ESB has the goal of driving Ireland to Net Zero by 2040. To do this, the company nearing its 100th anniversary have turned to AI to transform itself to a true digital utility. In just a few years, the company has gone from having no analytics department at all to producing multi-award winning AI and analytics projects and becoming a key cornerstone of the company's strategy. This session will explore how a traditionally risk-averse company are using AI and computer vision in particular to aid the roll-out of smart meters across the country, map the entire utility pole network, identify overhead wires and pylons which require attention, audit networks furniture from utility poles to minipillars and reduce the need for rolling manual inspections. And how the fostering of a data culture drove this adoption. The talk will show how real use-cases have been used on a nationwide roll-out and how a company that went from being seen as and old-age monolith to being ranked as the best employer for analytics in Ireland. 

Key Takeaways

• How to develop real use cases that provide tangible benefits to the company and society
• How ESB's development of a Data Culture Committee sparked collaboration across the business in the generation of innovative ideas
• Key leadership can be influenced through rapid prototyping and internal marketing by the analytics team