Energy systems are undergoing the most significant shift in their history. Electrification is expanding into every part of society: transport, heating, industry, logistics and homes. Rooftop solar installations, electric vehicles, batteries and heat pumps are appearing faster than existing physical infrastructure can adapt, with smart meters becoming a vital conductor of this rapidly growing energy orchestra.
Yet the challenge ahead is not only about adding more cables or generation. The real constraint is information. Without continuous, trustworthy, device-level data, societies cannot operate the electrified systems they are now building.
This dependency has emerged quietly. Most people still think of the energy system as something physical: cables, transformers, power plants. But increasingly, the system’s real stability depends on digitalisation and particularly on the quality and resilience of its connectivity.
For decades, the grid’s digital layer was secondary. Communication between devices was limited and often slow. Today, it has become intrinsic to the functioning of the energy system itself. An EV charger that cannot communicate, a meter that fails to report or an inverter that loses its link to the grid’s control logic does not simply stop sending data; it alters the physical behavior of the system around it.
This dependence has emerged quietly, without public awareness. Yet it is now central to society’s functioning. Public transport networks rely on predictable charging. Hospitals depend on distributed backup systems themselves dependent on connectivity. Industries optimise electricity consumption through automated coordination. Even households are moving toward dynamic tariffs that require precise, constant measurement. In each case, the communication between devices must be immediate, trustworthy and resilient.
Connectivity lags behind electrification
Ageing grids add urgency. In Europe, North America and parts of Asia, large sections of the distribution network were installed decades ago, at a time when neither widespread electrification nor the phase-out of fossil-fuel generation was on the horizon.
Grid upgrade programs are underway, yet they cannot keep pace with the acceleration of electrification or the scale of the transition. Maintaining grid stability will depend on squeezing far more performance from infrastructure already in place, and that is achievable only if the digital layer functions reliably.
Connectivity becomes a new form of capacity expansion, delivering greater visibility, faster fault detection, more efficient use of assets and more predictable integration of renewable and distributed energy sources.
Investments in grid digitalisation are increasing, but the conversation must also shift from capacity to robustness. Connectivity that can fail silently is a liability; we need connectivity that can withstand device churn, environmental disruption and network stress.
IT firms and telecommunications providers have to be central to this conversation. The energy transition cannot succeed without their technologies, infrastructure and expertise. As grids decentralise and device-level communication becomes mission-critical, telecom operators must deliver resilient, low-latency, wide-area connectivity that can survive local outages and scale to billions of endpoints.
Meanwhile, IT firms need to provide the architectures, cybersecurity frameworks and data-processing capabilities that transform raw device signals into real-time operational intelligence. These sectors are no longer peripheral service providers; they have to be core infrastructure partners bringing the architectures, cybersecurity frameworks and data-processing capabilities to build more resilient networks.
Mesh networks are the way forward
However, not all connectivity is suited to this role. Many countries rely on centralised communication architectures that were never designed for the scale, criticality or longevity the energy transition demands. When communication depends on a single coordination point, a failure can render entire districts digitally blind. The physical grid continues to operate, but utilities lose the visibility required to manage it effectively. Inflexible or fragile communications architectures turn local issues into system-level risks.
Grids are becoming decentralised and their communication layer must follow the same logic. A distributed system functions best when it does not depend on any single node, tower or service to remain coherent. Device-level communication that can operate even when parts of the system are under stress is no longer a luxury. It is a precondition for a resilient energy transition.
The reliability of the digital layer now has societal implications. A failure in the communication fabric of the grid affects far more than utility operations. The continuity of essential services, the stability of supply chains and the resilience of public infrastructure depend on this infrastructure, and its resilience is a social obligation.
To illustrate the scale of transformation this implies: in many parts of Europe, smart meters typically report consumption data at intervals of 15-30 minutes, and in some advanced countries like Finland, that interval has shrunk down to five minutes. But with modern IoT technologies, like NR+, a standard designed for massive networks, that envelope can be pushed dramatically, bringing reporting intervals down to sub-second intervals.
This is a profound shift in how we manage electricity. When connectivity becomes nearly real-time, faults can be detected instantly, demand can be balanced dynamically and grid stress can be addressed before it affects lives and businesses.
Standards have a decisive role to play. Proprietary systems inhibit competition and create dependencies. Society benefits when infrastructure is governed by open, interoperable frameworks. These ensure cooperation, system longevity and competitive markets. They establish trust between devices and between stakeholders.
Society’s reliance on electricity is absolute, and our reliance on the data that governs it is now approaching the same level. As electrification accelerates, the silent digital pulse binding the grid together becomes indispensable. If this pulse is fragile then the energy transition itself will falter.
Connectivity is no longer the supporting layer behind the grid. It is the system’s backbone, and achieving the energy transition depends on it.
