Bridging the gap: Legacy and innovation in Energy

The energy and resources sectors are in the midst of a major overhaul as they move towards renewable energy. Emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and 5G connectivity have vital roles to play across every stage of this journey, and will provide decisive support in powering Australia into the future.

The movement away from legacy technologies, though, will not be instantaneous. Instead, the ability for emerging technologies to augment existing legacy systems and improve their operations with relatively minor disruption will prove vital to the sector.

Already, these technologies are having concrete impacts by addressing and enforcing high safety standards, streamlining processes in order to reduce operational costs, and achieving greater sustainability. By investing in cutting-edge digital technologies, enterprises within the energy and resources space are enabling themselves to innovate and overcome the challenges of structural change.

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Safety is the major priority for the resources industry, and it is subject to a heavy amount of regulation to ensure this remains the case. By targeting safety and regulatory compliance, emerging digital technologies are playing a significant role in the sector’s development.

At present, technologies such as 5G-enabled mobile devices and ML are making crucial safety  checks simultaneously easier to complete and more comprehensive. With the Frontline Worker Solution (FLW), Optus is seeing enterprises take up the enhanced capability of mobile devices to support employees and customers. 

By turning mobile phones into devices capable of scanning barcodes, managing inventory, conducting secure threat detection and real-time geofencing, the technology works with existing systems to make reporting on and monitoring safety easier.  

Optus overcomes challenges unique to Queensland's water infrastructure management with our consortium—the result is  a seamless, end-to-end solution that empowers consumers and streamlines utilities' efficiency. As the energy and utility sectors navigate transformation, we see our role as a guiding force, enabling partner, and support in leading the sectors toward a digitised and sustainable future.

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As the transition to renewables takes place, mobile technology is already helping to promote a more sustainable energy industry.

At an individual level, 5G-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) devices are allowing for greater monitoring of energy and resource consumption. Smart meters, wireless sensors and remote management interfaces capitalise on the wealth of data carried on the 5G network.

Whether empowering citizens to monitor their resource use more closely or helping energy companies diagnose and address outages remotely, these devices are already having a positive impact. 

A great example of this working in the real world is the deployment of 68,000 smart water meters in Toowoomba City Council. Optus helped residents more closely monitor their water usage with real-time data, while removing the carbon-intensive process of an inspector driving to properties to read the meter utilising 4G-NBIoT  technology.

ML and AI also have a role to play in creating a more sustainable energy sector by transforming existing monitoring systems into smarter platforms that allow them to predict and diagnose issues within the network before they become outages or major losses. According to E.ON, this AI-driven ‘predictive maintenance’ can prevent up to 30% of power outages. 

Research from the CSIRO predicts that an IoT-led digitisation of Australian buildings has the potential to save 6.6 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, saving $13.7 billion in energy costs over the next 10 years.

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With energy companies essentially offering an identical product, their ability to compete on both price and customer experience is key to their success. For this reason, enterprises looking to invest in emerging technologies to improve their operations can reap major rewards, beginning with introducing them into their back office systems. 

According to PwC, IoT technologies are expected to bring an extra $22-34 billion annually in the resources industry alone. This is brought about by average productivity improvements of 2% per year. 

In the energy sector, the move towards digitised billing and payment in recent years has already taken the hassle out of the process of paying bills for customers, delivering savings on the costs of printing and postage for providers. 

AI is able to skillfully  address a broader range of customer concerns, such as reducing the need for tedious hours spent on hold. Remote monitoring platforms can be made easily interpretable,  giving customers an easy and interactive platform for monitoring usage, paying bills and reporting issues. 

Moving forward, those enterprises that choose to invest in the integration of digital technology will continue to benefit from reduced operating costs while simultaneously producing better customer outcomes. The efficiency these innovations bring will be a decisive factor in how skilfully energy companies pivot to new processes and energy sources.

If you would like to continue this conversation further, please reach out to your Optus Account Manager or fill out the form below for a call back.