Energy & Utilities

Agentic AI Implementation Guide

Document ID: B10-ENERGY-UTILITIES
Version: 1.0
Category: Industry Vertical

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Sector Overview

Characteristic	Description
Criticality	Essential infrastructure, high reliability
Regulatory Burden	Heavy (NERC, FERC, state PUCs)
Safety Requirements	Extreme (worker safety, public safety)
Asset Complexity	Vast distributed infrastructure
Data Volume	Massive (smart meters, SCADA, sensors)
Workforce Challenges	Aging workforce, knowledge transfer

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Primary Use Cases

1. Grid Operations Support (GS + VE)

Application: Operations decision support

Paradigm: GS (data retrieval) + VE (protocol compliance)

Use Cases:
- Outage response coordination
- Load balancing recommendations
- Switching order validation
- Restoration prioritization

Knowledge Base:
- Grid topology
- Operating procedures
- Equipment specifications
- Historical incidents
- Weather forecasts

Critical Safety Note:

AGENTIC AI IN GRID OPERATIONS:
- NEVER autonomously switch equipment
- ALWAYS require human confirmation
- Provide recommendations only
- Document all suggestions and decisions
- Fail safe to human control

2. Regulatory Compliance (VE)

Application: Compliance documentation and reporting

Protocol: NERC_COMPLIANCE_V1

Step 1: Evidence Collection
- Gather required documentation
- Extract relevant data
- Validate completeness

Step 2: Standard Mapping
- Map evidence to requirements
- Identify gaps
- Flag exceptions

Step 3: Report Generation
- Format per regulatory requirements
- Include required attestations
- Generate supporting exhibits

Step 4: Review Preparation
- Compile audit packages
- Prepare response templates
- Track remediation items

Standards Covered:
- CIP (Critical Infrastructure Protection)
- O&P (Operations & Planning)
- TPL (Transmission Planning)
- FAC (Facilities)

3. Customer Service (GS)

Application: Utility customer support

Capabilities:
- Bill explanation
- Usage analysis
- Outage information
- Service requests
- Rate comparison
- Program enrollment

Knowledge Base:
- Rate structures
- Billing policies
- Service territory maps
- Program eligibility
- FAQ database

Example Interaction:

Customer: "My bill is $150 higher than last month. Why?"

Agent: I can see your bill increased from $180 to $330. 
       Here's what I found:

       1. Usage increased 45% (1,200 kWh → 1,740 kWh)
          - This period was 15% hotter than last year
          - Likely increased A/C usage
       
       2. You moved to Tier 2 pricing
          - First 1,000 kWh at $0.12
          - Next 740 kWh at $0.18 (higher tier)
       
       Suggestions:
       - Enroll in budget billing ($255/month avg)
       - Schedule free energy audit
       - Consider time-of-use rate (could save $30/month)
       
       Would you like help with any of these?

4. Field Service Optimization (EP)

Application: Work order management and dispatch

Paradigm: EP (adaptive planning)

Optimization Factors:
- Crew skills and certifications
- Equipment availability
- Geographic routing
- Priority/urgency
- Weather windows
- Permit requirements

Learning Loop:
- Track actual vs. estimated duration
- Identify patterns in delays
- Adjust future estimates
- Optimize crew assignments

5. Asset Management (GS + EP)

Application: Predictive maintenance and planning

Phase 1 (GS): Asset Intelligence
- Retrieve asset history
- Analyze failure patterns
- Compare to fleet
- Identify risk factors

Phase 2 (EP): Decision Support
- Recommend maintenance actions
- Prioritize investments
- Scenario analysis
- Budget optimization

Data Sources:
- Inspection records
- Sensor data
- Work order history
- Manufacturer specs
- Industry benchmarks

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Safety-Critical Considerations

Never Automate

Activity	Reason
Equipment switching	Life safety risk
Load shedding decisions	Reliability impacts
Safety protocol bypasses	Worker safety
Emergency response	Requires human judgment

Recommend Only

Activity	Human Role
Switching sequences	Operator confirms each step
Maintenance priorities	Engineer approves
Outage response	Supervisor directs
Investment decisions	Management approves

Automation Appropriate

Activity	Automation Level
Data collection	Fully automated
Report generation	Automated with review
Customer service	High automation
Scheduling optimization	Recommendation + approval

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Compliance Framework

NERC CIP Requirements

Standard	Agentic Consideration
CIP-002	Identify BES Cyber Systems
CIP-003	Security management controls
CIP-004	Personnel and training
CIP-005	Electronic security perimeters
CIP-007	System security management
CIP-011	Information protection

Data Classification:

BES CYBER SYSTEM INFORMATION (BCSI):
- Network diagrams
- Security configurations  
- Recovery procedures

PROTECTION:
- Agent must not retain BCSI
- Access logged and audited
- Query-only, no persistent storage
- Encryption in transit

State PUC Considerations

CUSTOMER DATA PROTECTIONS:
- Usage data considered private
- Customer consent for sharing
- Aggregation thresholds
- Third-party restrictions

RATE CASE DOCUMENTATION:
- Audit trail for calculations
- Methodology documentation
- Data source verification

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Architecture: Utility-Grade

Availability Requirements

Tier 1: Customer Service
- 99.9% availability
- Degraded mode acceptable
- Can fail over to human

Tier 2: Operations Support
- 99.99% availability
- Redundant deployment
- Fallback procedures required

Tier 3: Grid Operations
- 99.999% availability
- Air-gapped option
- Human override always available

Data Integration

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│            Operational Systems               │
│   (SCADA, EMS, OMS, DMS, GIS, AMI)          │
└─────────────────────┬───────────────────────┘
                      │ (Read-Only)
┌─────────────────────▼───────────────────────┐
│         Data Integration Layer               │
│     (Historian, Data Lake, APIs)            │
└─────────────────────┬───────────────────────┘
                      │
┌─────────────────────▼───────────────────────┐
│          Agentic AI Platform                 │
│    (Isolated, No Write to OT Systems)       │
└─────────────────────┬───────────────────────┘
                      │
    ┌─────────────────┼─────────────────┐
    ▼                 ▼                 ▼
┌─────────┐     ┌─────────┐     ┌─────────┐
│Customer │     │ Field   │     │  Ops    │
│ Service │     │ Service │     │ Support │
└─────────┘     └─────────┘     └─────────┘

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ROI Framework

Operational Efficiency

Area	Typical Improvement
Customer call handling	50% automation
Compliance documentation	60% time reduction
Field scheduling	15% productivity gain
Report generation	80% time reduction

Risk Reduction

Risk Area	Mitigation
Compliance violations	Earlier detection
Equipment failures	Predictive identification
Customer complaints	Faster resolution
Knowledge loss	Institutional memory capture

Sample Business Case

500,000 Customer Utility

Customer Service:
- Current: 50 agents, $2.5M/year
- With AI: 25 agents + AI, $1.5M/year
- Savings: $1M/year

Compliance:
- Current: 10 FTE, $1.5M/year
- With AI: 5 FTE + AI, $1M/year
- Savings: $500K/year

Field Operations:
- Current efficiency: 5.2 jobs/crew/day
- With AI: 6.0 jobs/crew/day (+15%)
- Value: $800K/year

Total Annual Benefit: $2.3M
Technology Investment: $400K/year
Net Benefit: $1.9M/year

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Document maintained by CODITECT Energy Practice