The AI-Powered Grid Would Like Someone To Check Where The Wires Are

Before artificial intelligence can revolutionize the electric grid, somebody has to make sure the electric grid is where the spreadsheet says it is.

Utility Dive reports that utilities are using AI for forecasting, maintenance and planning as AI itself drives new electricity demand. Autonomous control of the physical grid remains limited. But a utility technology executive describes a less futuristic problem: company records don't always match what's actually in the field.

A model can process the wrong map much faster. This is excellent news if the objective is to become confidently lost at industrial scale.

The hardest people to hire include workers who understand both the technology and the utility. Some operating knowledge still lives in people's heads, and an industry executive says he doesn't expect that combination of expertise to be automated soon.

So the future has arrived, and it needs the person who knows why that line is over there. Try not to schedule the revolution during their lunch break.