Enbridge Collaborates with Microsoft to Use AI for Enhanced Safety, Emissions Reduction, and Asset Optimization

CALGARY, AB, Oct. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB) (NYSE:ENB), in collaboration with Microsoft, is harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to drive significant advancements in safety, emissions reduction, and asset optimization across its operations.

Building on a strong digital foundation, the company began implementing AI over five years ago and is now leveraging it to support operational and environmental excellence.

"Our long-term collaboration with Microsoft has enabled us to apply cutting edge technology, which is helping to solve critical business problems and deliver powerful outcomes," said Bhushan Ivaturi, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Enbridge. "The investments we're making today will play a critical role in enabling technological solutions to the biggest challenges in the evolution of our energy systems as we transition to a lower-carbon future."

Enbridge embarked on a digital transformation in 2020 to drive productivity and efficiency and empower employees with the tools and capabilities they need for personal productivity. At the core of this strategy was a secure and modern technology foundation enabled by Microsoft.

This led to an ambitious cloud migration and modernization program, with over 80 percent of workloads moved to Microsoft Azure cloud platform within two years. This initiative not only enhanced computing, network, and storage capabilities but also bolstered cybersecurity measures and reduced data centre emissions through server decommissioning and a smaller physical facility footprint. Today, that strong digital foundation has positioned Enbridge as a leader in AI. Earlier this year, Enbridge rolled out Microsoft 365 Copilot to nearly one third of all employees, while the entire workforce has access to Bing Enterprise and ChatENB, an internal chat bot using Azure OpenAI Service.

"The Enbridge leadership team drove a cloud-first strategy, a big bet that opened the door to broader opportunity that positions Enbridge today to take full advantage of AI," said Tom Kubik, Enterprise Commercial Multi-Industry Lead at Microsoft Canada. "We are proud of the work we've done together and are working towards our common goals of supporting a more connected and collaborative workforce and increasing data and analytics capabilities." 

AI-Powered Initiatives

Enbridge is leveraging AI across its operations to optimize assets, increase efficiencies, enhance safety, and contribute to its broader sustainability goals. Powered by Microsoft Azure Machine Learning, key examples include:

Energy Optimizer

• The Energy Optimizer tool leverages AI to provide real-time operational insights, enabling Control Center operators to make decisions about how to move the energy Enbridge transports in the most efficient way possible. By managing the amount of power required, Enbridge can achieve cost savings and GHG reductions, while ensuring the safe, reliable and efficient operations of its liquid pipelines.

Right of Way Monitoring

• Enbridge utilizes aerial surveillance to patrol its pipelines, detecting potentially damaging activities, conditions, or loss of containment. With AI, the company can now monitor the right of way more efficiently, reviewing data and detecting issues quicker and more accurately. This AI-driven approach has improved threat detection and response, significantly reducing the risk of third-party damage.

Integrity Engine

• Enbridge employs intelligent automation for pipeline integrity, using AI to identify potential maintenance needs. Through workflow automation, data controls, advanced analysis, and machine learning models, the company gains new insights for rapid and effective asset maintenance, enhancing safety and efficiency while reducing process complexity and maintaining the health of our assets.

"Looking forward, we see ongoing opportunities and benefits of AI, in terms of data analytics, asset and process optimization, security and cost and emissions savings," said Ivaturi. "At Enbridge, we are enabling the accessibility, sustainability, and security of energy through applied technology and innovation, and our collaboration with Microsoft will continue to play a pivotal role in that."

About Enbridge Inc. 

At Enbridge, we safely connect millions of people to the energy they rely on every day, fueling quality of life through our North American natural gas, oil and renewable power networks and our growing European offshore wind portfolio. We're investing in modern energy delivery infrastructure to sustain access to secure, affordable energy and building on more than a century of operating conventional energy infrastructure and two decades of experience in renewable power to advance new technologies including hydrogen, renewable natural gas and carbon capture and storage. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Enbridge's common shares trade under the symbol ENB on the Toronto (TSX) and New York (NYSE) stock exchanges. To learn more, visit us at enbridge.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Forward-looking statements have been included in this news release to provide readers with information about Enbridge and its subsidiaries and affiliates, including management's assessment of Enbridge's and its subsidiaries' future plans and operations. This information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as ''anticipate'', ''expect'', ''project'', ''estimate'', ''forecast'', ''plan'', ''intend'', ''target'', ''believe'', "likely", and similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Forward-looking information or statements included or incorporated by reference in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the impact of Enbridge's collaboration with Microsoft and artificial intelligence (AI) powered initiatives and other technologies on Enbridge's business, as well as related matters.

Although Enbridge believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable based on the information available on the date such statements are made and processes used to prepare the information, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. By their nature, these statements involve a variety of assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, levels of activity and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Assumptions regarding the expected impact of AI and other technologies on Enbridge's business are material to and underlie all forward-looking statements in this news release. Due to the interdependencies and correlation of macroeconomic factors, the impact of any one assumption on a forward-looking statement cannot be determined with certainty

Enbridge's forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties pertaining to the realization of anticipated benefits and the impact of AI and other technologies on Enbridge's business and other risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties discussed in this and in Enbridge's other filings with Canadian and U.S. securities regulators. The impact of any one assumption, risk, uncertainty, or factor on a particular forward-looking statement is not determinable with certainty as these are interdependent and Enbridge's future course of action depends on management's assessment of all information available at the relevant time.

Except to the extent required by applicable law, Enbridge assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made in this news release or otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. All forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to Enbridge or persons acting on Enbridge's behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.

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SOURCE Enbridge Inc.