Building a Digitized, Reliable, and Secure Grid: The IT-OT Integration Playbook

As the utility landscape rapidly evolves amid the onset of distributed energy resources,?including solar rooftops, storage systems, and electric vehicles, Indian power transmission and distribution companies are accelerating their digital transformation programs. For discoms to achieve business goals through this technology-enabled transition, integration of disparate information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) systems will be crucial. The convergence of IT and OT can help utilities ensure reliable power supply, deliver better customer experience, boost operational efficiency, grow revenues, and enhance system resilience.

Discoms need to adopt a structured four-pronged approach toward IT-OT integration. First, they should identify the key use cases for this initiative and implement them to demonstrate the success stories to secure stakeholder buy-in for scaling up the convergence. Second, Indian utilities need to jointly define and develop standards related to network, data communication, system integration, testing, and security – including cyber security – that are apt for their local context. Third, discoms should clearly define the roles and responsibilities for IT and operations staff, and establish mechanisms for effective communication, collaboration, and training. Finally, they should opt for an IT-OT integration solution that is compatible with the existing applications, and can be scaled up to accommodate new use cases…Read more

News and Views

Smart Utilities: Digital, Secure and Sustainable – Leadership Panel 2022

India’s energy ecosystem has been evolving rapidly in the past few years as the country pursues decarbonization and grid modernization as part of a transition to cleaner and sustainable power generation, transmission, and distribution. Accenture’s KJC Vinod Kumar spoke at a panel discussion organized by the Energy Leadership Conclave, a leading forum involving industry players, regulators, and policymakers that deliberated on growing trends such as smart utilities, and secure and reliable operations based on real-time data analytics…Watch session recording

Four strategic steps to deliver layered intelligence

To leverage the potential of layered intelligence, utilities need to focus on maintaining grid reliability and resilience and ensure interoperability of various technology systems and applications. Simultaneously, they should diversify?data sources spanning devices installed across multiple locations, and be prepared?for difficult conversations with regulators on data security…Read more

Integration of IT and OT Systems in Distribution Networks: Challenges and Opportunities

Utilities must transition from silo-based implementation of IT and OT systems to a holistic integration of disparate sets of applications, in order to reimagine their distribution networks for the digital era, said Anurag Johri, Managing Director and Lead Utilities, Accenture in India. Participating in the India Smart Utility Week (ISUW) 2022 conference, Johri emphasized the need for Indian discoms to harmonize their systems of record and transactional applications and databases with sensor-based systems such as smart meters, SCADA, and GIS that capture operational data…Watch session recording

Renewable Energy, Innovations, Technology & Energy Efficiency for a Sustainable Green Economy World

As India embarks on an ambitious decarbonization journey to ensure sustainable economic growth over the long term, green hydrogen could play a vital role in powering the net-zero transformation, said Accenture’s Anurag Johri. In a panel discussion during the 12th World Renewable Energy Technology Congress, Johri noted that green hydrogen could enable India to become an energy exporter, beside facilitating reduced carbon emissions. He also cited the huge potential for hydrogen to help realize India’s ambitious renewable energy targets in a commercially viable manner…Watch session recording

3 Pressing Questions for Preparing an Active Grid

With the amount of mission-critical asset types and classes increasing exponentially alongside the number of control systems needed to connect them, the role of communication networks in grid modernization has become critical. Utilities need to figure out the optimal communication network mix for delivering the requisite visibility into the grid, amid the growing number of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). At the same time, the growing saturation of communication networks could potentially affect the flow of real-time information, thus impacting system efficiency and stability…Read more

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