecycle view throughout the entire asset lifespan to acquire a protected, safe, dependable and reasonably priced community. Utility corporations 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 have to join underlying expertise 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 through the use of 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 targets 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 objectives wants to attach with a bottom-up upkeep and alternative technique for present property. Asset funding planning (AIP) ends in undertaking portfolio administration and product lifecycle administration to plan, prioritize and run asset enlargement and alternative initiatives inside the boundaries of accessible funds and useful resource capability.

Actual-time operational knowledge supplies 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 stage has separated these planning and optimization methodologies. On the similar time, operational danger administration requires respecting well being, security and atmosphere (HSE) administration and course of security administration to handle doubtlessly hazardous operations. The upkeep restore and overhaul (MRO) spare elements technique should align with the asset technique by way of criticality and optimum inventory worth.

Acknowledgment of the complexity of planning with multidimensional targets on totally different timescales is the start line for adopting a holistic view of asset administration.

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