Digitizing Utilities Prize
Help electric utilities tackle data challenges to advance reliability, resilience, and affordable operation with the Digitizing Utilities Prize!
The $1.1 million Digitizing Utilities Prize—launched by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity—aims to connect utilities with interdisciplinary teams of software developers and data experts to transform digital systems in the energy sector through data analytics, processing, quality assurance, storage, and deletion.
Prize Background
Recent technical advancements in the electronic industry have enabled utilities to collect more data than ever before, challenging traditional methods of data acquisition, use, and storage. Meanwhile, the market for big data analytics products and related services for the utility industry is limited, with only modest electricity domain expertise. Electric sector stakeholders are facing an emerging challenge to capitalize on large data sets while improving reliability, cost-effectiveness, energy efficiency, operations, planning, and asset and outage management.
The Digitizing Utilities Prize supports competitors as they work directly with utility partners to develop software solutions through two phases: Plan and Progress. This approach will drive accelerated development of the most promising ideas.
Phase 1 - Plan
Teams of developers (e.g., software developers, automation engineers, data scientists) formed robust teams to solve one of the utility issues presented. On March 9, the Office of Electricity selected three teams from each track—nine in total—to receive a $75,000 cash prize and advance to Phase 2 of the competition. These Phase 1 winning teams are:
- Occam.ai (Seattle, WA)
- Cadmus (Waynesboro, VA)
- Missouri University (Rolla, MO)
- Red Hawks (Chattanooga, TN)
- ScaLaDe Team (Princeton, NJ)
- Automatility (Cary, NC)
- Electrify USA (Riverside CA)
- Moonshot (Gillette, WY)
- The Sun Team (Orlando, FL)
Phase 2 - Progress
The second phase of the Digitizing Utilities Prize allowed teams to work directly with utility partners to implement their proposals and demonstrate how other utilities could use their software solution in the future. One team from each track received $100,000 in cash prizes. From these finalists, one grand prize winner received an additional $125,000 prize for the winning solution. The winners are:
Track 1 – Load Modeling
Competitors worked with Bonneville Power Administration to use load modeling to help correctly forecast future power demands, specifically addressing the dynamic nature of weather-sensitive loads for residential and commercial buildings. The Track 1 winner is Cadmus from Arlington, VA.
The Data Wave of the Future: This team used machine-learning modeling techniques to provide insights into the distribution network to characterize weather-sensitive loads. This team also used a distributed computing platform to run the models and develop workflows to process and organize the data.
Track 2 – Data Analysis Automation
Competitors worked with Dominion Energy to propose methods for the automation of data analysis to help engineers scrutinize and evaluate a data-driven approach to resolving nuanced complexities across the system. The Track 2 winner is ScaLaDE (Scalable Labeling for Data Enrichment) from Princeton, NJ.
Scalable Labeling for Data Enrichment: This team used machine learning to enrich large datasets with event labels by incorporating domain knowledge from power system experts.
Track 3 – Competitor-Identified Challenge
Competitors with an existing utility partner identified their own digitization or data challenge and proposed solutions. The Track 3 winner is Electrify USA from Riverside, CA.
Expedite Integration of EV in Distribution System: Electrify USA developed an integrated and data-driven planning platform that predicts feeder-level electric vehicle adoption, forecasts charging profiles, and analyzes impacts on the distribution network.
Grand Prize Winner
Each of these winning proposals demonstrated innovative solutions to challenges in the energy industry, but one team stood out among the rest. For the strength of their proposed solution and progress made during Phase 2, DOE selected Electrify USA as the Digitizing Utilities Grand Prize Winner.
Solutions that help shape the future
Are you a thinker, entrepreneur, facility or potential partner? Anyone with an innovative idea can help promote transformation by participating in the American-Made Challenges.
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