07-05-2025
Learn How AI Helps This Energy Company Boost Efficiency
Queenslanders love a road trip, so Sarah Zeljko, chair of Energy Queensland, decided to run with the theme as she described her company's exciting transition to renewables. She was on stage at the recent SAP for Energy and Utilities 2025 conference in Rotterdam to share her company's dreams for an electric future powered by technology, innovation, and people.
Mapping the journey
'Such a transition is often perceived as a long and winding road,' said Zeljko. 'The journey is on unmarked territory with planned and unplanned pit stops. We have a carload of adventurers, innovators, planners, and navigators, along with some weary travelers, and some who didn't want to leave home in the first place. We all have to run very fast up a very big hill to get this done.'
With 1.7 million square kilometers, Queensland is the second largest state in Australia. It's nearly two and a half times the size of Texas, and it takes 32 hours to drive across. It's also known as the country's 'Sunshine State,' so it's not surprising it boasts the world's leading rates in rooftop solar. Zeljko's presentation was accompanied by impressive images of rows and rows of houses, almost every second one topped by rooftop solar panels.
The spread of rooftop solar Energy Queensland
Energy Queensland serves 2.3 million customers, 97% living in coastal cities with the remaining 3% spread across the vast territory, requiring an expansive infrastructure. The company manages more than 180,000 square kilometers of powerlines, including 1.7 million utility poles.
In this landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) is a game-changer for forecasting, optimization, and customer service, though it comes with cybersecurity challenges.
'Although we were late to the game, we clearly appreciate the transformative potential of AI in enhancing energy efficiency, optimizing the power grid, and improving cybersecurity,' said Zeljko, who says her job is really to look at the big picture. 'For us, it means increasing innovation and developing partnerships to realize a sustainable and resilient energy landscape.'
Changing the game
With 9,500 employees, the company is a major employer in Queensland. It's at the absolute forefront of providing a critical service, in good times and in times of disasters. No longer just a poles and wires business, the company is leading the country in pilots and trials, working with the industry to enable greater flexibility in the way people use energy.
For a long time, discussions were all about large-scale generation, both coal-fired and renewables, and the large transmission infrastructure needed to transport electricity to homes and businesses. The system was originally designed for a one-way flow of electricity, but the bookend of the electricity flow has really started to shine.
'Now, customers are also generators, selling electricity they created back into the grid,' she explained. 'Homes, neighborhood batteries, and electric vehicles are all using a grid that was designed to go one way, and suddenly we have a grid that flows two ways, something that was totally unthinkable not so long ago.'
The energy industry has evolved rapidly and data drives decisions. In the past, Energy Queensland had about 50,000 points of information coming in at about 30-minute intervals, whereas now it can have 2.4 million pieces of information at one-to-five-minute intervals.
While artificial intelligence can drive efficiency and productivity in this environment, new opportunities come with heightened risk.
'We must keep our eyes wide open to the potential pitfalls of this emerging technology,' said Zeljko. 'We have significant obligations to safeguard ourselves against cyber threats and bad actors. As AI becomes more integrated into the energy sector, our obligations extend to ensuring AI systems are secure and resilient against manipulation.'
Deploying technology
Sharyn Scriven, the CIO of Energy Queensland, emphasized the critical role of technology in enhancing productivity and safety, particularly during storms and cyclones, through mobile-enabled field applications and the use of new technology such as camera equipped drones for damage assessment.
The integration of SAP solutions since 2016 has been equally critical. 'Our SAP implementation has positively impacted the workforce and reduced task turnaround times,' Scriven explained. 'We were able to reduce complexity and modernize the technology landscape for better business agility.'
Scriven also highlighted the importance of transitioning to RISE with SAP, a guided journey to move from on-premise to the cloud, to quickly unlock the full potential of SAP Business Suite.
Key focus areas for Scriven's team include:
Ensuring appropriate Executive sponsorship for business led / digital enabled projects
Process standardization and a Clean Core goal
Data cleansing and de-duplication
Understanding business readiness and change impacts ahead of any technology change
Implementing a 'show, don't tell' approach enabling staff to get 'hands on' with new technology
'The transition to RISE with SAP was initiated as the timing was right,' said Scriven. 'We had a window of opportunity in our delivery program, further supported by our need to adhere to the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act, also adhered to by SAP.'
Having laid the groundwork with IT systems that are fit for purpose and not overly complex, Energy Queensland is set to leverage AI for greater operational efficiency and better decision-making. That's how the company is playing a critical role in shaping the future of energy.
Follow me on LinkedIn: Judith Magyar
