KPMG International has unveiled a new report titled “Intelligent Energy – A BluePrint for creating value through AI Driven transformation” to better understand how artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the energy sector. The report provides a structured roadmap for energy companies to embed intelligence across their value chains, ensuring supply security, decarbonization, and cost control.
The survey has contributions from 163 respondents from the energy sector across
Anish De, Global Head of Energy, Natural Resources and Chemicals, KPMG International says” For AI to truly scale and deliver value, energy companies must rethink not just their technology, but their entire operating model. Those that can align AI with business strategy, integrate data and technology and create a workforce ready to embrace AI-powered decision-making will likely be the ones that lead in the next era of energy transformation.
Key Findings from the Report:
- Experimentation for breakthroughs is a critical investment area with 92 per cent believing that organisations that embrace AI will develop a competitive edge over those that do not
- 96 per cent are investing in future-focused projects without the expectation of immediate returns
- 71 per cent view sustainability as a more important strategic goal than AI
- Respondents view AI as a key enabler of operational streamlining, with 79 per cent of companies already reporting measurable efficiency improvements and 60 per cent seeing ROIs greater than 10 percent.
- The duality of energy creation and environmental impact is a key consideration with 63 per cent struggle to balance AI use with sustainability goals
- Organizational hurdles are hindering AI’s full-scale adoption. Industry respondents cite insufficient data management, governance, investment and prioritization resulting in data quality issues (58 per cent); regulatory complexities (38 per cent); and budget constraints (37 per cent) as key challenges. There is also a lack of connection and integration between teams charged with improving data and teams developing AI. Only 13 per cent of energy companies currently operate an AI Center of Excellence, with AI leadership fragmented across IT (20 per cent) or a combination of IT and business functions (34 per cent)
We also discovered that capturing value from AI requires a strategic, enterprise-wide approach. Our research identifies four key recommendations
- Design an AI-first business strategy and transformation roadmap
- Build trust into the transformation roadmap from the outset
- Create a sustainable technology and data infrastructure for AI and agentic adoption
- Build a culture that uses AI to uplift human potential
The journey to become an intelligent energy company
- Effective AI-enabled transformation should go beyond technology implementation. By examining leading practices, we have identified that energy companies can increase capability and value across three phases of AI transformation ( Enable, Embed and Evolve)
- This provides a structured yet flexible framework for navigating the complexities of AI adoption. It balances the need for short-term efficiency gains with the imperative to prepare for future growth and innovation
