Mena electricity sector will be influenced by AI amid digitisation, report says

Adoption of artificial intelligence will result in data analytics to improve plant efficiencies

Mena power capacity is forecast to expand by an average of 6.4 per cent each year between 2018 and 2022. AFP

Artificial Intelligence will influence jobs in power generation, plant operations and maintenance in the Middle East as the adoption of sensors, digitisation and machine learning accelerates, according to a survey.

AI adoption in the region's electricity sector will result in data analytics that will “improve plant efficiencies via improved systems for asset management, control and monitoring and automation”, said a report from Informa Exhibitions released on Sunday.

“Though analysts have been unable to drill down into precisely how much of 2025’s forecasted $3.06 trillion global AI market will be linked to the energy sector, the benefits for electricity generation and supply are becoming clear with digitised generation and energy retailing being major beneficiaries,” said Claudia Konieczna, exhibition director at Informa Industrial Group.

The Middle East and North Africa’s electricity market will need $152 billion (Dh558.3bn) between 2018 and 2022, to finance additional capacity needed for power generation, with a further $108bn required for transmission and distribution, according to the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation, the multilateral development bank focused on the energy sector.

Mena power capacity is forecast to expand by an average of 6.4 per cent each year between 2018 and 2022.

“The need for more complete data is also driving the industry, which in turn is driving requirements for autonomous surveillance drones, better sensors, cybersecurity protocols, and supply chain optimisation,” said the report.