Orbitae - AI by SDG Group: How AI Transforms Modern Utilities

Orbitae - AI by SDG Group: AI as the Engine of Next-Generation Utility Operations

Context:

Utilities (spanning electricity, gas, water, and waste management) are generating unprecedented data volumes from sensors, meters, SCADA systems, IoT devices, distributed energy resources, and field operations. Yet, many organisations still rely on traditional tools, manual processes, and rule-based decision-making.

AI has become the key enabler to:

• Move from reactive to predictive operations
• Convert data into actionable intelligence
• Automate complex decisions in real time
• Orchestrate infrastructure with higher efficiency and lower cost.

Orbitae - AI by SDG Group provides the Utilities sector with advanced AI capabilities tailored to each part of the value chain. Our services and solutions integrate ML models, LLM copilots, anomaly detection engines, optimisation algorithms, and autonomous workflows, allowing your company to modernize how to manage assets, networks, customers, and sustainability.

Main Challenges in the Utilities Industry: Where AI Is Most Needed

1. Low Predictability in Complex Systems

Utilities operate highly variable systems affected by weather, generation intermittency, aging assets, and fluctuating consumption. Traditional forecasting tools and fixed rules cannot anticipate these complexities.

2. Asset Failures and Reactive Maintenance

Unplanned outages, equipment degradation, and maintenance backlogs reduce reliability and increase OPEX—costs that AI can reduce via early detection and prescriptive guidance.

3. Operational Losses and Inefficiencies

Water leakage, non-technical electricity losses, suboptimal pumping, treatment inefficiencies, and waste contamination persist due to limited visibility. AI resolves these with real-time detection and optimisation.

4. ESG & Regulatory Burden

Environmental reporting, emissions tracking, and compliance processes demand data scale and automation that only AI-driven systems can handle reliably.

5. Infrastructure Expansion Under Capex Constraints

Utilities must maximise existing infrastructure capacity without overspending—requiring AI models that simulate scenarios, optimise topology, and guide investments.

How Orbitae Helps: A Deep Dive into Its AI Capabilities for Utilities

1. AI-Powered Predictive & Prescriptive Maintenance

Orbitae uses machine learning models to detect early warning signals of asset degradation across generation, transmission, distribution, and water treatment.

AI capabilities include:

• Remaining Useful Life (RUL) predictions
• Automatic fault classification
• Sensor-based anomaly detection
• Root cause inference powered by LLMs
• Prescriptive actions (optimal timing, spare needs, safety constraints)

This helps Utilities shift from fixed-interval maintenance to dynamic, risk-based programs—reducing outages and maintenance costs.

2. Intelligent Demand and Resource Forecasting

Utility demand is now shaped by volatile climate patterns, DER (Distributed Energy Resources) integration, EV charging, seasonal variations, and consumption behavior.

Orbitae models:

• Forecast electricity, gas, or water consumption from 15 minutes to 7 days ahead
• Predict distributed generation
• Estimate water availability using weather and hydrology data
• Forecast pressure, load, and peak usage across networks
• Simulate net demand scenarios affected by DER/EV penetration

These AI-driven forecasts improve network planning, purchasing decisions, and operational stability.

3. AI-Optimised Network Operations

AI enables Utilities to operate beyond the limits of human judgment or static rules.

Electricity Networks:

• Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) optimise grid topology in real time
• AI reduces renewable curtailment by dynamically rerouting energy
• ML stabilises voltage and balances loads across feeders
• Forecast models identify congestion before it occurs

Water Networks:

• Dynamic pressure optimisation guided by predictive leak risk
• Pump scheduling algorithms minimise energy costs
• AI augments hydraulic models with real-time sensor data

Aqualia

See how Aqualia transformed its water operations through data and AI

Success Story

4. Real-Time AI Anomaly Detection and Loss Reduction

Continuous analysis of high-frequency sensor data to detect anomalies invisible to human operators.

AI detects:

• Water leaks and bursts
• Abnormal flow or pressure patterns
• Chemical dosing inefficiencies in treatment plants
• Non-technical electricity losses
• Meter irregularities and consumption anomalies
• Early contamination indicators in waste processing

This enables Utilities to intervene earlier, reduce revenue losses, and protect service reliability.

5. Generative AI for Operations, Field Work & Knowledge Management

Orbitae solutions integrates LLM-based copilots to augment teams across the organisation.

Use cases:

• Technician assistance: step-by-step fixes, safety guidance, and past-case retrieval
• Operator copilots: real-time network insights and incident explanation
• Customer and citizen virtual assistants for billing, consumption, and alerts
• Automated documentation ingestion and knowledge extraction
• Conversational dashboards for on-demand reporting

These capabilities reduce workload, accelerate response, and democratize insights across business units.

6. AI for Water, Waste & Circular Economy Optimisation

Orbitae solutions can enhance sustainability and resource efficiency with targeted AI solutions:

In Water:

• AI-driven resource abstraction forecasting
• Chemical dosing optimisation
• Water quality anomaly detection
• Consumption pattern analytics
• Automated leak risk prediction

In Waste Management:

• Computer vision to detect and classify contamination
• Route optimisation algorithms for daily collection
• Predictive maintenance for processing equipment
• Commodity price forecasting for recyclables
• Waste-to-energy combustion optimisation

This helps Utilities reduce environmental impact while improving profitability.

7. Autonomous Decision Engines & Optimisation Models

Our services incorporate optimisation algorithms that autonomously determine the most efficient operational scenario.

Examples:

• Plant assignment and routing (logistics)
• Network reconfiguration under constraints
• Optimal storage and reservoir management
• Generation-distribution balancing
• Multi-scenario investment simulations

These engines enable Utilities to make faster and more accurate strategic decisions.

8. AI-Enhanced ESG Reporting and Compliance Automation

Enables automating environmental and sustainability reporting by ingesting data from IoT systems, ERPs, treatment plants, metering, and operational logs.

AI capabilities:

• Automated emission calculations
• Environmental anomaly detection
• Water quality trend prediction
• Circularity metrics modeling
• Automated regulatory report generation

This reduces manual effort, improves accuracy, and increases regulatory readiness.

9. AI-Driven Procurement Optimisation for Utilities

Procurement in Utilities faces growing complexity due to volatile material costs, supply chain disruptions, and the need to align purchases with multi-year infrastructure plans. Orbitae enhances this process with AI-driven forecasting, collaborative workflows, and integrated analytics, turning procurement into a strategic, data-guided function.

Key AI Capabilities:

• AI Forecasting of Procurement Needs
  ML models anticipate material, spare-part, and service needs based on maintenance plans, historical patterns, and operational forecasts reducing emergency sourcing and cost uncertainty.
  
  
• Collaborative & Integrated Workflows
  Operational units submit needs, Procurement consolidates them, and Finance validates budgets within a unified workflow, improving visibility and coordination across the organisation.
  
  
• Scenario Simulation & Strategic Sourcing
  AI evaluates multi-scenario purchasing plans based on demand, price variations, supplier risk, and budget impact supporting smarter sourcing decisions.
  
  
• Process Analytics & Bottleneck Detection
  Automated analytics identify delays, workload peaks, and inefficiencies, guiding targeted improvements and automation opportunities.
  
  

Benefits for Utilities:

• More accurate, proactive procurement planning
• Stronger alignment between Procurement, Operations, and Finance
• Better economies of scale
• Improved visibility into spend and planning performance

Orbitae enables Utilities to build a predictable, efficient, and strategically optimised procurement function that supports operational stability and cost control.

Conclusion

The Utilities sector is at the center of global sustainability, decarbonisation, and digital transformation efforts. Achieving operational excellence, network resilience, resource efficiency, and environmental accountability requires more than traditional data tools—it requires AI at scale.

Orbitae - AI by SDG Group empowers Utilities to:

• Predict instead of react
• Optimise instead of overbuild
• Automate instead of relying on manual rules
• Learn continuously from operations
• Deliver more sustainable and efficient services

AI becomes not just a technological upgrade, but the foundation of the modern Utility: predictive, efficient, data-driven, and ready for future challenges.

Explore the full Orbitae Portfolio of Services and discover how our end-to-end services and solutions can help your organisation accelerate transformation, reduce risks, and maximise value.