Schneider Electric emphasizes digital transformation and grid resilience amidst energy transition challenges
From Yahoo Finance: 2025-07-01 05:49:00
Grids worldwide are facing challenges from increased power demand, aging infrastructure, and cybersecurity threats, making grid digitalization essential. Shubbhronil Roy of Schneider Electric emphasizes the need for digital transformation to enhance grid resilience amidst the energy transition towards renewables. Current grids struggle to accommodate renewable energy, with 1,700GW in Europe and 3,000GW globally ready but unable to connect due to infrastructure limitations. The aging infrastructure and workforce in grids pose another challenge, with over 50% of transformers and substations reaching end-of-life by 2030. The rise in cybersecurity threats targeting grids, coupled with major weather events, exacerbates the need for grid modernization. The increasing power demand driven by AI, data centers, and population growth further stresses the existing grid infrastructure. Roy highlights the importance of addressing these challenges for the grid’s future landscape. The variations in renewable adoption, cybersecurity, regulation, and utility structures globally necessitate region-specific strategies for grid modernization. The US and Europe have different utility structures, influencing how decentralization and decarbonization are approached. Politics and public service play a crucial role in shaping grid priorities, with resiliency and affordability driving the energy transition. Data integration remains a major hurdle in grid digitalization, with silos hindering unified data models essential for decision-making. IT and OT integration is crucial for grid modernization, as historical silos and disparate systems impede progress. Aligning IT and OT, breaking down silos, and ensuring consistent data across utilities are critical for a successful energy transition. A collaborative approach between IT and OT is necessary for the convergence of digital technologies in grid modernization. OT can benefit from IT capabilities like AI, requiring a shared foundation and full collaboration between departments for successful grid digitalization. The grid’s future relies on collaboration and flexibility, tailored to each utility’s maturity. A hybrid cloud model enhances security by running less critical applications in the cloud and mission-critical ones on-premises, as demonstrated by Schneider Electric’s “One Digital Grid” platform. Substations are key in electricity transmission, with digitization improving reaction times and reliability. The shift towards edge intelligence at substations reduces delays and enhances efficiency. The pandemic underscored the importance of digital infrastructure for resilience, leading to increased digital transformation across industries. Stepwise implementation and use case-driven development are favored over large-scale projects, with real testing yielding real outcomes. Resilience is now a non-negotiable aspect, demonstrated by incidents like the Iberian Peninsula blackout, emphasizing the need for grid upgrades to accommodate evolving demands. Digitalization plays a critical role in enhancing grid resiliency, enabling proactive measures to prevent disruptions and support the energy transition. Collaboration among technology, people, partnerships, and regulations is crucial for successful grid digitalization and resilience. The grid’s role in sustainability, electrification, industrialization, and climate action is pivotal, necessitating innovation to become an enabler of the transition. Optimism surrounds the future of grid innovation, with the next decade poised to be transformative, though challenges remain in achieving net-zero goals.
Read more at Yahoo Finance: Schneider Electric on modern energy threats, digitalisation and grid resilience