Toolkit for assessing the digital development potential of the energy sector of the economy

¹ Southern Federal University, 105/42, Bolshaya Sadovaya Str., 344006, Rostov-on-Don, Russia
² Russian Research Institute for Integrated Use and Protection of Water Resources, 344000, Rostov- on-Don, Russia
³ Federal Research Centre the Southern Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SSC RAS), 344006, Rostov-on-Don, Russia
⁴ Volgograd State University, 100, Prospect Universitetsky, 400062, Volgograd, Russia
⁵ Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation, 119571, Moscow, Russia
⁶ MIREA – Russian Technological University, 119454, Moscow, Russia
⁷ Volgograd Institute of Management – branch of RANEPA (Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration), 400131, Volgograd, Russia

^* Corresponding author: mitrofanova@volsu.ru

Abstract

Digitalization of the energy sector is important for improving the reliability and safety, productivity, efficiency and sustainability of energy systems. However, the scale and speed of digital transformation are determined not only by the energy companies’ resource capabilities, but as well by the characteristics of the external environment that provide the conditions for digital development. This article is aimed at forming a toolkit for measuring the digital development potential of the energy sector of the economy. The key factors of digital development of the energy sector were identified as a result of bibliometric analysis of publications by means of VOSviewer toolkit. Content analysis and descriptive analysis were also used in the study. Official statistics data characterizing the development of the energy sector in Russia served as the information sources. The developed toolkit made enabled to assess the potential for digital development of the energy sector in terms of the following components characterizing the internal and external environment of the energy sector: energy sector digital maturity, energy sector resource readiness, digital maturity of supply chain participants, and digital development level of the region's / country's economy. The results of approbation revealed the possibilities of using the proposed toolkit to measure the potential for energy sector digital development. The results of the study proved that the prospects for digital transformation in the industry are determined not only by its digital maturity, but also by factors and conditions of the external environment.