Microsoft has announced that its Copilot has delivered a 480% return on investment for UK Power Networks, with the energy distributor achieving a 96% adoption rate across 1,000 employees.
The Distribution Network Operator, which supplies electricity to 8.5 million homes and businesses across London, the South East, and East of England, reports that the technology has enabled staff to automate time-consuming administrative tasks and redirect focus toward strategic priorities.
Martin Knoebel, Head of Digital Solutions and Analytics at UK Power Networks, says the deployment has transformed operations.
“We’ve been able to unlock new levels of efficiency and creativity, turning mundane tasks into opportunities for discovery and growth,”
He says.
With efficiencies centered around SharePoint, email monitoring systems, and document analysis, the utility company reported integrating Copilot into its existing setup and training staff to rethink their workflows as key to its success. “By focusing on specific use cases that were previously time-consuming and mundane, we delivered value from day one,” Knoebel says. “Besides the time savings and quality improvements, we see a measurable impact on employee satisfaction and engagement.”
From Pilot to Production: The 12-Month Journey
UK Power Networks’ deployment of AI began in early 2023 when Knoebel outlined a vision for how the technology could benefit a company with 6,500 employees and a network spanning nearly 120,000 miles of cable.
After securing backing from CEO Basil Scarsella and the executive team, UK Power Networks established a Copilot Task Force to build internal momentum around the technology’s capabilities.
The company launched a two-phase approach in January 2024, starting with 300 licenses before scaling to 1,000 by December. The team conducted 40 deep-dive interviews across departments—from communications to legal, complaints to network operations—ultimately identifying nearly 50 distinct use cases. This granular approach meant teams received solutions tailored to their workflows rather than generic AI tools.
The Task Force ran workshops for more than 950 colleagues, while 12 Copilot Champions provided ongoing guidance. The company limited training groups to 20–30 people to ensure sessions remained focused and relevant.
Once adopted, teams set Copilot to work improving their workflows. The procurement team now uses Copilot for contract reviews, drafting supplier communications, and generating reports on spending trends—tasks that previously consumed significant staff time. Customer service teams use it to craft more empathetic responses and prioritize outstanding complaints, improving both efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Some departments have even created AI agents that surface buried documents from legacy SharePoint systems, making historical information accessible in seconds rather than the hours previously required for manual searches.
The support infrastructure established during the initial adoption continues today, with Knoebel crediting this approach as a key reason why adoption rates reached 96%.
Microsoft’s Expanding Footprint in UK Critical Infrastructure
UK Power Networks’ deployment is part of a broader trend of Microsoft securing partnerships with critical infrastructure providers across the United Kingdom. The company has positioned itself as the AI and cloud platform of choice for organizations managing essential services, with the NHS serving as the most prominent example.
Earlier this year, Microsoft signed an agreement to make its productivity suite available to 1.2 million NHS staff in England. The health service subsequently completed what it describes as the world’s largest healthcare AI trial, deploying Copilot across 90 organizations and more than 30,000 workers. Results showed staff saved an average of 43 minutes daily, with projections suggesting up to 400,000 hours of staff time could be saved monthly.
“This major trial proves the extraordinary potential of AI to transform healthcare,” Darren Hardman, CEO of Microsoft UK & Ireland, said at the time.
The NHS has also adopted Dragon Copilot, a specialized AI assistant that captures clinical conversations to draft documentation and automate follow-up tasks. More than 50,000 NHS staff now use some form of Copilot technology, demonstrating how Microsoft is developing sector-specific solutions rather than relying solely on general-purpose productivity tools.
These deployments share a common trait: they build on existing Microsoft infrastructure. UK Power Networks utilized Microsoft 365 across its operations, while the NHS hosts more than one million Teams meetings monthly. This installed base reduces implementation friction, making Microsoft’s AI tools a natural extension of existing workflows rather than a disruptive change.
Building the Network of Tomorrow
Beyond office productivity, UK Power Networks has deployed Azure-based systems that are reshaping how the company manages its electricity network. The distributor migrated aggregated smart metering data to Microsoft Azure in 2023, giving it visibility into network performance that wasn’t previously possible.
Knoebel says this data enables the company to identify network issues before customers report problems, allowing engineers to reroute power around faults or accelerate repairs.
For Microsoft, this case study is a welcome development at a time when analysts are beginning to question whether AI is truly delivering returns on investment.
As critical infrastructure providers face mounting pressure to improve efficiency while managing complex modernization challenges—from grid decarbonization to digital transformation—Microsoft’s ability to offer integrated AI and cloud solutions positions it as an attractive option for driving efficiencies across large-scale enterprise deployments.
