There is an intel­li­gent rev­o­lu­tion hap­pen­ing across the ener­gy and util­i­ty ecosys­tem. While head­lines focus on AI for con­ve­nience, the real sto­ry is AI for sur­vival — rewiring how bil­lions of peo­ple expe­ri­ence ener­gy and water.

Deep­ak Garg, Chair­man, Founder & Co-CEO, SEW​.AI, has been orches­trat­ing this rev­o­lu­tion from inside the indus­try for over two decades. SEW’s Ver­ti­cal AI Plat­forms are pow­er­ing this evo­lu­tion in 47+ coun­tries, sup­port­ing over 450+ util­i­ties worldwide.

In a recent dis­cus­sion with ASUG, Deep­ak Garg shared why Ver­ti­cal AI is becom­ing the back­bone of the ener­gy and util­i­ties indus­try — and why the future depends on it.

This inter­view has been edit­ed and con­densed. Down­load the full inter­view here. 

Q: Some­times, dis­cus­sions of indus­try-wide trans­for­ma­tion fueled by AI can almost sound like sci­ence fic­tion. How is AI chang­ing the ener­gy and util­i­ties indus­try today?

It may feel futur­is­tic, but this kind of trans­for­ma­tion is already hap­pen­ing every day across mod­ern ener­gy grids. Ver­ti­cal AI plat­forms con­tin­u­ous­ly mon­i­tor mil­lions of assets in real time, detect anom­alies, fore­cast fail­ures, and coor­di­nate respons­es before cus­tomers are even aware of any issues. The tech­nol­o­gy is qui­et­ly work­ing behind the scenes to pre­vent out­ages, opti­mize flows, and keep elec­tric­i­ty run­ning smoothly.

At the same time, demand is increas­ing, faster than ever. AI appli­ca­tions, high-per­for­mance data cen­ters, and elec­tri­fi­ca­tion are dri­ving unprece­dent­ed ener­gy con­sump­tion. By 2030, AI data cen­ters alone will con­sume more elec­tric­i­ty than the entire state of Flori­da used in 2020. We’re not talk­ing about grad­ual growth. We’re talk­ing about adding the equiv­a­lent of a major Amer­i­can city to the grid every sin­gle month for the next six years.

The old play­book was sim­ple: pre­dict demand growth, build big­ger pow­er plants, strength­en trans­mis­sion lines. That play­book is now obso­lete. You can­not build infra­struc­ture fast enough to meet expo­nen­tial demand. You have to make exist­ing infra­struc­ture expo­nen­tial­ly smarter.

“Every day, arti­fi­cial intel­li­gence cre­ates new impos­si­ble demands. Every day, arti­fi­cial intel­li­gence also cre­ates new impos­si­ble solutions.”

Q: You have often said that gener­ic AI is not enough for util­i­ties. Can you explain what makes ener­gy and util­i­ties dif­fer­ent from oth­er industries?

Ener­gy and util­i­ties are unlike any oth­er indus­try because the stakes are imme­di­ate, tan­gi­ble, and affect bil­lions of peo­ple in real time. When a trans­former fails, or a sub­sta­tion goes offline, it’s not just data lost, it’s homes with­out pow­er, hos­pi­tals at risk, and entire com­mu­ni­ties impact­ed. Unlike tra­di­tion­al indus­tries, util­i­ties oper­ate crit­i­cal infra­struc­ture that can­not pause or wait for an algo­rithm to ​“fig­ure it out.”

Gener­ic AI can analyse pat­terns in data, but it lacks the con­text to under­stand the oper­a­tional work­flows, human behav­iours, and sys­tem inter­de­pen­den­cies unique to util­i­ty net­works. That’s where Ver­ti­cal AI comes in. Built from decades of indus­try-spe­cif­ic exper­tise, it com­bines oper­a­tional data, field knowl­edge, and behav­iour­al mod­els to deliv­er intel­li­gence that is action­able, pre­cise, and reliable.

Ver­ti­cal AI is what pow­ers SEW’s plat­forms, cre­at­ing a com­plete end-to-end con­nect­ed expe­ri­ence across the util­i­ty ecosys­tem. It enables field crews to receive pre­dic­tive guid­ance, cus­tomer ser­vice teams to deliv­er proac­tive sup­port, or cus­tomers to get per­son­al­ized insights that opti­mize ener­gy use. By embed­ding util­i­ty-spe­cif­ic knowl­edge into every deci­sion, SEW’s Ver­ti­cal AI ensures that intel­li­gence is not only smart but prac­ti­cal, scal­able, and imme­di­ate­ly effec­tive, help­ing util­i­ties trans­form oper­a­tions, enhance reli­a­bil­i­ty, and ele­vate the expe­ri­ence for every per­son they serve.

“We call it Ver­ti­cal AI because it goes deep into ener­gy and util­i­ties with data and con­nects cus­tomers, field work­force, util­i­ty oper­a­tions and the grid into one liv­ing ecosystem.”

Q: You describe your plat­form as cre­at­ing ​“con­nect­ed expe­ri­ences.” What does this actu­al­ly mean for the util­i­ty ecosystem?

For too long, util­i­ties have oper­at­ed in silos – cus­tomer ser­vice, field teams, and oper­a­tions rarely spoke the same lan­guage. Our Ver­ti­cal AI plat­forms are designed to bridge those gaps, cre­at­ing a ful­ly con­nect­ed ecosys­tem where insights flow seam­less­ly, deci­sions are informed in real time, and every part of the sys­tem learns from the oth­er. It’s not just about effi­cien­cy, it’s about trans­form­ing how ener­gy is deliv­ered, man­aged, and experienced.

Con­nect­ed expe­ri­ences are about build­ing con­nec­tions between peo­ple, process­es, and tech­nol­o­gy. By link­ing tra­di­tion­al­ly sep­a­rate func­tions, util­i­ties unlock intel­li­gence that was pre­vi­ous­ly impos­si­ble, turn­ing frag­ment­ed work­flows into a coor­di­nat­ed, adap­tive, and resilient sys­tem. And com­mu­ni­ties feel the dif­fer­ence. Not only in terms of reli­a­bil­i­ty but also trust, trans­paren­cy, and a sense that their util­i­ty under­stands and responds to their needs.

“Intel­li­gence is only as pow­er­ful as its con­nec­tions. Our plat­form ensures that every insight flows across the ecosys­tem, trans­form­ing ener­gy and water from a com­mod­i­ty into a seam­less experience.”

Q: Three of America’s four largest util­i­ties use your plat­forms. What are you see­ing that excites util­i­ty CEOs today?

Ver­ti­cal AI is open­ing new pos­si­bil­i­ties for the indus­try with­out com­pro­mis­ing the reli­a­bil­i­ty and sta­bil­i­ty they’ve built over decades. It enables them to bet­ter pre­dict grid demand, opti­mize field ser­vice man­age­ment, and enhance cus­tomer expe­ri­ences at scale, all while main­tain­ing the trust and oper­a­tional excel­lence their com­mu­ni­ties rely on. The grid is no longer con­strained by lin­ear growth; AI enables smarter, faster deci­sions that expand capac­i­ty and flex­i­bil­i­ty with­out risk­ing out­ages or inef­fi­cien­cies. In essence, util­i­ties can do more, reach fur­ther, and inno­vate faster, while keep­ing the lights on and the sys­tem stable.

Con­nect with Deep­ak Garg on LinkedIn. 

Ver­ti­cal AI is help­ing util­i­ties man­age oper­a­tions seam­less­ly across mil­lions of house­holds. Field crews receive pre­dic­tive guid­ance for inspec­tions, main­te­nance, and fault res­o­lu­tion, allow­ing them to act faster, safer, and more effi­cient­ly. Cus­tomer ser­vice rep­re­sen­ta­tives gain real-time insights into out­ages, billing inquiries, and ser­vice requests, enabling proac­tive, per­son­al­ized sup­port. Cus­tomers receive time­ly updates, ener­gy-sav­ing rec­om­men­da­tions, and trans­par­ent com­mu­ni­ca­tion. The sys­tem doesn’t just react, it learns, adapts, and improves con­tin­u­ous­ly. This lev­el of intel­li­gence allows util­i­ty lead­ers to see com­plex­i­ty turn into action­able insight and oper­a­tional confidence.

“We’re not just adding AI to the grid. We’re per­form­ing open-heart surgery on a patient who’s run­ning a marathon. And we can’t let the patient stop running,”

Q: There’s a lot of fear about AI replac­ing the work­force. How do you see this play­ing out in the ener­gy and util­i­ty sector?

At SEW, we believe the future of AI is about empow­er­ing them. Ener­gy and util­i­ties are deeply human indus­tries. Behind every out­age restored, every meter read, and every cus­tomer sup­port­ed, there’s a per­son mak­ing a dif­fer­ence in someone’s dai­ly life. AI doesn’t take that away, it ampli­fies it.

We call it Peo­ple + AI. A col­lab­o­ra­tion where tech­nol­o­gy aug­ments human capa­bil­i­ty instead of dis­plac­ing it. AI can process bil­lions of data points in sec­onds, but it takes peo­ple to under­stand the human con­text, apply judg­ment, and bring empa­thy to moments that mat­ter. In the field, AI gives field work­ers pre­dic­tive fore­sight, so they’re safer and more effec­tive. In cus­tomer ser­vice, it equips agents with insights that help them guide cus­tomers with com­pas­sion and pre­ci­sion. Across oper­a­tions, it brings clar­i­ty, free­ing peo­ple to focus on high­er-val­ue prob­lem solving.

This is why our Ver­ti­cal AI plat­forms are designed to place peo­ple at the cen­ter. Tech­nol­o­gy pro­vides the intel­li­gence, but peo­ple bring the pur­pose. Togeth­er, they cre­ate a util­i­ty that is not just effi­cient but empa­thet­ic, not just opti­mized but human.

“We believe in the phi­los­o­phy of Peo­ple + AI. Where AI becomes the force mul­ti­pli­er dri­ving peo­ple empow­er­ment at scale.”

Q: Look­ing ahead, where do you see the ener­gy and util­i­ties indus­try heading?

The future of ener­gy and water is being rede­fined right now. It’s not just about tech­nol­o­gy, it’s about pur­pose-led trans­for­ma­tion. We’re stand­ing at a moment where AI break­throughs, built for this indus­try, will unlock pos­si­bil­i­ties for 8 bil­lion peo­ple on the plan­et, from equi­table ener­gy access to water secu­ri­ty to cli­mate resilience.

We see this future as one that is intu­itive, inclu­sive, and acces­si­ble. A future where Peo­ple + AI sit at the heart of every expe­ri­ence, empow­er­ing cit­i­zens, strength­en­ing work­forces, and enabling util­i­ties to lead the clean ener­gy and water tran­si­tion with purpose.

But we can­not do this in iso­la­tion. We’re co-cre­at­ing this future with glob­al part­ners — util­i­ties, reg­u­la­tors, and tech­nol­o­gy lead­ers like SAP — who share our vision of build­ing a con­nect­ed, sus­tain­able future. Shap­ing a roadmap where AI dri­ves progress with pur­pose — con­nect­ing every home, every com­mu­ni­ty, every field crew, and every grid in ways that tru­ly matter.

“Tech­nol­o­gy alone doesn’t trans­form indus­tries — pur­pose does. AI is the force that helps us scale that pur­pose to solve humanity’s great­est challenges.”

Vis­it the SEW web­site. 

About SEW

SEW​.AI is the world’s #1 trust­ed and only Ver­ti­cal AI plat­form for ener­gy and water, con­nect­ing Cus­tomers, Work­force, and Grid Assets on one secure, cloud-native foun­da­tion. At its core is Peo­ple + Ver­ti­cal AI, pur­pose-built for ener­gy and util­i­ties, pow­ered by human-cen­tered intel­li­gence that antic­i­pates cus­tomer needs, empow­ers the work­force with real-time insights, and opti­mizes grid per­for­mance for reli­a­bil­i­ty and effi­cien­cy. With 3000+ pre­built use cas­es and pre-inte­gra­tion with 100+ indus­try sys­tems, our plat­forms accel­er­ate time-to-val­ue and help util­i­ties mod­ern­ize oper­a­tions from day one.

Our mod­u­lar, inter­op­er­a­ble archi­tec­ture works with lega­cy sys­tems and emerg­ing tech­nolo­gies to scale trans­for­ma­tion with­out dis­rup­tion. Today, more than 450+ ener­gy & util­i­ties ser­vice providers world­wide run on SEW​.AI, engag­ing bil­lions, empow­er­ing end users and field teams with AI-dri­ven agents, and orches­trat­ing smarter, clean­er, more reli­able grids, deliv­er­ing high­er sat­is­fac­tion, improved per­for­mance, and stronger outcomes.

About ASUG

ASUG is the world’s largest SAP user group. Orig­i­nal­ly found­ed by a group of vision­ary SAP cus­tomers in 1991, its mis­sion is to help peo­ple and orga­ni­za­tions get the most val­ue from their invest­ment in SAP tech­nol­o­gy. ASUG cur­rent­ly serves thou­sands of busi­ness­es via com­pa­ny­wide mem­ber­ships, con­nect­ing more than 130,000 pro­fes­sion­als with net­work­ing and edu­ca­tion­al resources to help them mas­ter new chal­lenges. Through in-per­son and vir­tu­al events, on-demand dig­i­tal resources, and ongo­ing advo­ca­cy for its mem­ber­ship, ASUG helps SAP cus­tomers make more possible.