The findings reveal a clear leadership gap between strategy and value realization. While more than two-thirds of utilities have defined a digital strategy, fewer than one-third have implemented a dedicated AI strategy. Even where strategies exist, economic steering remains weak. Only a minority of companies systematically track value contribution through clear KPIs. As a result, digitalization is still too often treated as an operational necessity rather than managed as a core value-creation engine. 

The unrealized potential is substantial. In renewable generation, where investment needs approach $500 billion, digital and AI applications such as AI-enabled planning, automated operations, prescriptive maintenance, and data-driven trading can increase internal rates of return by roughly two percentage points. In transmission and distribution, digital twins, optimized grid planning, AI-supported maintenance, and workforce management can offset part of the estimated $400 billion investment requirement by reducing costs by 4 to 8 percent. 

Commercial and customer-facing functions are also undergoing structural change. Digital channels have become mainstream, and advanced analytics in customer management have expanded rapidly. Use cases such as next-best activity, next-best offer, and event-driven marketing have more than tripled in adoption since our previous study. This signals a shift toward more automated, data-driven, and scalable growth models. 

Organizational readiness, however, remains a critical bottleneck. While leadership accountability for digitalization is largely in place and analytics competence centers are widespread, people and capability gaps persist. Fewer than one-third of utilities have a clear HR strategy for building digital skills, and even fewer have aligned job architectures to future digital and AI requirements. Agile operating models are gaining traction but remain far from scaled. 

The central message of Digital@Utility 2026 is clear. The energy sector has entered the digital and AI era, but most utilities are still capturing only a fraction of the available value. Closing the investment gap and successfully steering the transition will require a shift from fragmented initiatives to scaled execution. Digital and AI must be anchored not only in strategy, but also in value-creation logic, operating models, and leadership agendas.