Around the world, our energy systems are starting to undergo a major transformation. Renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, are increasingly powering our everyday lives, while the effects of climate change are becoming more intense at the same time. Consequently, the way we generate and consume electricity needs to evolve rapidly.
However, while the world is changing, much of the infrastructure that powers it has not. At Schneider Electric, we see a critical gap emerging: legacy systems built for a centralized, fossil-fuel-driven world are not equipped to support the demands of today’s decentralized, digital-first energy landscape. The result? An urgent need to rethink how we design, manage, and protect the energy systems we all rely on.
The grid wasn’t built for today’s challenges
Historically, utilities operated a small number of centralized power plants with built-in redundancies. If something went wrong, they could react quickly and maintain supply. But today’s grid is far more complex.
We now rely on millions of distributed energy resources, from rooftop solar panels to EV batteries to microgrids powering critical infrastructure. While this shift improves sustainability and resilience, it also introduces new vulnerabilities. Traditional systems lack the visibility and control necessary to manage energy flow across numerous dynamic and decentralized sources. In short: the grid wasn’t designed for the type of flexibility our new energy landscape demands.
Resilience requires a rethink
We need a smarter, more adaptive energy management approach, one that prioritizes real-time orchestration, demand-side flexibility, and data-driven decision-making. How will we accomplish this? We see four key ways we can move forward:
- Put prosumers at the core: Homes, businesses, and industrial sites that produce and consume energy must be integrated intelligently.
- AI-powered grid management: AI can analyze millions of data points, forecast behavior, and make real-time decisions that keep the grid balanced, using energy as efficiently as possible. Today’s grid must operate more like a digital ecosystem than a mechanical network. With data inputs, including weather forecasts, consumption patterns, and localized outages, AI becomes essential.
At Schneider Electric, we envision a future where every home and business has its own microgrid controller. These intelligent systems will:
- Learn energy behavior over time
- Coordinate solar, battery, EV, and grid inputs
- Optimize for cost, carbon, and availability
- Enable peer benchmarking and community-wide energy sharing
This type of active management will not only improve reliability, but also make the entire system more resilient to disruptions.
- Storage, flexibility, and modernizing the grid: Electric vehicle batteries can act as buffers when renewable output drops. Schneider Electric is proud to lead the charge in modernizing the grid. Our technology portfolio supports every layer of this new energy landscape:
- Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) for prosumers
- Advanced Distribution Management Systems (ADMS) for utility operators
- Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) for large-scale coordination.
What sets us apart is our ability to integrate everything from sensors and breakers to software and AI into a unified, intelligent energy ecosystem. We are not just digitizing the grid; we are making it more dynamic, flexible, and future-ready.
- Smarter regulation: Policymakers must rethink what utilities can control, and how they can incentivize users to participate in grid stability.
The rapid decentralization of energy has outpaced the regulatory frameworks that govern it. Most energy policies were designed for a centralized model where utilities had clear control over generation, transmission, and distribution. But as energy production shifts to the edge—with millions of independent solar systems, batteries, and electric vehicles entering the grid—the traditional rules no longer apply.
Policymakers now face a critical task: redefining what utilities can control and how they engage with customers in a way that supports grid stability and unlocks the full potential of distributed energy.
- Demand response programs that allow utilities to reduce or shift customer loads during peak times.
- Dynamic pricing models that reflect real-time supply and incentivize customers to use energy when it’s cleaner and more available.
- Grid services markets, where customers can earn revenue by providing flexibility, such as discharging their home battery or reducing air conditioning usage.
A call for grid resilience
As the energy transition accelerates, reliability cannot be an afterthought. Consumers expect the grid to perform better, not worse, in the face of change. Designing for resilience means planning for the realities of climate, complexity, and consumer behavior. It means building systems that are not only sustainable but also adaptive and intelligent.
At Schneider Electric, we believe the energy transition isn’t just about reducing emissions—it’s about increasing confidence in the systems we all depend on.
Explore more about Schneider Electric’s AI strategy, product innovation and use cases by visiting our AI Hub.
If you want to hear more from Peter Weckesser, tune in to this AI at Scale podcast episode: Making an IMPACT with AI.
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