Question

Briefly discus the Particular challenges and opportunities that the Fourth Industrial Revolution poses for the electricity sector

Answer 1

In the course of history we had seen how the Industrial Revolution has changed and shaped the world. It has progressed tremendously since the advent of First Industrial Revolution and we are now moving on to the Fourth and latest Industrial Revolution which the world is now eagerly waiting for. As it promises and gives us hope of a more fulfilled and better world in years to come. It is much more focussed on automation, digitization, smart Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics. The humans are seen to be working in a much more sophisticated and complex technological environment than ever before.

Here we will see the challenges that the Industrial Revolution could bring for the electricity sector -

1. In the years to come with the advent of newer and latest technologies we could see that the energy demand could exceed the supply which will be a big problem for us in future. The more the technological advanced we become the more power we will be requiring unless we find the optimum utilization of our energy needs.
2. It will be a really challenging task to make a highly reliable, economically competitive and environmentally sustainable electricity systems.
3. As the complexity of electricity systems will increase we will require more skilled hands on the system, moreover the technologies will be much more evolved with emerging business models and shifting regulatory landscapes in the future. Therefore the demand for the skilled personnel will be at peak.
4. Decentralization of distribution systems could make the power companies go bleak, as they would find themselves in loss due to the reduced cost of energy due to decentralization. Demand flexibility and energy efficient systems shall save the distribution companies from making losses.
5. It will be a challenging task to build renewable energy sources to supply energy for cutting the carbon credit could be a real hurdle in the economic development of a country. Thus highly reliable and energy efficient systems need to be researched and developed.

The opportunities that the Fourth Industrial Revolution could bring for the electricity sector -

1. First and foremost opportunity that the fourth IR could bring is the digitization of grids with smart meter systems, smart sensors, relays, automated systems and other digital network technologies. They could prove to be a game changer and result in less power shortage, power theft and enhancing reliability of the system.
2. The personnel connected with electricity industries could see an increase in their annual incomes as they will be required more.
3. The demand for energy efficient technologies could rise up and the planet could be once again made environment friendly if the renewable technologies are adopted correctly. The fourth industrial revolution brings a lot of hope for the human beings.
4. Investment in energy sector could increase by four-fold according to UN Economic and Social Council. According to IMF, Industrial Revolution has the power to revolutionize world with the electricity sector at the fore-front.
5. Efficiency, productivity and flexibility of electricity systems would increase in the fourth industrial revolution.

The fourth Industrial revolution has the power to revolutionize world if done correctly and with better electricity sector everything will be better. But if we lacked on our basics to build a sustainable and efficient system than we will loose the fruits of the present IR. Therefore, we must not forget our basics in order to build a technological advanced world. Further, we must check if these technologies are not hurting the planet in any way and to realize this we must give push towards the Research and development.