We couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to host our second annual Itron Inspire APAC! Taking place virtually on July 26 and 27, this year’s event is focused on equipping utilities, cities and municipalities with the tools and solutions they need to solve their most pressing challenges. The virtual event will address current realities for utilities and cities in the Asia-Pacific region, including the increased strain on the power grid, the realities of climate change, the need for more visibility at the grid edge and elevated consumer expectations, just to name a few.

We look forward to joining our partners, customers and prospects to go deeper into the following industry trends and opportunities at Itron Inspire APAC.

Responding to the Energy Crisis
For the first time in many years, Australians were told to switch off their lights to conserve energy. With the cost of fossil fuels rapidly increasing and supply challenges remaining unpredictable, utilities and municipalities are faced with the possibility of load shedding that translates to potential blackouts. Australia is not alone in this challenge, as India is also facing consumer demand outstripping supply. Utilities across the APAC region must adapt to the rapidly rising cost of fossil fuel resources by seeking other sources of energy to ensure they can continue serving their customers.

Prioritizing Decarbonization
With Japan, China and India experiencing heatwaves with record high temperatures, and extreme weather impacting utilities in APAC and around the world, decarbonization of our energy supply has become a key area of focus. This is driving transformational thinking about energy infrastructure. Utilities have the opportunity to utilize greener and more sustainable sources of energy that help to mitigate climate change rather than accelerate it.

Adopting Distributed Energy Resources
As the need to work toward decarbonization continues to grow, so does the integration of renewable and distributed energy resources (DERs). For example, Australia is forecast to generate 50% of electricity from renewables by 2025 and 69% by 2030 – the vast majority from roof top solar. The increase in renewable energy sources presents additional challenges for utilities and cities to effectively maintain power quality, balance supply and demand and ensure adequate distribution capacity. Flexible connectivity, cyber security and real-time analytics are needed to ensure DER operations and grid conditions remain efficient, optimized and able to respond to the growing influx.

Additionally, utilities will need to prepare for an increased adoption of EVs. McKinsey forecast that globally total power consumption will triple by 2050 primarily due to EV adoption and increased standards of living. At the same time, renewables are forecast to account for 85% of base load.

Preserving our Most Precious Resource
From India to Indonesia and Australia, utilities are tasked with reducing water loss and enhancing conservation programs as weather patterns of droughts and soaring temperatures ultimately lead to water scarcity. In addition, on average, more than a third of water pumped through distribution systems is lost to water leakage. Now more than ever before, it is critical for utilities and cities to ensure leak detection and analytics solutions are in place to make every drop count.

Reimagining Smart Cities
As utilities and cities navigate unprecedented challenges, they must continue working to improve services and meet sustainability goals for a more connected future. This is where smart cities come into play. By laying the foundation with industrial IoT solutions, smart cities can ease traffic congestion, mitigate crime, enhance outage detection, accelerate energy response and disaster restoration and more.

Deploying Intelligent Connectivity
Although all of these challenges are different, they have one thing in common: the need for more visibility. New technologies and digital solutions can provide revolutionary transparency at the grid edge, allowing utilities and cities to anticipate conditions in the future and respond to them quickly in real time. This also equips utilities with the insights they need to communicate to their customers for more informed energy usage.

To keep up with live updates throughout the conference, follow Itron and #ItronInspireAPAC22 on social media. There is no charge to attend and event registration is open. For more information, visit Itron Inspire | APAC.