Changing Digitalisation Needs: Utility perspective

Digitalisation has emerged as a key theme across organisations in the Indian market. Utilities, in particular, are leveraging tools and technologies such as real-time monitoring, data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and internet of things (IoT) to enhance operational efficiency. Heads of key utilities share their views on the changing digitalisation needs in the utility space, recent digital initiatives, the role of telecom service providers and future plans/strategies…

How have the digitalisation needs of utilities changed over the past few years?

Dr Prashant Atrey

NHPC Limited is the largest central sector organisation in India for the development of green energy, with capabilities to undertake all activities from conceptualisation to commissioning. NHPC began its journey with hydro projects and has since diversified into solar, wind and pumped storage power plants. NHPC has set an aggressive target of becoming a 50,000 MW green energy company by 2047. As a result, its digitalisation needs have changed rapidly, as seen in the following objectives:

Real-time monitoring of construction projects: With aggressive green energy project commissioning targets in place, NHPC is taking steps for real-time monitoring of construction projects. Systems are in place for project scheduling/progress monitoring. NHPC is working towards an information technology (IT)-enabled platform/dashboard (mobile app-enabled) for the effective physical/financial monitoring of projects.

Real-time monitoring of power stations: Currently, NHPC is using software applications for generation monitoring of power stations. Very soon, requirement traceability matrix-based tools will be deployed to monitor and evaluate the performance of generating plants and equipment on a real-time basis. In addition, predictive maintenance will be put in place to achieve the maximum power availability factor (PAF).

Renewable energy integration: Generation from solar energy sources is growing day by day at cheaper costs. As solar power is generated for a limited period during the daytime, discoms need power from other sources, especially hydro, to provide power during off-peak hours and provide grid stability. Digital tools are being used to forecast and balance energy supply and demand. Energy exchanges are using software tools to manage power demands from more than one source.

Increased usage of IoT devices: The use of sensors/IoT devices is increasing in NHPC across different equipment pertaining to construction/operation/monitoring. They are being used for remote monitoring and control and play a crucial role in managing the infrastructure efficiently. NHPC has recently implemented early warning systems (EWSs)for flood forecasting pertaining to its hydro projects/power stations, where IoT device-based sensors have been deployed.

Data analytics and AI: At NHPC, more and more business processes are going digital. AI is expected to increase efficiency throughout the entire value chain from design, planning and construction to the operation phase, including facility management.

Cybersecurity: NHPC, being a power sector organisation, falls under the category of the most critical sector. With increased digitalisation, the concern regarding cybersecurity has grown. NHPC is planning to deploy multiple solutions for strengthening the cybersecurity infrastructure and protecting critical infrastructure from cyberthreats.

Doman Yadav

The digitalisation needs of power transmission companies in India have evolved significantly over the years, driven by technological advancements, regulatory changes and the growing demand for efficient and reliable energy delivery. The power grid in India has achieved significant growth in the past few years, resulting in a mammoth, complex electrical system, which is near impossible to monitor and control using traditional manual methods and basic monit­­oring systems, especially with the ongoing renewable energy addition. This has necessitated utilities to adopt the latest digital technologies such as SCADA systems, sensors and smart meters for early fault identification and resolution.

Further, digitalisation plays a key role in the maintenance of assets, enabling a shift from the hitherto reactive and fixed schedule maintenance philosophy towards real-time monitoring of assets and predictive maintenance. However, the increasing use of digital technologies in power systems has made them vulnerable to cyberthreats, necessitating utilities to make significant investments in cybersecurity measures to protect critical infrastructure and ensure the integrity of the grid.

What digitalisation initiatives did you undertake during 2023?

Dr Prashant Atrey

Early warning systems EWSs: NHPC implemented EWSs based on real-time water level data from remote G&D sites. Hydro projects situated in the upper reaches of hilly regions are vulnerable to the occurrence of cloud bursts, flash floods, glacial lake outburst floods, landslide lake outburst floods, avalanches, landslides, snow slides/rock slides, etc. Excessive water discharges due to any of the above reasons cause excessive damage to the life and property of these projects. Manpower/Resources have been saved many times in NHPC hydro projects.

Cybersecurity: By deploying a number of cybersecurity devices, procedures and practices, NHPC has strengthened its cybersecurity posture. In addition, NHPC, as CERT-Hydro, is guiding 35 other hydropower organisations in the country in this direction. Actions are being taken for the implementation of the new IT roadmap at NHPC, including new age ERP, upgradation of IT and cybersecurity infrastructure.

Doman Yadav

Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (Powergrid) has been at the forefront of adopting the latest digital technologies to facilitate its construction, operations and maintenance activities, and the year 2023 has not been any different.

A mobile application was designed to enable the team to patrol transmission lines at any time from anywhere. Another application with AI/machine learning (ML) capabilities has been integrated with the transmission line patrolling application to automatically identify defects in tower photographs using AI/ML algorithms. Further, drone-based line patrolling has been adopted to improve the speed of patrolling and optimise manpower utilisation. Further, a dashboard has been developed to act as a single window for all key performance indicators, enabling a bird’s eye geospatial view of our asset management system. Another application monitors the health of our transformers, reactors and circuit breakers on a real-time basis. Knowledge management is a crucial step in retaining and promoting the expertise in the organisation and Powergrid has implemented an e-learning portal for the same.

What role do telecom service providers and other stakeholders play in these digitalisation initiatives?

Dr Prashant Atrey

Telecommunications systems play a key role in keeping the business operational. NHPC projects/power stations are located in remote areas and hilly terrain. Therefore, maintaining connectivity with data centres and keeping the business going are the biggest challenges. NHPC has established multi mode redundant connectivity with all its locations. These include:

• Multi protocol label switching (MPLS), Ku-band very small aperture terminal (VSAT), ILL, etc., from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Powergrid and other service providers for all locations of NHPC
• Round-the-clock monitoring of MPLS/ VSAT links across all locations
• Implementation and management of software-defined wide area network routers across all locations for better connectivity, load balancing and redundancy
• Assessment and management of bandwidth requirements for all proje­cts/power stations and units.

The implementation of the new IT roadmap with best industry practices, processes and control mechanisms will enable faster and more efficient execution and operations.”
Dr Prashant Atrey

Doman Yadav

Telecom service providers offer the necessary bandwidth and data transmission capabilities to support the transfer of large volumes of data generated by smart grids, monitoring systems, and other digital applications. This infrastructure is vital for the real-time, reliable and secure exchange of information.

Powergrid, through its wholly owned subsidiary POWERTEL, has a pan-India overhead optic fibre network of about 100,000 km using optical ground wire on power transmission lines and is offering transmission towers for mobile communications. POWERTEL has provided a very reliable telecom network to Powergrid and supplemented Powergrid’s efforts in digital transformation for the core transmission business.

POWERTEL is also venturing into the data centre and cloud services business, which will provide Powergrid with the infrastructure needed for storing and processing vast amounts of data generated by digitalisation initiatives and enable access to scalable and efficient computing resources.

Are there any challenges faced in the adoption of digital services? How do you address these?

Dr Prashant Atrey

The adoption of digital services is certainly not without challenges. We, at NHPC, are also facing such challenges. Further, the government has declared the power sector as “most critical”, which makes our role more crucial. On a day-to-day basis, we are facing the following challenges:

• Uninterrupted connectivity with power stations/projects
• Securing critical information infrastructure of NHPC
• Implementation of crisis management (involvement of many agencies) to mitigate any cyberattack/breach
• Implementing adequate cybersecurity measures/procedures/practices to secure IT/OT assets
• Implementation of a proper business continuity plan
• Implementation of government adviso­r­i­es and alerts with reference to cybersecurity
• Resistance to change
• Lack of trained manpower in new technologies
• Cost of implementation
• Data privacy concerns
• Interoperability issues.

Doman Yadav

The obvious challenge faced by Powergrid during its first major step towards digitalisation is the implementation of the systems application product – enterprise resource planning (SAP-ERP) system. However, these challenges have been addressed with tremendous success and currently, the digital ecosystem of Powergrid is running smoothly.

In the technical sphere, a major challenge was upgrading legacy infrastructure and facilitating interoperability and standardisation. Phase-wise implementation with active collaboration from all stakeholders such as regulatory authorities and technology partners helped address this challenge.

The digital transformation requires a skilled workforce with expertise in data analytics, cybersecurity and smart grid technologies. Powergrid is investing in training programmes, collaborating with reputed educational institutions to promote skill development. Data security and privacy are major concern and Powergrid has been taking all measures to address these issues. It has also established a security operation centre. Though there are significant challenges during the digital transformation journey, Powergrid has been navigating them successfully and effectively.

“The digitalisation needs of power transmission companies have evolved significantly,
driven by technological advancements, regulatory changes and the growing demand for efficient and reliable energy delivery.”
Doman Yadav

What are your future plans/strategies for digitalising operations? What trends do you foresee in 2024?

Dr Prashant Atrey

At present, NHPC’s business is growing at a faster pace, with more and more projects being added to its portfolio. The implementation of the new IT roadmap involving the best industry practices, processes and control mechanisms will enable faster and more efficient execution and operations of projects/power stations with optimal manpower.

The requirement for the real-time monitoring of construction/operation projects, integration with SCADA/Pri­ma­vera, e-MBs, electronic content management, business process modelling tools, decision support systems, interactive dashboards, AI/business intelligence (BI), etc., will be met by implementing the new IT roadmap, including new-age ERP, upgradation of IT, and development of cybersecurity infrastructure.

The cybersecurity set-up of NHPC will also be changed according to the new technology so as to protect the organisation’s IT assets/digital resources and power infrastructure and to comply with the latest guidelines issued by the Ministryof Power/CERT-IN/Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology/ Central Electricity Authority.

The use of data analytics, AI and BI is certainly going to prove beneficial for construction projects/operational power stations as it will help in the timely completion of construction projects and predictive maintenance/maximising PAF of power stations.

The ultimate impact of continued efforts towards digitalisation in NHPC was seen during Covid times when NHPC business/power stations were running seamlessly to provide uninterrupted power supply to the country in spite of lockdowns.

Doman Yadav

Powergrid is implementing many projects for digitalising processes, which are expected to bear fruition in 2024. Some of them are:

• Drone-based patrolling of transmission lines, further extending across all the regions of Powergrid.
• Substation inspection robots, being developed in collaboration with IIT Kanpur. Once deployed, they can reduce the risk of accidents and injuries for workers by replacing traditional manual activities with robots.
• The Powergrid Centre of Excellence in Cybersecurity at IISc, Bengaluru, for addressing cybersecurity aspects in transmission and grid operation.
• Paperless working, under which substation maintenance personnel are being equipped with rugged industrial tablets and associated work applications to digitalise their work processes, reduce work duplicity and improve maintenance reliability.
• Digital worker, under which Powergrid has deployed augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR)-based digital headgears in operations and maintenance-related works. These headsets have enabled remote expert assistance in fieldwork, thereby leading to reduced downtime, knowledge transfer, higher safety and higher reliability in equipment performance.
• Powergrid is implementing unified network management systems, enabling mo­nitoring and controlling of the vast telecom network from centralised locations.

Powergrid has many interesting digital projects in the pipeline, which will reinforce the already implemented digital initiatives for seamless and safe operations.