Energisa
Scaling AI-Powered inspections across Brazil’s distribution grid. How Energisa is using Arkion’s asset analytics platform to unlock the value of drone data and accelerate the digitalization of grid maintenance
Background
Energisa is one of Brazil’s largest energy distribution companies, serving more than 20 million customers. With a service territory that spans vast and diverse landscapes — from urban centers to remote rural regions — Energisa manages one of the largest and most complex distribution networks in Latin America.
Maintaining such a network requires continuous monitoring of millions of grid structures and components, a challenging task due to the sheer scale of the territory. To improve visibility and strengthen grid reliability, Energisa launched an ongoing initiative to digitize inspections across its entire network using drones and AI-powered analysis.
The challenge
Energisa’s vision is to implement a fully scalable, data-driven inspection program capable of supporting Energisa’s 95 drones in capturing imagery across 2.2 million structures.
The challenge was not data collection — it was what came after. Managing, analyzing, and distributing actionable insights from hundreds of thousands of images each day required a level of automation and intelligence that traditional workflows could not handle.
Most solutions either lacked the scale to process data from such a large network, or the precision required to make the results operationally useful. Arkion’s AI-powered asset analytics platform was selected for its ability to combine scalability, accuracy, and reliability to turn unstructured visual data into structured, prioritized insights.
The impact
Hundreds of pilots can upload and process data simultaneously through a unified platform. Intelligent sorting and severity grading enable rapid prioritization of critical defects.
With less manual image review, freeing engineers to focus on maintenance planning and field operations.
Arkion handles millions of images for Energisa to effectively and efficiently inspect hundreds of thousands of structures.
The solution
Arkion’s platform is being deployed as the sole provider supporting Energisa’s digital inspection program, covering 2.2 million power line structures across Brazil’s transmission and distribution networks. This work is ongoing, with significant portions of the rollout already active and additional milestones scheduled for completion through June 2026.
From the outset, the platform has delivered value through its library of production-ready AI models, trained on millions of annotated grid images from around the world. These models can detect and classify a wide range of component types and defects — from broken insulators and missing cotter pins to corrosion and vegetation interference.
To meet Energisa’s unique operational needs, Arkion has also developed custom AI models to cover rare component types and fault categories specific to the Brazilian grid. This ensures accuracy across both common and uncommon asset conditions.
Through Arkion’s platform, Energisa’s teams can:
- Process drone imagery at scale and detect defects across millions of structures.
- Filter and prioritize results based on severity level and component type.
- Distribute structured insights directly to regional maintenance teams for rapid action.
- Integrate AI results into the Energisa Asset Management System to continuously update asset inventory.
- Improve AI accuracy over time through feedback loops supported by Arkion’s expert QA process.
By leveraging automation, Energisa is already seeing a substantial reduction in manual inspection workloads. Instead of reviewing every image manually, teams now focus only on those that contain defects or relevant findings — turning AI into a practical, high-value decision-support tool. As the rollout continues, this efficiency gain is expected to grow further.
With Arkion’s solution, we’re confident in building a stronger Brazilian power grid, fit for the future.
VP Technology
Impact
Energisa’s collaboration with Arkion represents one of the largest ongoing AI-driven inspection deployments in the global power sector.
- Full-network visibility: Drone imagery captured and AI analysis coverage across 2.2 million structures.
- Significant workload reduction: Manual image review requirements have dropped substantially, enabling engineers to prioritize planning and field operations.
- Scalable AI automation: Hundreds of pilots can upload and process data simultaneously through a unified platform.
- Faster response: Intelligent sorting and severity grading enable rapid prioritization of critical defects.
- Custom-fit intelligence: Tailored AI models ensure accuracy across Brazil’s unique asset types and environmental conditions.
“Because of the great cooperation between Arkion and Energisa, we are finding more defects across the grid with AI automation than ever before. The AI revolution has already passed and is now becoming an everyday business tool for Energisa.” — David Wickström, CEO and Co-founder, Arkion
Looking ahead
Energisa’s transformation demonstrates how AI-powered analytics and drone data collection can scale inspection and maintenance across one of the world’s most demanding grids. With Arkion’s platform as its digital foundation, Energisa is not only improving safety, reliability, and efficiency — it is also setting a new benchmark for how utilities can combine drones, AI, and human expertise to modernize infrastructure management. The collaboration continues to evolve toward predictive capabilities, empowering Energisa to anticipate and prevent failures before they occur, supporting Brazil’s transition to a more reliable and sustainable energy future.
About Energisa
Energisa is a company that has been thinking about the future since 1905, as innovation and entrepreneurship have always been in its DNA. For 120 years, we have been evolving relationships. Founded in the Zona da Mata region of Minas Gerais, Energisa is now one of the largest private groups in the Brazilian electric sector. We are an ecosystem of products and services that connects people and businesses to the best energy solutions, enhancing the country’s future.
Our portfolio includes 9 electricity distribution companies, 13 transmission concessions, a centralized photovoltaic generation plant, an innovative energy solutions brand – (re)energisa – which operates one of the largest distributed photovoltaic generation parks in the country, as well as energy commercialization in the free market and value-added services. Recently, we diversified our portfolio by including the distribution and commercialization of natural gas through the acquisition of ES Gás and, since November 2024, through participation in the assets of Cegás, Copergás, Algás, and Potigás; and the generation, distribution, and commercialization of bio-solutions (biogas, biomethane, biofertilizer), through the Agric plants in Santa Catarina and the Lurean plants in Paraná.
We transform energy into comfort and development for more than 20 million people in 977 municipalities across all regions of the country, generating over 20,000 direct and indirect jobs.
