Electricity, gas and water utilities run long-lived networks under close regulation, and they generate more data every year: from smart meters and network sensors to asset, field and customer systems. Used well, that data helps utilities keep assets running, plan the network, respond to faults faster and serve customers better.
This article covers where utility data comes from, the use cases that pay off, and the challenges to plan for.
Where the data comes from
- Meters: smart meters record consumption in short intervals rather than a quarterly read.
- Network sensors and control systems: operational technology such as SCADA reports flows, pressures, voltages and alarms.
- Assets: asset registers, maps (GIS), inspection results and maintenance history.
- Field work: work orders, crew schedules and job outcomes.
- Customers: billing, contact centre and complaint records.
- External data: weather, bushfire and flood risk, and population growth.
Use cases that pay off
Predictive maintenance and asset health
Combining asset age, condition, inspection results and sensor readings helps predict which assets are most likely to fail, so maintenance goes where the risk is highest rather than following a fixed calendar.
Demand forecasting and network planning
Interval data shows how and when demand changes across the network. Rooftop solar, home batteries and electric vehicles change when and where energy flows, which makes good forecasts essential for planning where to invest.
Faster response to outages and leaks
Analysing alarms, meter events and customer calls together helps locate faults sooner. In water networks, comparing flows into an area with what customers use helps find leaks and reduce water lost before it reaches a meter.
Customer service
Understanding why customers call, such as high bills, outages or connection delays, shows where to fix the root cause, and helps target support to customers who need it.
Field work and supply chain
Data on job durations, travel and parts usage improves crew scheduling and keeps the right spares in the right depots.
Smart meters change the picture
In its 2023 review of metering services, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) recommended an accelerated program to fit smart meters at all homes and small businesses in the National Electricity Market by 2030. That means far more detailed consumption data, and with it more opportunity, more volume to manage and more responsibility for customers' privacy.
Start with one problem. The utilities that get value fastest pick one costly problem, such as failures of a particular asset class or slow fault response, join the few data sets that explain it, and prove the value before scaling.
Challenges to plan for
- Volume: interval and sensor data grow quickly, so storage, processing and cost need planning from the start.
- Joining operations and IT: operational systems and corporate systems were rarely designed to share data, and asset identifiers often don't match between them.
- Asset data quality: registers and maps are often incomplete or out of date, which undermines asset analytics until it's fixed.
- Privacy: detailed consumption data can reveal a lot about a household, so access and use need clear controls.
- Security: utilities are critical infrastructure, so data platforms must be secured to the same standard as the network.
We help utilities turn network, asset and customer data into decisions. See our data analytics consulting services and our industry experience.
