The union minister for power and new and renewable energy has launched Powerthon-2022, a hackathon competition to find innovative solutions based on advanced emerging technologies in the power distribution segment.
The emerging solutions will be based on artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), blockchain, internet of things (IOT), virtual reality (VR)/augmented reality (AR) etc. The minister has encouraged technologists to come forward with solutions to existing problems and also with other problem statements and ideas for reliable power supply. The ideas and concepts will be rewarded with licence and development of prototypes will also be fostered. Technology solution providers (TSPs), start-ups, educational institutions, research institute, equipment manufacturers, state power utilities and other state and central power sector entities, shall be briefed on the current challenges and problem statements faced across the power distribution sector and invited to participate and showcase their technology driven solutions to solve the complex problems. The nine broad aspects for pilot testing include demand/load forecasting, aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) loss reduction, energy theft detection, prediction of distribution transformer failure, asset inspection, vegetation management, consumer experience enhancement, renewable energy integration, and power purchase optimisation.