We discuss data in motion in hybrid IoT architectures in the energy industry, with examples of Kafka for public utilities and in the private enterprise Tesla.
Join the DZone community and get the full member experience. The public sector includes many different areas. Some groups leverage cutting-edge technology, like military leverage. Others like the public administration are years or even decades behind. This blog series explores how the public sector leverages data in motion powered by Apache Kafka to add value for innovative new applications and modernize legacy IT infrastructures. This is part 4: Use cases and architectures for energy, utilities, and smart grid infrastructure. This blog series explores why many governments and public infrastructure sectors leverage event streaming for various use cases. Learn about real-world deployments and different architectures for Kafka in the public sector: As a side note: If you wonder why healthcare is not on the above list. Healthcare is another blog series on its own. While the government can provide public health care through national healthcare systems, it is part of the private sector in many other cases. The energy sector is different in countries and even states. Public utilities are subject to public control and regulation, ranging from local community-based groups to statewide government monopolies. Hence, some markets are private businesses, or entirely controlled by the government, or a mix of both. For instance, here is the complex US Regulated vs. Deregulated Electricity Market: Nevertheless, one thing is clear: The energy sector is changing; no matter if the government entirely regulates the market or not: Let’s look at a few real-world examples for Apache Kafka in the energy sector, its relation to the public sector, and a few possible enterprise architectures. First of all, I already wrote about data in motion powered by Kafka in the energy sector. I also had a great panel discussion about edge and hybrid architecture in a panel discussion about Kafka and 5G networks in the oil and gas and mining industry. Let’s now take a look at two more examples: Stadtwerke Leipzig is a municipal energy utility in central Germany that provides electricity, natural gas, and district heating. They are wholly owned by LVV Leipziger Versorgungs- und Verkehrsgesellschaft, in which the City of Leipzig holds a 100% stake. Leipziger Stadtwerke built a digital customer interface to connect public utilities, grid operators, the housing industry, end-consumer, industrial customers: The picture is of bad quality, unfortunately, and not available in a better version. Though, the essential point is that the long green rectangle in the middle is Apache Kafka.
