Intl. Conference on Economics, Finance & Business, Paris

PROFITABILITY OF DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM OPERATORS AND USE OF ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION IN MONITORING OF INTERRUPTION IN ENERGY GRID: EVIDENCE FROM EUROPEAN UNION

JACEK JAWORSKI

Abstract:

Objective: The study aims to assess the impact of the application of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology in monitoring power grid disruptions on the profitability of Distribution System Operators (DSO) in European Union countries. Method: The empirical study used statistical analysis of financial data of 408 DSO from 11 EU member states based on descriptive and inferential statistics tools and static panel models. The research period is 2011-2018. Results: The study showed that the application of RPA in power grid monitoring has a positive impact on DSO profitability. This profitability decreases in the short term after the implementation of RPA, but in the longer term, it grows more dynamically than in the case of DSO not using RPA. The research also indicates that the launch of automatic network monitoring results in reporting significantly higher indicators of disruptions occurring, which may be due to the greater sensitivity and accuracy of the devices and procedures used. However, the size of these indicators does not have a statistically significant impact on DSO profitability. Conclusions: The study confirms the economic benefits resulting from the application of RPA in power grid monitoring, both for DSO and energy consumers. However, those implementing RPA must reckon with a temporary drop in profitability in the short term after the devices launch. In the longer term, this profitability grows faster than in the case of DSO without the possibility of using RPA.

Keywords: Robotic Process Automation, Smart Grid, Profitability, Distribution System Operators, Power Grid Monitoring