Artificial Intelligence To Impact Regional Power Sector Jobs, Says New Middle East Electricity Report
Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) will significantly impact roles within the regional power sector according to the newly-released Middle East Electricity A.I. & Energy Report, which forecasts major adjustments to jobs in power generation plant operations and maintenance as sensors, digitisation and machine learning are increasingly adopted.
Released a mere two weeks before the 2019 edition of Middle East Electricity, the leading international trade event for the power industry, the report says A.I. adoption will result in data analytics which will “improve plant efficiencies via improved systems for asset management, control and monitoring, and automation.”
Produced by Middle East Electricity organisers, Informa Exhibitions, the report cites electricity generation and street lighting management as key examples of where A.I. can boost production of large energy-consuming systems, with real time decision-making enabling operators to quickly identify efficiencies and investment requirements.
And with lighting in the vanguard of A.I. transformation, Informa Exhibitions has introduced a one-day conference focusing on IoT lighting – the first of its kind in the region – as part of Middle East Electricity’s extensive CPD accredited knowledge programme. Smart street lighting is a central conference theme with speakers predicting its impact across the MENA region will evolve lighting’s role from merely illuminating highways to providing social, environmental and operational cost benefits.
Disruptive 4th Industrial Revolution technology underscores this year’s Middle East Electricity, which runs at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from March 5-7, as well as its expansive, three-day education programme, which provides 94 hours of free conferences and seminars.
“In addition to providing the cornerstone of our education programme, advanced technology solutions are prominent throughout the displays of the 1,600 leading manufacturers and suppliers exhibiting at the show,” explained Claudia Konieczna, Exhibition Director – Informa Industrial Group. “This is an acknowledgement that the industry is at a tipping point and will shortly be unrecognisable to the sector of today.
“Though analysts have been unable to drill down into precisely how much of 2025’s forecasted $3.06 trillion global A.I. market will be linked to the energy sector, the benefits for electricity generation and supply are becoming clear with digitised generation and energy retailing being major beneficiaries.”
The report points to the emergence of new platforms which allow generator fleet connection easing the sector’s entry into the IoT era. “Eventually, resultant insights could result in further innovation, no matter what the generation source,” says the report.
Advances identified in the report include smarter wind turbines and grids, as well as A.I. and monitoring systems to detect solar output falls. “The need for more complete data is also driving the industry, which in turn is driving requirements for autonomous surveillance drones, better sensors, cybersecurity protocols, and supply chain optimisation,” says the report. Beneficial outputs identified include more efficient demand response and load aggregation, reduced operation and asset management costs, lower generation capacity needs, as well as greater billing, loading profiling, forecasting and asset loading.
And although A.I. is currently employed for routine tasks, the report predicts its scope is likely to grow as systems improve with new technologies creeping into professional services.
“We are reaching a point where almost everything can be connected and, eventually, will be,” explained Konieczna. “Perhaps more than any other Middle East Electricity in the show’s 44-year history, disruption is in sharp focus throughout all five of the show’s dedicated sub-sectors, whether it be power generation, transmission and distribution, lighting, solar or energy storage and management. The 60,000-plus power sector professionals expected to visit the show will discover thousands of products and innovative technologies energising this essential industry.”
Other transformative technology and practices evolving the power industry will be covered in the two-day ‘Revolutionising Power Generation Conference’, running across both day two and day three (March 6-7) of the event.
Middle East Electricity is held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Deputy Ruler and is hosted by the UAE Ministry of Energy. The event will be open daily from 10-6pm.
