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Matt Chester
Matt Chester
Energy Central Team
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Navigating the Hype Cycle of AI, DERMS, & the Utility of Tomorrow – Insights from CGI’s Peter Barnes at DistribuTECH 2025

We all know it: The utility sector is undergoing a period of rapid transformation. That makes separating the real from the fantastical of future possibilities more and more difficult. So how can utility leaders cut through the noise to identify the solutions that are truly critical?

At the annual DistribuTECH conference held in Dallas, Texas this year, we asked just that of Peter Barnes, Director of Utility Solutions and Services at CGI, in a one-on-one interview.

Throughout the interview, one conclusion rang clear: Artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies dominating the conversations are no longer just buzzy catch phrases. Utilities are taking a deeper look at the true value these technologies can add and the business challenges they can actually help solve.

 

The Evolution of Outage Management with Modern Tech

According to Barnes, outage management is one of the core mandates of the utility industry. Historically, achieving this mandate has been primarily a reactive, all-hands-on-deck approach to minimizing downtime.

Now, though, industry partners, such as CGI, have developed technologies to make it easier to achieve that mandate, leveraging tools such as AI. The shift toward integrating AI into all aspects of utility systems allows for unprecedented improvements to efficiency and uptime. Barnes said his team “took 10 years of outage management data and ran it through machine learning to see what insights we could extract.” That previously unavailable scale of learning allows utilities to identify new strategies, implementations, and results in minimizing outages.

DERMS: Orchestrating a More Resilient Grid

AI is flashy, but it doesn’t eliminate the importance of advanced operational technology (OT) like distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS), which is a top priority in managing grid instability and integrating energy storage solutions, per Barnes. DERMS can provide utilities:

  • Awareness (e.g., visibility into new distributed assets connected to the grid)
  • Control (e.g., management of DERs individually or in aggregation)
  • Compensation (e.g., ensuring DERs are monetized fairly)

Echoing a common sentiment at DistribuTECH, Barnes highlighted that utilities are moving away from a central control and operating system on the grid, instead positioning intelligent nodes throughout the grid that allow for orchestrated grid flexibility. “Utilities are realizing that DERMS isn’t just an operational tool,” Barnes said. “It’s essential for market participation and grid services.”

 

The AI Reality Check: Beyond the Hype

AI integration is great in theory, but what about practice? Barnes expressed uncertainty about some of the most ambitious suggestions of where AI will be in the near-term: “I have a lot of skepticism when it comes to concepts like self-healing networks, because I think there are real-world constraints,” he said.

According to Barnes, more realistic and exciting opportunities exist in the world of AI-enhanced fieldwork. AI can enable workers with chatbots trained on thousands of pages of manuals, facilitate the use of voice-command systems to make their jobs easier, and incorporate predictive analytics that minimize mistakes and increase operational productivity.

Looking ahead: Barnes said we haven’t even begun to imagine what will be possible in the coming years using AI tools like large language models (LLMs). “What’s less than scratching the surface?” Barnes asked before sharing the way AI has continually created more possibilities than he had imagined. “Week to week, new capabilities are being introduced, and the pace of advancement is staggering. Something groundbreaking today will feel outdated in just six months. A perfect example is AI-driven deep research—being able to generate comprehensive 50-page reports from minimal prompts. This capability isn't shrinking; it's expanding, and its integration into everyday workflows will be truly transformational. For the utility industry, like every other sector, AI-driven interactions will become more intuitive and fundamentally change the way we operate."

 

Bridging the Business vs. IT Divide

With all that wide-open possibility, it’s easy to wonder: How do we implement AI in the real business world? Barnes said the biggest challenge to AI adoption is persistent organizational silos. Business teams, IT departments, and OT groups often struggle to collaborate, leading to inefficiencies and stalling innovation. These internal battles can slow down the deployment of AI-driven solutions, even when the technology is ready to deliver value.

To overcome this, utilities are turning to industry experts who understand both the business and technical sides of the equation. “Utilities need more than tech solutions,” Barnes said. “They need business solutions and partners who understand both the business and IT side of the equation.”

 

The Path Forward

AI, DERMS, and other digital technologies continually making headlines are no longer futuristic concepts; they are actively shaping utility operations. The next wave of progress will focus on refining AI-driven insights, improving data integrity, and integrating hybrid cloud approaches.

Bottom line: Barnes said the outlook is simpler than it seems. The utilities that succeed will be those that focus on practical, customer-centered metrics rather than hype. “The future utility isn’t one that just reacts,” he said. “It’s one that proactively manages resources through AI and advanced operational technology like DERMS.”

 

All week, Energy Central is publishing our series of conversations from DistribuTECH 2025. You can see them all as they go live at this landing page. 

Other published interviews: