Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | SEPTEMBER 2021 | 41 of utilities own operations and assets on the environment – over three-quarters of respondents said their company has intro- duced such goals. Positively, our respondents seemed clear about the areas where they will look internally for the quickest wins in mov- ing towards these targets. Many identi ed opportunities to use technology for optimi- sation of their own renewable energy assets. Meanwhile, digitalisation of eld operations and processes emerged as another critical area of focus for water companies especially – bringing digital innovation to bear in the struggle to tackle process emissions was seen as key. With these focus areas clearly identi- ed, a good proportion of respondents were bullish about their ability to meet organisa- tional decarbonisation targets in a timely way (44 per cent professed themselves to be "extremely" con dent on this front). Contradicting this bravado, however, was a widespread lack of con dence in the avail- ability of robust data about the environmen- tal impact of operations, assets or supply chains on the environment. Over three-quar- ters of our senior utility representatives cited this lack of data as their main cause for concern. And to compound the problem, many also felt that lack of available funds for investing in net zero-focused digital innova- tion could prove a barrier to progress. Expert commentary on the research results suggested that this disconnect between strategic vision and ambition, and the enabling resources for making incre- mental gains in the sustainability of utilities' operations, needs to be swi† ly addressed. However, contributors also warned this will require the adoption of far more agile tech- nology deployment and project management approaches which, in itself, may prove a massive cultural challenge for many in the sector. Jane Gray, content director in association with Comment Mike Heff ner Vice president, solutions and industry go-to-market, Appian T he utilities sector is at a crossroads. As you'll see in this research, the ambition to reduce carbon emissions and move towards a net zero future is high on the agenda for decision-makers, but there's a perilous gap between that ambition, and the culture and large- scale investments seen as necessary to get there. The established approach to meeting a challenge on the scale of net zero is to make big ticket technology investments to demonstrate innovation in the hope that later it's adopted at scale. But in the face of growing pressure to meet carbon neutrality targets can this approach deliver quickly enough? What's needed now is not just aspiration for seismic shi† s, but real, small iterative improvements in operational processes that contribute every day to chipping away at your carbon footprint and improving resilience to climate threats. We're talking about process automation – automating everyday processes now and bigger picture automation, such as carbon modelling, to support better investment decisions. The key to making incremental – but important – changes to operational processes is agile, iterative development. Choose a handful of processes, unpick the itinerant parts – the people, data and systems needed – and then use agile methodologies to improve those processes over time. Change, on the scale needed to ful l most rms' targets, won't happen overnight, but will be achievable through small adjustments that addŒup. As well as unlocking the hidden eŽ ciencies in individual processes, automation can hold the key to making better capital and operational investment decisions. By that, we mean gaining a more uni ed, holistic view across data, systems and processes can bene t business decisions in the here and now - and for years toŒcome. Right now, there are no standard rules or datasets for tracking carbon – part of the problem of innovation in isolation – meaning each rm likely has disparate systems and data. By orchestrating that data in a single work' ow, unifying new systems with legacy, decision-makers have the holistic view they need to make better decisions. That includes understanding where to invest for the future, and how to maximise eŽ ciency in current operations. One of the common pitfalls we hear from energy customers is that legacy data systems don't play well with new investments – or new investments take so much time to bed-in that they are no longer relevant once fully deployed. An organisational stance on unifying and orchestrating data sources with people and systems is needed through something like a low-code development platform, allowing work' ows to be designed, deployed and revised without relying on specialist developers. That's another issue facing the industry: a skills shortage among developers and IT professionals. And, when it comes to realising the intent of carbon neutrality projects, the IT department is o† en at a distance to the business areas most keen to see them through. With low-code, business and IT can work together to describe and implement new work' ows, without relying on line-by-line coding. That saves time and can bring governance and compliance around the same table, ensuring that work' ows are created to truly meet their goals. Speed and agility have never been more important in IT for the utilities sector, as you'll see in this report. With the right approach, digital can acceler- ate zero carbon initiatives, without waiting for larger capital investments or cross-industry agreement. "Small, incremental steps can take you a long way in your net zero journey." A Utility Week research report in association with Appian Net zero and technology strategies in UK utilities Digital Transformation Tr ansformed Download the report Download the report Digital Transformation Transformed free at: https://utilityweek. co.uk/net-zero-and-digital-transformation- changing-expectations/

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