Hari Suthan
Chief Strategic Growth Officer, Opus One Solutions
We rely on utilities to power our electrified lives, and tech companies like Opus One Solutions are ensuring that technology and analytics enable optimization of the grid, leading to cost savings and its de-carbonization.
As society relies heavily on electricity and diverse sources of renewable energy, it’s time to ask if the code that manages our energy infrastructure is overdue for an upgrade. According to the Canadian software and engineering company Opus One Solutions, it certainly is.
Opus One provides that upgrade both here at home and in countries around the globe with a smart analytics software platform for energy utility companies. “Software has transformed economies throughout the world over the last 20 years, but that sort of transformation hasn’t happened in the world of energy, nor in relation to utility companies,” shares Hari Suthan, Opus One’s Chief of Strategic Growth. “In particular, the adoption of software by utilities to increase efficiency and provide analytics for better decision-making hasn’t been as robust as it has in other sectors.”
As new technologies like electric vehicles and distributed renewable generation continue to advance and grow the complexity of the grid, the digital brains of the operation need to be as future-forward as the vision. With managing electricity infrastructure already a daunting task, intelligent analytics and planning software is key to ensuring that this transition maximizes efficiency rather than simply adding complexity.
An era of change and a moment for reinvention
While much of the world has felt like it’s been standing still for the last nine months, the energy sector has had to face the changing times head-on. After all, we can’t work from home without a reliable grid. “Energy consumption has gone down during the COVID-19 pandemic globally and in Canada, but renewable and distributed energy resources are coming online nonetheless and government mandates to transition and decarbonize the energy system remain unchanged,” says Suthan. “As much as utilities need to think about keeping the lights on during the pandemic, they’re also looking at it as a time to optimize their resources more efficiently while lowering costs.”
For Opus One, the past year has been one with the nose planted solidly on the grindstone, as skyrocketing global demand for its products and services landed it on the Global Cleantech 100, an annually refreshed list of the top 100 private innovation companies in clean technology. With the right government and industry support, this is a shining example of home-grown business growth, economic recovery, and job creation looking past the COVID-19 pandemic. The world is never going to be the same after this year, and companies that aren’t ready for change are likely to fall behind.
“Our best year globally was 2020, despite the difficulties this year has presented,” says Suthan. “This year alone, we signed deals in the U.K., Europe, and Singapore, grew our presence in the U.S., and we’re finishing it with a project in India. In 2019, we had no clue the pandemic would hit but we had the right vision for today’s energy landscape, and our efforts have paid off. This year also prompted utility companies to implement new solutions that help them move closer to their vision of building a more energy-efficient planet.”
