The NY PSC has ordered all electric, gas, and water utilities to report how they use AI, and their policies around it. The Commission’s concerns? That AI systems could have “negative consequences for the safety and reliability of New York’s critical infrastructure," the PSC wrote in its order.
Not so fast: Nearly 90% of US utility leaders agree that their ability to incorporate AI is limited by “regulatory and rate case frameworks,” according to a recent National Grid Partners survey. They cite cybersecurity, risk and trust concerns as one of the biggest challenges in scaling AI.
The tradeoffs: Utilities are using the new tech, even though the costs of building infrastructure to run AI are raising customer bills and “compromising grid reliability.” But still: "AI presents significant opportunities to deliver value for customers, including enhancing grid operations, reliability, and storm response,” Edison Electric Institute told Energy Central.
Fri, Sep 25