How “smart” are utility grids getting in the U.S.? Apparently a lot.

A new white paper from Cary-based SAS reports that the Internet of Things and machine learning are transforming the nation’s utilities industry as they seek to build an ever-smarter grid for services delivery.

Here are key findings from the paper:

  • Utilities agree that both IoT and machine learning are critical for their organizations, but they have a better understanding and are more likely to be using IoT than machine learning.
  • More than 55% already use IoT for metering/meter data management (MDM), and 31% are already using machine learning for this area, too. Network security and data privacy are major IoT concerns for utilities.
  • Areas of least concern are lack of expertise and sufficient budget.
  • The top benefits associated with IoT are more likely to be customer-facing, such as customer service and energy efficiency, whereas the benefits named for machine learning are more grid-oriented, including areas such as service restoration and cybersecurity.

SAS worked with Zpryme to survey some 200 companies.

The IoT has become a major point of emphasis for SAS, which is a global leader in analytics.

Read more at:

Autonomous Grid: Machine Learning and IoT for Utilities