DOE eyes AI use in power sector

TOKYO – The Department of Energy (DOE) is looking at the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to help bolster the power sector’s capabilities in resolving and preventing problems such as power plant outages.

DOE energy utilization management bureau director Patrick Aquino said a Japanese company is offering the technology.

“This Japanese firm has AI capability and it has at least 21 patents. It can process data, whether it’s on outages, whether it’s on making sure the size of transmission is right or the size of energy storage,” Aquino told reporters in an interview.

The DOE official said the technology could provide a faster analysis to identify the causes of plant outages.

Aquino said AI could also help anticipate potential problems.

He said the Japanese company claims over 90 percent accuracy in projections.

“So when I go back, I will share that not only to the DOE secretary, but also the Energy Regulatory Commission,’’ Aquino said.

Aquino said it would be up to the generation companies or the ERC to purchase or subscribe to the service.

The DOE has ventured into utilizing new and emerging technology innovations to continuously raise awareness of the environmental and economic benefits of energy-efficient practices and technologies.

The DOE last year became the first and only department-wide government agency in the country to receive the International Standard Organization 50001:2018 certification for energy management system.

ISO 50001:2018 is an international energy management system standard that provides organizations of any size with a tool to optimize energy performance and promote more efficient energy management systematically.