The power generation sector is at a crossroads. To meet the growing global demand for electricity, companies in this sector must safely and reliably increase production while reducing operations, maintenance, and administration (OM&A) costs and adhering to regulatory requirements. At the same time, the industry is facing a shortage of skilled and experienced workforce due to demographic shifts. To remain competitive, these companies must adopt innovative technologies that lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and enable end-to-end productivity by converging engineering technology (ET), operational technology (OT), and information technology (IT) systems, all while ensuring compliance with regulatory and cybersecurity standards.
This article explores the key data-driven solutions shaping the power generation sector and the tangible business benefits they deliver. Keep reading to learn how top-performing companies are leveraging innovative technology to drive change and achieve success.
Building a comprehensive digital strategy for power generation
Power generating companies should consider a right-sized digital strategy that will enable and support efficient operation of the plant operated by an optimized workforce. The digital technology strategy must:
- Consider the various lifecycle phases of a station
- Address challenges for the entire digital technology stack
- Leverage digital technology to reduce OM&A costs, improve equipment reliability and reduce downtime
- Improve connectedness of digital systems and processes to minimize the number of system handoffs
- Design and build a digital Instrumentation and Control (I&C) system that supports control and monitoring, while conforming to appropriate regulatory and cybersecurity requirements
- Provide adequate situational awareness, such that a team of experts can detect adverse trends, predicting and averting equipment failures before they happen
- Implement Information Technology – Operational Technology – Engineering Technology (IT-OT-ET) convergence, cloud computing, Digital Twin, and digital I&C systems that enable data-driven operations, maintenance and engineering
- Enable digital technology platforms to be modular and scalable to support fleet-wide operations
Case study: digital strategy for Canadian small modular reactors
One example of a successful nuclear digital strategy implementation is seen in the case of Canadian Small Modular Reactors (SMR). Alithya has developed comprehensive digital strategies for three SMR operators in Canada – a grid-scale SMR of 300 megawatts, a fourth-generation advanced SMR of 80 – 100 megawatts, and a micro-modular SMR of 10 megawatts. We have also developed cost-benefit analysis and proposed execution plans for the implementation of the digital strategy. These efforts have not only optimized operational efficiency but also positioned these operators to meet future energy demands with enhanced reliability and sustainability.
Optimizing operations with AI and automation
Power generation companies are using AI and automation to drive cost out of business operations, while providing unprecedented insight into equipment condition, to improve reliability. These advanced technologies enhance efficiency in several areas:
- Asset Performance Management (APM): AI-driven analysis of equipment monitoring data is used to detect adverse trends and predict failures of aging components, allowing maintenance teams to avert failures before they happen, reducing downtime and extending asset lifespan. Data-driven APM allows utilities to move from corrective maintenance toward effective, proactive condition-based maintenance, optimizing resource utilization and eliminating costly downtime.
- Process automation: Robotic Process Automation (RPA) streamlines repetitive manual data processing tasks, improving accuracy and freeing employees for higher-value work. Alithya’s AI-enabled document processing systems eliminate human data-entry for forms-based workflows, turning documents into data, and directly feeding transactional systems.
- AI-driven demand forecasting: Machine learning models analyze historical inventory, order, and usage data to optimize stocking parameters, reducing inventory cost, and averting unnecessary purchasing of parts and supplies.
By integrating AI and automation, companies reduce costs, improve reliability, and enhance service delivery. Gartner predicts that by 2027, 40% of power and utilities will deploy AI-driven operators in control rooms, reducing human error risks and cyber-physical system security vulnerabilities. Additionally, 94% of power and utility CIOs plan to increase their AI investments in 2025.
Case study: demand forecasting for power generation
Another example of leveraging AI for operational efficiency is seen in demand forecasting for power generation. Alithya worked with a large generator to apply machine learning algorithms to years of historical parts usage data. The result was the identification of millions of dollars of unnecessary inventory that could be sold off to reduce inventory carrying cost. Results were used to adjust stocking parameters, to optimize future purchasing.
Strengthening cybersecurity in critical infrastructure
The threat of cyberattacks are rapidly increasing in frequency and sophistication, and the power generation sector is a prime target. Multi-stage attacks, like the Colonial Pipeline breach, that steal credentials, hijack valuable data and deploy ransomware can have devastating consequences. Cybersecurity attacks on Industrial Control Systems (ICSs) can result in shutting down power plants and impact reliability of the power grid. To combat the increasing threat of cyberattacks, power generating companies are implementing comprehensive cybersecurity strategies that include the following measures:
- Assess the cybersecurity needs: Assess the vulnerabilities, identify the potential threats and provide guidelines to protect organizations from cyberattacks.
- Protect the ecosystem: Implement measures to secure the networks, devices and data across the organization.
- Monitor the assets: Control the digital assets (hardware, software, and data) to ensure their performance and security and maximize their usage efficiency.
- Regulatory compliance in energy: Align with industry standards, such as ISA/IEC 62443, NERC CIP, ISO/IEC 27001, and NIST Cybersecurity Framework to ensure best practices are followed.
Case study: governance, risk and compliance for a Canadian nuclear power generation company
A notable example of a robust cybersecurity strategy is seen in the case of a large Canadian nuclear power generation company. Alithya developed the nuclear cybersecurity program for this owner and operator to ensure compliance with CSA N290.7. The cybersecurity project scope included the assessment of thousands of cybersecurity assets, the development of Defensive Cyber Security Architectures (DCSA), facilitating remediation, and providing assistance with ongoing strategic cybersecurity initiatives.
Leveraging cloud computing for scalability and resilience
Power generation companies are increasingly adopting cloud computing for various digital systems beyond those directly involved in plant production. This shift to cloud computing brings several transformational benefits, including:
- Reduced start-up time for new services: Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions can be turned on quickly, without the need for infrastructure development.
- Scalability & flexibility: Cloud platforms adjust computing resources based on demand fluctuations.
- Disaster recovery & business continuity: Cloud-based systems provide data redundancy and minimize downtime.
- Cybersecurity enhancements: Built-in security features help strengthen defenses against cyber threats.
- Continuous improvement: SaaS solutions leverage a large community of users and an “evergreen” DevOps strategy to enable continuous business improvement and eliminate costly software upgrades.
- Cost optimization: Reducing IT infrastructure expenses through cloud adoption.
Case study: cloud migration for a power generator
An example of a successful cloud migration is seen in the case of a large nuclear power generator. This company partnered with Alithya to migrate its legacy industrial safety software to the cloud. Alithya utilized modern software techniques and cloud services to fully modernize this critical legacy solution. By leveraging its expertise in migrating Windows Server and SQL Server workloads to Azure, Alithya provided superior availability and resilience, ensuring the solution's maintainability for the future.
Digitization and modernization of industrial control systems
Digitization and modernization of Industrial Control Systems (ICSs) are key to improving operational efficiency, reliability, and cybersecurity in the power generation sector. Modern Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Distributed Control Systems (DCSs) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems are used for real-time process control and monitoring of critical plant equipment. The drivers of digitization and modernization of ICSs include:
- Operational excellence: Improvement in productivity and reduction in OM&A costs can only be achieved by digitization and modernization of ICSs.
- Growing risk and compliance challenges: To meet increasing regulation and compliance requirements, plants must implement modern ICSs that enable system health and monitoring, compliance reporting, and secure operation.
- Advancement in digital technologies: Emerging technologies, such as Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), are accelerating ICS modernization.
- Reliability – Legacy ICSs are challenging to operate and maintain and have high failure rates and cybersecurity vulnerabilities. ICS modernization address these challenges and enhance reliability and security.
Case study: digital industrial control system modernization in Canadian nuclear power plants
A prime example of ICS modernization is seen in the case of Canadian Nuclear Power Plants. Alithya has designed and implemented 100+ digital ICS for the Canadian nuclear industry, spanning from safety-critical digital Shutdown Systems to safety-related Nuclear Reactor Control and Regulating Systems to safety-related plant monitoring systems. All nuclear-grade ICSs are designed and implemented under Alithya’s Nuclear Quality Management System (NQMS) and are fully qualified to meet digital hardware and software qualification requirements (e.g., CSA N290.14-15) and cyber security requirements (e.g., CSA N290.7).
Alithya – your trusted partner in power generation
Alithya is a digital technology leader in the Canadian nuclear power generation industry with a pulse on the latest energy technology trends. What makes us unique is our experience and capability across technologies, bridging engineering, operational technology and IT disciplines. We follow digital technologies from the plant floor to the control room to the board room. Starting with developing a digital strategy, we design and develop nuclear-grade control systems and operator training simulators, we provide cybersecurity engineering services and plant status and configuration management solutions, we perform engineering design modifications and deliver emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and cloud computing.
Our deep knowledge and extensive experience with nuclear-grade digital system design and implementation, decades of experience with nuclear systems, and an innovative approach that leverages collaboration while meeting the requirements of regulatory and cybersecurity requirements makes us the right partner for your digital transformation projects.
If you would like to learn more about how Alithya can help you implement any of the abovementioned strategies or explore other digital transformation opportunities, please contact us today.