Enbridge embraces AI as Baby Boomer workers near retirement

A senior Enbridge (ENB.TO)(ENB) executive says artificial intelligence (AI) is part of the Canadian pipeline giant’s plan to maintain growth as the energy industry faces a wave of retiring Baby Boomers and difficulties recruiting new talent.

The Calgary-based company has a workforce of over 12,000 people overseeing energy assets including the world's longest oil and liquids pipeline network, and North America’s largest natural gas utility by volume.

Banking on surging demand for energy, Enbridge aims to spend $24 billion on a slate of secured projects through 2028 at a clip of $8 billion to $9 billion per year. Plans include oil terminal expansions, new gas pipelines, natural gas utility expansions, and renewable energy projects. This growth would follow the massive US$14 billion deal announced last fall to acquire a trio of U.S. natural gas utilities, a move described by CEO Greg Ebel as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.”

Enbridge chief information officer Bhushan Ivaturi says a new class of generative AI applications will help transfer knowledge from older workers to the next generation of employees.

“That’s important to ensure the safety and reliability of these critical operations,” Ivaturi told Yahoo Finance Canada in an interview. “We need to move faster to capture that knowledge.”

In a report earlier this year, McKinsey & Company warned that rising energy demand will be coupled with an aging workforce and decreased recruitment levels to the sector. The consulting firm forecasts 400,000 employees are expected to retire in the next 10 years.

“While demand for energy talent is growing, the energy sector is expecting to lose a substantial portion of its existing workforce,” wrote Houston-based McKinsey global energy sector partner Ignacio Fantaguzzi. “Given the oil and gas industry’s negative perception among younger workers, traditional energy businesses may find themselves at the short end of an upcoming talent squeeze.”

According to accounting and consulting firm EY, AI technology could ease labour challenges and even displace jobs, helping to reduce the effects of a “brain drain” as older workers retire with decades of decision-making experience. Its researchers found 92 per cent of oil and gas companies are either currently investing in AI, or plan to in the next two years.

Enbridge began in 2018. Ivaturi struggles to estimate how many millions have been saved using applications that detect leaks, predict maintenance, communicate with customers, enable cloud computing, and prevent construction workers from digging up natural gas lines with their backhoes. He declined to say how much the company has spent on AI technology.

“As we do have natural retirements and other things . . . [AI] can help with the reality of some of this workforce transition,” he added.

Enbridge’s CEO has pitched the company as a beneficiary of the AI revolution, largely due to the vast amount of energy required by the data centres that power the technology. Canada’s nuclear industry also has its eyes on this prize.

Speaking on Tuesday at an event in Toronto, Bruce Power president and CEO Eric Chassard said nuclear power is the obvious choice for meeting rising energy demand. In his remarks, he also took a swipe at natural gas, and encouraged those in attendance to push their children into careers in nuclear energy.

“If you have kids who are curious, and want to be part of this adventure, it’s really time to join,” he told the Empire Club of Canada audience. “We are talking [about] the next century of good jobs.”

McKinsey expects the traditional oil and gas industry will see broadly consistent demand for workers through 2035.

“Meeting this demand could be challenging amid growing competition from new energy businesses,” Fantaguzzi wrote in his report.

For Enbridge, that could mean growing its operations much faster than its human headcount.

“It’s doing a lot more work with the same people,” Ivaturi said. “I do think there is a way to make this a win-point.”

Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist.

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