Artificial intelligence (AI) has the capacity to substantially improve the management of Europe’s energy systems, supporting the EU’s climate goals and enhancing competitiveness and growth. The integration of renewable energy sources and management of decentralised energy production is crucial to secure the energy supply process and AI can play an important role in these developments.
AI can improve grid management by more accurately predicting energy consumption and generation patterns as well as improving stress and fault detection and location within the grid. This capability is essential for balancing supply and demand, especially with the integration of an increasing amount of intermittent renewable sources like wind and solar into the system.
Recognising this, ESMIG has launched a new Task Force on AI to identify the Use Cases and the benefits, such as savings and energy flexibility for consumers and grid operators, while also assessing and mitigating any risks, including ensuring robust privacy protections when handling data from smart meters.
The focus of the task force will be on data generated by the metering infrastructure and their use within AI applications that can be envisaged within the grid ecosystem. This includes (for example) applications for grid operators, energy retailers, energy market aggregators, consumers and other services providers, such as gateway operators.
Existing and emerging legislation, such as the AI Act, the first legal framework on AI, will be another focus item as it will shape how Europe responds to risks and will determine how AI will be applied in the energy supply system. Additionally, as smart meters begin to generate increasingly granular data, it is key to understand what AI means for processing and analysis of data and the insights that can be created for the benefit of consumers, market players and system operators.
With the AI market in the energy sector growing at 24.6% (Research and Markets, 2024) annually as power generation companies adopt AI solutions, this is a crucial time to explore how AI is transforming the energy sector.
Member companies driving this task force forward are Sense, Netinium, Cuculus, Sagemcom, Gridspertise, Sigma Telas and PPC.
Dr Jason Humphries from Sense, said “AI is a critical enabler of the energy transition—helping to address diverse challenges, manage an increasingly complex grid, optimise operations, improve reliability, and empower customers. This working group is focused on demystifying the use of AI in the context of smarter energy networks and identifying real-world use cases that can drive meaningful impact. As Chairman, I’m pleased to collaborate with fellow ESMIG members to ensure AI is leveraged effectively in shaping the future of energy.”
You can find out more about ESMIG’s working groups and task forces here.