We’ve talked a lot about how big data is being used within industries such as banking and healthcare – but we’re equally fascinated to see how big data is collected and analyzed by other industries. Energy-related companies are creating and deploying big data based projects that are accomplishing everything from the creation of a more intuitive smart grid to helping homeowners be more energy efficient.

The energy sector’s data management issues are the same as those experienced by other industries. Utilities are looking for measurement and analytics systems that enable them to tap real-time information and to use it to take appropriate actions to avoid shortages. Here’s one example: 10 years ago, a real-time measurement system that could provide data from multiple points on the energy grid to avoid a blackout was a pipedream. That’s why, in 2003, the U.S. experienced a massive blackout affecting more than 50 million people in the Northeast and Midwest and even into Canada.

Fast forward to 2013. Today, we have phasor measurement units (PMUs) in place that measure electrical waves on a grid. PMUs are essential components of a smart grid monitoring system, and more than 150 are already installed and running. The first deployment was right in our area at the Bonneville Power Administration, which provides 35 percent of the power in the Pacific Northwest. It established a Wide Area Management System in 2000 to rapidly transfer and digest data collected from PMUs in real-time, enabling it to improve power flow over the grid and minimize power disruptions to consumers.

It’s easy to see how big data algorithms are helping utilities crunch the data from PMUs to learn from the smart grid; however, a massive amount of data is now becoming available to utility companies via homes with smart meters. In a survey conducted by Oracle:

• smart meters were delivering information on outages (78 percent), voltage usage (73 percent), tampering (63 percent) and diagnostics (56 percent).
• responding utility companies see a need to improve their ability to take this information and turn it into actionable intelligence; 64 percent of utilities said it was one of their top three priorities

On the downside, the survey also pinpointed that utilities are still struggling to deal with the mountain of information now at their fingertips; they only rate themselves as 6.7 on a scale of 10 in preparedness, and 50 percent say they have missed opportunities to deliver useful information to customers.

As progress is made in this area, generated data will play a crucial role in tightening smart grid operations. One day in the very near future, real-time data crunching will make the grid self-healing, needing far less hands-on maintenance, reducing disruptions due to weather and safeguarding resources for the future.

The Alacer Group is currently working on a project dealing with big data and energy systems. Watch for more information in the coming months.

by Ed Sarausad