AI, Energy, and the new mandate for operations
Deliver new levels of visibility and predictive insights at scale, maximize uptime and reduce operating cost, and optimize energy efficiency while preserving legacy investments.
Credit: Schneider Electric
AI is becoming a core layer of modern business, while energy has become a primary constraint. In data centers and other critical facilities, the surge of compute-heavy AI workloads drives massive electricity demand - straining grids and threatening availability. If supply can't keep pace, wholesale prices rise and risk increases. The takeaway: every building system must cut waste and run leaner.
On average, 30% of the energy used in commercial buildings is wasted, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (source). Yet systems remain siloed, and facilities teams lack unified control to curb waste and downtime. The technical workforce with deep domain experience is retiring faster than it's replaced. Meanwhile, long-lived infrastructure slows the adoption of new technology. Projections show data centers could consume 12% of US electricity by 2028; industrial electricity demand may surge 15% in 2026; and 70% of US transmission lines are over 25 years old. The moment calls for action.
The solution: a scalable, unified platform with AI at the core
Infrastructure needs monitoring at a granular level so you can optimize consumption in real time across mechanical and electrical loads in every facility. That means intelligent orchestration of energy sources - grid, solar, wind, backup systems - together with HVAC, ventilation, lighting, servers, and panel loads.
This requires a central, always-on command layer with end-to-end visibility - from mechanical to electrical. It must map usage across all loads and dynamically manage demand response. That's where Schneider Electric steps in with a solution that delivers on the operational realities facilities leaders face.
What Schneider Electric brings
- Predictive maintenance that helps prevent downtime and improves efficiency and resilience, driven by AI.
- Modular, built-in domain expertise with pre-integrated applications to manage, optimize, and orchestrate operations.
- Intuitive, unified platforms that equip the next generation of operators in a software-defined environment.
- Optimized energy use while preserving investments in legacy equipment.
- Reliable infrastructure for uninterrupted operations in mission-critical environments like data centers, hospitals, and pharmaceutical campuses.
EcoStruxure™ Foresight: building a future-ready infrastructure
Schneider Electric sits at the intersection of electrification, automation, and digital intelligence. With EcoStruxure™ Foresight, the company delivers a transformative operations platform for the built environment - extracting more performance from the same footprint. Operators get one platform that anticipates failures, prevents downtime, and drives efficiency - a practical example of AI for Operations.
Four core capabilities
- Next-level operational efficiency: A unified platform removes blind spots and simplifies control, boosting efficiency by up to 50%.
- Maximized uptime and resilience: Built-in redundancy and AI diagnostics, secured by a hardened platform. Interrelated electrical and mechanical issues are resolved 90% faster.
- Future-ready scalability: Supports millions of connected points with an open architecture across multisite and global operations.
- Faster deployment: An open, flexible platform with pre-integrated domains is ready on day one. AI-assisted engineering turns hours into minutes, saving up to 50% in engineering time and 500 hours during setup of large systems.
The bottom line for operations leaders
Modeling from the Schneider Electric Sustainability Research Institute indicates the US must add 1,000-2,000 TWh of electricity each decade to keep up with AI, manufacturing, and electrification. That includes 1,000 TWh within the coming decade - starting now.
The path forward is clear: distributed generation, digital efficiency, and flexible infrastructure. Schneider Electric is advancing this with EcoStruxure™ Foresight - an operations platform delivering visibility and predictive insights at scale. Early adopter availability begins in Q3 2026.
Build team capability
If your operations team is building practical AI skills for facilities and reliability, explore focused learning paths such as AI Learning Path for Plant Managers and the AI Learning Path for Production Coordinators.
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