BC Hydro advances sustainability with AI

Deloitte is supporting BC Hydro, a power utility company that produces a 98% clean electricity system that is sustainable, reliable, and affordable for British Columbians. We are leveraging innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) and grid modernization that will strengthen economic growth and transition the system for today’s world.

“Energy is more than infrastructure. It’s about powering our province,” says Director of Business Planning, Risk, and Performance Jeff Nugent at BC Hydro. “Expanding access to affordable renewable energy isn't just about keeping businesses running. It's about strengthening communities, creating great jobs for skilled workers, and building an economy that works for everyone.”

To scale operations and infrastructure, BC Hydro is investing in its people and leveraging technology.

“Technology will be key to our future. We need to enable our staff and service providers to build our infrastructure faster and to make that infrastructure more resilient,” says Jeff. “For example, we are working with Deloitte to deploy AI and drones to enable remote asset inspection. When fully deployed, this will enable our people to focus on building additional infrastructure and increase system resilience, with less time spent on tedious inspections.”

These AI-driven insights improve worker safety, prevents the damage of transmission lines, while also enhancing the resilience of the electricity system.

“We're flying drones over BC Hydro distribution lines, capturing and labeling images to help them understand whether remote assets such as transmission lines are functioning, understand what asset types those are, and detect potential degradation or unusual features,” explained Partner Nihar Dalmia in Technology & Transformation at Deloitte.

Deloitte is also working collaboratively with BC Hydro to keep its systems cyber secure, set a pathway to deploy the next generation of advanced metering infrastructure, and implement battery energy storage systems.

Customers will ultimately be the biggest winner of this grand energy transition. People across the province will benefit from stronger power lines that are resilient to wildfires and other damage. Also, their meters will provide more detailed insights into their usage. These changes will empower customers to make smarter energy choices and have an even more reliable service all year round.

This relationship is combining BC Hydro’s commitment to clean, reliable power with Deloitte’s extensive experience in technology and innovation. As BC Hydro modernizes the province’s electricity grid, Deloitte is supporting British Columbia’s path toward a more sustainable and resilient electricity system for generations to come.