Profitability of distribution system operators and use of robotic process automation in monitoring of interruption in energy grid: evidence from European Union

Abstract The study aims to assess the impact of the robotic process automation (RPA) used in monitoring power grid on the profitability of distribution system operators (DSOs). 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. The study demonstrated that the use of RPA in power grid monitoring has a positive impact on DSO profitability. The research also indicates that the launch of automatic network monitoring results in reporting higher indicators of disruptions occurring, possibly 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. The study confirms the economic benefits resulting from the use of RPA in power grid monitoring, both for DSO and energy consumers. However, DSOs implementing RPA must reckon with a temporary drop in profitability soon after the launch of the devices. In the longer term, this profitability grows faster than in the case of DSO without RPA. The main limitations of the study are as follows: (i) the use of SAIDI and the RPA variable specific to a given country, not a single DSO, due to limited access to data, (ii) time limitation of the analysis to the early years of RPA implementation in EU, and (iii) lack of a strict correlation of the researched economic categories with the technical solutions.