At the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, Crystol Energy CEO Dr Carole Nakhle moderated a high level discussion on how digitalisation can help electricity systems keep up with fast rising demand while limiting costly grid build outs. The session, titled Minimising grid expansion costs through effective digitalisation, explored how operators and policymakers can shift from a build more mindset to a do more with less approach. As demand grows, driven by AI, data centres, electrification, and digital technologies, the panel focused on how better data, visibility, and smarter operations can unlock hidden capacity and defer investment without compromising reliability.
Key takeaways included
- Digitalisation is shifting the grid playbook from static planning to dynamic operations that can reduce or defer CAPEX
- Advanced forecasting and real time monitoring can unlock hidden capacity by improving visibility across the network
- AI and analytics are helping utilities make better investment decisions and prioritise upgrades where they deliver the most value
- Digital twins are moving from planning tools to operational tools that can strengthen congestion management, outage prediction, and asset utilisation
- Better coordination between transmission and distribution can reduce bottlenecks, lower curtailment, and improve overall system efficiency
- Technology alone does not deliver impact unless policy choices, data governance, and operational mindsets evolve in parallel
Panellists included Saif Al Katheeri, Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, Mohammed Al Taani, Arab Renewable Energy Commission, Amit Ghulani, Esyasoft, Carlos Alvarez, Huawei Digital Power, and Lubo Minchev, Telelink Infra.
