Digitalisation Provides Line of Defense in Coronavirus Response
Original post here.
Every day the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic become more apparent. No sector will remain unscathed. While plunging oil and gas prices following reduced demand are wreaking havoc with certain energy sector financials, the impact on electricity suppliers and networks may be less negative but more complex as they scramble to respond to not just lower demand but vastly different demand patterns.
A large proportion of the population have started working from home and up to 40% of their workforce could be out sick, quarantined, or might stay home to care for sick family members, predicted the Edison Electric Institute in a bulletin on how to handle operations during the pandemic. While data centres may be using more energy, other companies are pausing their production, and peak consumption has dropped. “This means that even more than usual, the energy system needs to be able to respond to changes quickly. Flexibility from distributed energy resources will be very much needed, also for short periods of time, to build our resilience in the most cost-effective way possible,” says Layla Sawyer at digital solution association smartEn.
Fortunately, in recent years utilities have made great strides in investing in automation technologies including advanced metering infrastructure, enabling remote meter readings and connects, and digital worker programmes that enable mobile capabilities when assessing assets and capturing data quickly. “Due to the large investments in these types of technologies utilities are far better equipped to deal with remote working than they were a decade ago,” says David Groarke of Indigo Advisory. Better systems integration between Outage Management Systems, Advanced Distribution Management Systems and Geographic Information Systems ensures greater productivity, shorter and fewer outages, and higher customer satisfaction. Finally, utilities are increasingly making monitoring and diagnostic asset information accessible from multiple devices in a decentralised manner. This allows for remote monitoring and better asset performance management while workers are remote.
Italy’s Enel said this week that its digital transformation has given it an advantage and it does not expect the coronavirus epidemic to have a major impact on its results. “Being an early mover is key. Digitalisation offers us a hedge against sudden crises like coronavirus for business continuity,” chief executive Francesco Starace said.
Government agencies are making reassurances that they will be flexible with enforcement of the usual regulations to help retail providers supply vulnerable customers. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said the EU is providing flexibility on state aid and flexibility within the Stability and Growth Pact and is setting up a Corona Response Investment Initiative to grant support to the healthcare sector, to the labour market and to support SMEs from all affected sectors. The UK government announced new emergency measures to protect the domestic energy supply of those most in need, saying it would be ‘pragmatic’ in its approach to compliance during this period.
In the US, the clean-energy sector is pressing lawmakers for relief under the $1 trillion coronavirus stimulus package, such as extending deadlines for the solar and wind tax credits as the outbreak delays project timelines. The supply chain for vital electronic and other components from China and nearby southeast Asian countries has been disrupted.
The North American Electric Reliability Corp. has called for power providers to update business continuity plans and reconsider construction or maintenance projects.
Some disruption is inevitable. IRENA director-general Francesco La Camera said: “The outbreak of Covid-19 threatens global supply chains in many sectors and is therefore likely to have an impact on renewable energy. The severity and duration of both situations remain to be seen.”
But widescale outages are not predicted as yet. Energy industry body Independent Commodity Intelligence Services has said that nuclear power availability in the EU is expected to remain consistent as many countries, including the UK and Germany, have put in place safety measures to guarantee the continuation of operations. This is vital for France, where as much as 70% of its power production is from nuclear.
The most enduring impact of the crisis will be determined by the response of governments to stimulate a recovery. As fossil fuel prices and emissions naturally slump, some are warning that the clean energy transition will decelerate unless stimulus packages specifically support green technology investment.
Fatih Birol, the International Energy Agency’s executive director, said: “We should not allow today’s crisis to compromise the clean energy transition… We have an important window of opportunity. Major economies around the world are preparing stimulus packages. A well-designed stimulus package could offer economic benefits and facilitate a turnover of energy capital which have huge benefits for the clean energy transition.”
The potential benefits are well documented – the World Bank says that investing in resilient infrastructure over the next decade in developing countries would deliver dividend of $4.2 trillion over its lifetime, a $4 benefit for each $1 invested.
Innovative digital solutions, supported by wisely targeted stimulus packages and a flexible regulatory response, will be the decisive factor in determining a successful response to the Covid-19 crisis.