Promoting Energy-Conscious Behaviour That Could Lower Energy Usage And Bills - Mr. Matthew Gleeson

Oracle Utilities is working with BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL)—in coordination with two lakh domestic utilities — to test the first territory-wide Home Energy Report (HER) programme in India. With a mix of data analytics and behavioural science, this report is intended to not only help utility customers better understand their energy usage but also empower them to learn to be energy efficient. We had an opportunity to interact with Mr. Matthew Gleeson, Vice President, Global Alliances & Channels, Oracle Utilities Global Business Unit about how Oracle is taking steps to promote more energy-conscious behaviour that could lower energy usage and therefore lower bills. 

Excerpts:

How is Oracle utility business changing the utility landscape in a developing country like India? What kind of services are you exactly providing?

With the rise in demand for better customer service and engagement, Utility providers are realizing that the ‘traditional’ or ‘legacy’ solutions are not going to provide them with scalability and agility they need for the future. Additionally, their old applications will not allow them to evolve towards a more customer-centric grid model. Oracle utility business is making it possible to manage this evolution with unmatched domain expertise in meter data management. From managing back end operations with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to mitigating outages with high powered Network Management to providing customers personal tips to reduce their energy consumption, Oracle offers the end-to-end solutions, on a secure, common data model. Not just this, these solutions are enabling utility providers to adapt to new market realities such as new Distributed Energy Resources, a shift towards better generation planning and change in customer demands.

What is the approach adopted by the business when we talk about digital disruptions in the utility space? 

India is in a great position where there has been enormous growth in electrification across the nation over the last decade. The sheer volume, size and pace of this change, along with clear direction from the government, can be innovation drivers in the utility space. New-gen technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), and cloud computing can help unlock the true potential of India’s energy sector. Collectively, these technologies can help maximize output from the nation’s power plants, by better allocating resources to expand generation capacity. They can also drive down expenses for consumers, decrease emissions, and help the country reach its 100 per cent electrification target. 

The ideal energy resource management system will leverage AI and ML capabilities coupled with AMI data, weather forecasts, SCADA and IoT device interaction to reliably predict operational challenges, thus improving asset lifecycles and cutting outage time.

How is Oracle helping its customers leverage renewable energy and reach their sustainability goals?

Oracle is helping utilities find ways to innovate outside of their traditional businesses. By providing utility firms with intelligent next-generation solutions that enable them to communicate with one other as well as allow customers to be engaged in a two-way exchange (both energy consumption and information), the opportunities rapidly opens up for a new utility landscape of tomorrow. That landscape will certainly have sustainability as its core defining characteristic. With the international social tide towards a cleaner planet, initiatives towards sustainable future will decide the success of a utility organization in the future. We have already saved more than 23 TWh in energy usage simply by engaging customers to better understand their energy footprint and encourage them to do their part for the environment. To give you a sense of what 23 TWh of energy means - it is the amount of energy that can energize 13.6 mn Indian homes for a year or power all of Delhi for more than two years!!

Driving the utilities towards a sustainable future, we offer solutions that ensure reliability and safety parameters are met. We understand how crucial it is to have solutions that not only deal with the ramification of their disastrous outcomes but work towards a better sustainable utility.

How important a role does partner network plays for Oracle in tackling emerging energy challenges in the country? What is the way forward for Oracle Utilities business in India?

Well, the utility industry as a whole is a huge space and certainly requires working closely with partners- not only here in India but internationally as well. We believe that the market in India will gravitate towards the smarter model in the next 2-5 years. It will take a village of utility providers, working closely with partners and technology providers to meet these growing energy demands. We continue to work closely with our partners in the region to ensure customers have the right mix of technology and know-how to address their evolution at any stage of their journey.

We envisage the role of Oracle Utilities in India to be of a strategic beacon that can help Indian Utilities to move towards a new future that will use its data intelligently, will drive decisions that support sustainable outcomes, and will dismiss the notion of their consumers as the gracious receivers of water, gas or electricity – but instead will consider them as a partner in the smarter utility landscape of the future.