Event Themes

he co-location of POWERGEN Asia, Asian Utility Week, DISTRIBUTECH Asia, SolarVision and Energy Capital Leaders provides you with one show covering the whole value chain of power - from generation to transmission and distribution to its digital transformation. The combination of these leading energy shows will bring an unprecedented authority, with insights shared by the world’s most forward-thinking experts and innovators. Here you will discover the future of Asia's Power & Energy industry.

Integrating Process Efficiency and Energy Management

In terms of energy efficiency the drive to do more with less is more important than ever, if we are to achieve growth while avoiding the destruction of our planet. Progress on energy efficiency has been striking yet the potential is still vast. In the world of infrastructure, workforce productivity and effective asset maintenance can be combined with lean asset design. All too often assets are “gold plated” and bespoke. By focusing on a standard design, greater efficiency can be built in. As consumers become more technology and energy-savvy, they are making concerted efforts not just to reduce overall usage but also to get more value out of whatever consumption remains. This efficiency-obsessed zeitgeist is in no way limited to utilities, but its impact in the space is profound, nonetheless.

The Energy Transition to Non Carbon Energy

The energy transition is a pathway toward transformation of the global energy sector from fossil-based to zero-carbon. The energy transition will be enabled by information technology, smart technology, policy frameworks and market instruments. Renewable energy and energy efficiency measures can potentially achieve 90% of the required carbon reductions. Renewable energy sources and the companies working to develop them are breaking the stranglehold of traditional power brokers (literally) on the industry. More energy sources controlled by a greater number of energy suppliers means stiffer competition; that old familiar fixture of market disruption should not be underestimated.

Innovation Strategies in the Unregulated Business Space

From generation to demand, every aspect of energy company operations is subject to calls for innovation and reinvention, thanks to several market disruptors. These disruptions are bearing down on the energy industry and exerting a transformative effect. As with any market disruption, industry leaders have the most to lose. These companies have a lot of road to cover if they are to shake old habits and positively embrace change. New developments are unlocking potential right across the energy sector, creating opportunities for those who can adapt and scale fast. That said, it is important to bear in mind that innovation does not necessarily come from new technology; in many cases it can be from a radically new approach to a problem, which results in a new business model or operating procedure. The utility sector seeks to tap on technology start-ups to co-develop and deploy innovative solutions that drive improvements in resource productivity and asset efficiency, while also offering new services in the unregulated business space (e.g. solar & storage services, energy efficiency audits, district cooling, implementing smart metering).

Adjusting to a Competitive Retail Electricity Market

In the past, the electricity used in homes and businesses was sold only by the monopolistic power company in each region and families and businesses were not able to choose which company to buy their electricity from. A liberalised retail market allows new electricity suppliers to sell directly to retail customers. There are many benefits of a liberalised retail electricity market for consumers. These include more competitive prices and greater flexibility for consumers to manage their energy use. With higher living standards and more technological advances, consumers are increasingly considering plans that better match their consumption patterns and preferences – and these may not be the cheapest ones. It is thus vital for electricity retailers to remain forward looking and nimble to adapt to these changes, in order to remain relevant and competitive in the market. Japan and Singapore have both recently opened up their retail markets. Malaysia is likely to do so in 2 years.

Implementing Digital Transformation Across the Enterprise

The power and utilities industry is on the cusp of transformation driven by technological advances, decreasing energy intensity, heightened environmental awareness, and evolving customer expectations. Although the power and utilities business model has remained relatively unchanged over the past century, traditional electricity utility providers are not exempt from the growing influence of these transformational forces. Exponential growth in technological capabilities and evolving customer expectations lie at the heart of a fundamental change taking place in the relationship between power and utilities providers and consumers. Deployment of smart energy meters throughout consumer operations and the integration of a smart grid within existing energy infrastructure are just two examples of digital transformation investments undertaken by SE Asian utilities.

Grid Edge Intelligence for Distributed Energy Resource Integration

Electriﬁcation, decentralization and digitalization are converging to create a smarter and more connected electric system that promises to increase reliability, security, environmental sustainability and asset utilization, while opening new opportunities for services and business, especially downstream. This transformation and the grid-edge technologies enabling it will require changes in customer behaviour, blur the traditional boundaries between producers, distributors and consumers, and make the management of the system more complex. Utilities will need to work with regulators to update the rules governing the industry if they are to foster innovation, open new roles for distribution network operators and facilitate the integration of distributed energy resources.

Meeting Changing Customer Needs and the Customer-Centric Utility

Electric utilities recognize the need for new distribution network technologies to accommodate sustainable growth and customers’ growing interest in grid-connected, customer-owned technologies such as solar rooftops and home/building energy management systems, and smart devices such as appliances. As policies that concern these technologies – customer choice, emissions reductions, weather-related outage response – begin to unfold around the world, a fundamentally different approach to the electric distribution grid is needed.

The ever more interconnected world - 5G and The Internet of Energy

5G communications technology will underpin the Fourth Industrial Revolution, where the confluence of ubiquitous mobile broadband, pervasive sensing, and artificial intelligence promises to drive massive change across industry and society. This coming generation of wireless communications, in global pilots even as standards are still being shaped, promises to make the Internet of Things (IoT)—and of Energy (IoE)—a reality. For power utilities, 5G’s flexible, multi-spectrum, multi-function architecture will provide a platform able to support critical latency-sensitive applications as well as low power, low cost applications such as ubiquitous sensing throughout the distribution grid. It will enable smart fleet management and employ edge computing and cloud technologies for distributed automation and intelligent control. Virtualization of network aspects will allow carriers to provide greater security, signal prioritization, and quality of service (QoS) to utilities, alleviating past concerns about public networks.

Regulators & Financiers Role in Developing Utility Business Models

It is widely accepted that regulation is often failing to produce the outcomes intended and is adding to uncertainty. Politicians and policy-makers need to reconsider renewable energy and energy conservation efforts as their main recourse in combating climate change. These regulations influence trends, project finance and innovation strategies for utilities in our region. Advancing efficient and equitable approaches to update the utility business model—motivated by emerging technological, policy and market conditions in the electric power sector—is crucial to the grid’s transition to a more secure, clean and affordable customer-centric system.