For British Columbians curious to know what the future holds for energy generation and usage in this province, a tech summit in Vancouver this week promised some answers. Schneider Electric, a multinational energy technology company, has been hosting “Innovation Day” events in major cities across Canada in recent weeks. On Tuesday, at the Pan Pacific Hotel, it was Vancouver’s turn. The event offered attendees insights into the possibilities of a future where artificial intelligence is deployed in managing electricity usage and other forms of energy. Emily Heitman, president of Schneider Electric Canada, told CTV News at the event that with all the technological advancement the world is experiencing, she is optimistic that the future of clean energy in this country includes B.C. “We look at B.C., in particular, we have such an abundance of clean energy, and the demand is growing every single day from new technologies and the investments in AI data centres and new infrastructure builds, population growth,” Heitman said. The event brought to life some of the newest technologies in the market aimed at helping individuals, industries and cities address growing electricity demand. Heitman explained that the focus shouldn’t be on just the challenge of generating more electricity, but on being more efficient. “It’s about, ‘How do we use the energy that we have smarter?’” she said. According to Heitman, smarter energy use includes being able to deploy technology to cut the cost of your electricity consumption, while tracking usage and redirecting unused electricity to other areas. “Today, Canada wastes 50 per cent of the energy that we generate,” Heitman said. She says the solution is to be able to combine digital technology with existing electrical infrastructure to cut that waste. Currently, the Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions website suggests B.C. “expects electricity demand to rise significantly in the coming decades, by approximately 50 per cent by 2050.” With increased demand comes strain on power grids and supply. Innovation Day featured three sectors: home, cities, and industries, to show how electrification, digitization, and automation could work to lower energy waste and power bills. On display at the event were prototypes of a smart home thermostat that’s expected to be in the market early next year. There were also demonstrations of an EV charging station, AI data centre cooling and a made-in-Canada switchgear.
