The energy transition is a data problem, and integration is its bottleneck.
The global energy transition is accelerating. Governments, utilities, and grid operators are investing heavily in renewables, electrification, and smart infrastructure. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global energy investment exceeded USD 3 trillion for the first time in 2024, with USD 2 trillion going to clean energy technologies and infrastructure.
Yet operational reality is lagging behind ambition. Grid congestion is increasing, balancing costs are rising and regulatory complexity is intensifying. Generation capacity alone was a constraint of the past. Today's is data.
As energy systems shift from centralized, predictable production to distributed and intermittent generation, real-time, governed data flows have become essential. Without modern integration, automation cannot scale, and decarbonization slows, regardless of infrastructure investment.
This is why integration and automation are becoming core enablers of the energy transition in 2026.
A decarbonized energy system requires continuous coordination across networks, markets and stakeholders. The World Economic Forum emphasizes that future energy systems will be defined not only by physical assets, but by how effectively data moves between them.
When asked “What slows down digital transformation in the energy sector?”, the answer is rarely renewable technology itself. Instead, it is operational friction caused by fragmented IT and OT landscapes that were never designed for today’s data volumes, speeds or regulatory requirements.
Most energy companies operate a complex mix of systems implemented over decades, including:
The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) and academic research consistently identify system fragmentation as a major barrier to efficient grid operation and market integration.
These systems are often connected through custom point-to-point integrations and proprietary formats. Critical data — such as load forecasts, distributed generation output or network constraints — remains siloed.
The result is slower decision-making, limited automation and higher operational risk.
Regulation is now accelerating the problem.
The EU Electricity Market Directive (EU) 2019/944 and Regulation (EU) 2019/943 mandate a shift from hourly to 15-minute metering, settlement and balancing periods across European electricity markets.
This change fundamentally alters how:
Moving to 15-minute granularity quadruples data volumes and compresses operational timelines. Market processes that once tolerated delayed data now require near-real-time automation.
Batch-based integrations simply cannot support this model, leading to higher balancing costs, slower response to grid events and increased compliance pressure.
As data volumes grow, automation becomes unavoidable. From smart metering to grid switching and market settlement, automated processes are now central to energy operations.
However, when automation is built on undocumented scripts and brittle integrations, it introduces new risks:
Automation in the energy sector must be transparent and auditable to scale.
Decarbonization is a challenge that encompasses not only infrastructure, but also data orchestration.
Modern integration platforms provide the connective layer energy companies need to:
This is where low-code Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) solutions are increasingly used, replacing brittle point-to-point integrations with structured, observable automation.
Industry evidence shows this is already happening. Leading Nordic utilities, for example, have used modern integration platforms to consolidate fragmented systems, accelerate real-time data processing and automate compliance workflows — moving from delayed updates to event-driven operations in minutes rather than hours.
These examples reinforce what broader industry research already shows: integration is becoming operational infrastructure.
Smart grid automation and stability
Real-time integration of weather data, SCADA signals, distributed energy resources (DERs) and storage systems enables automated balancing and reduces reliance on fossil-fuel peaker plants.
Emissions reporting and compliance
Integrated workflows consolidate data from ERP, asset management and operational systems, enabling automated Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions reporting with full audit trails.
Renewable capacity forecasting
Hybrid integration pipelines securely move large data sets to AI/ML platforms and return forecasts directly into operational systems, improving asset utilization and investment decisions.
A modern iPaaS helps answer the questions energy leaders are increasingly asking:
Hybrid-ready, low-code integration platforms allow execution close to the data (on-premises or edge) while maintaining centralized governance — a requirement for regulated, data-intensive energy environments.
Read more: Transform energy operations with on-prem and smart integrations
Regulatory pressure and data complexity will continue to grow. Energy leaders are now asking how to modernize without destabilizing operations, and how to automate market processes safely.
To explore these questions further, don't miss the upcoming Frends webinar for the energy sector in February, focusing on regulation, automation and practical integration strategies.
The energy transition will not be won by infrastructure alone. It will be won by organizations that can connect systems, automate intelligently and operate transparently at scale.
By replacing fragmented, batch-based integrations with modern, event-driven automation, energy companies can turn regulatory pressure and data growth into operational advantage, and build the connected grid required for a decarbonized future.