Training course · Perplexity · Energy & Utilities

Perplexity for the Energy Sector

AI-powered research with Perplexity: cited answers, source control, Spaces, Deep Research and systematic fact-checking.

Duration
1 day (7 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

“Perplexity for the Energy Sector” is a hands-on course for roles such as Staff at municipal utilities and energy suppliers, Grid operators in planning, connections and operations and Customer service and billing teams. Rather than learning Perplexity in the abstract, you work on tasks from your daily routine – with examples, exercises and templates from Energy & Utilities.

Perplexity combines language models with live web search and delivers answers backed by numbered citations. That makes it particularly suited to work where currency and traceability matter: market and competitor monitoring, research into regulation and standards, supplier and partner due diligence, or preparing decision papers. In this practical day you learn to phrase research questions precisely, steer the choice of sources deliberately and use follow-up questions to turn an initial answer into a robust research result.

You work with Spaces, where you group research on a topic, add your own files and set instructions for the team. With Deep Research you produce extensive reports that evaluate many sources and bring them together in a structured way. Quality is a key focus: you learn to assess sources, cross-check claims and recognise typical failure patterns such as outdated or misattributed information. We also address data protection and licensing questions for business use. You leave with a reusable research process tailored to your own function.

The energy sector is undergoing a deep transformation: distributed generation, grid expansion, sector coupling, new market roles and dense regulation are reshaping municipal utilities, grid operators, suppliers and energy service providers alike. Generative AI helps above all in managing complexity. It summarises regulatory decisions and legislative changes, answers customer enquiries about billing, tariffs or grid connections efficiently, unlocks technical documentation and prepares project documents for permits. AI agents can support market communication processes, pre-sort fault reports or automate reporting. Because critical infrastructure is involved, requirements for IT security, data quality and traceability are especially high.

The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.

Who is this course for?

  • Staff at municipal utilities and energy suppliers
  • Grid operators in planning, connections and operations
  • Customer service and billing teams
  • Regulatory affairs and energy trading
  • Renewable energy project developers

Typical challenges we address

  • Dense regulation that changes frequently
  • Growing numbers of customer enquiries on tariffs, bills and grid connections
  • Extensive technical and permitting documentation
  • Skills shortages alongside rising investment volumes

What you will be able to do

  • You phrase precise research questions and steer the choice of sources deliberately.
  • You assess sources by origin, currency and reliability and trace claims back to the original.
  • You organise research in Spaces and combine web sources with your own documents.
  • You use Deep Research to produce structured reports and decision support.
  • Navigate regulatory requirements and technical documents faster and more reliably with AI.
  • Relieve customer service and grid connection processes through AI-supported pre-checks and draft replies.
  • Assess AI use cases with due regard to IT security and critical infrastructure requirements.

Course outline

Module 1 Foundations of AI-powered research
  • How it works: language model, live web search and citations
  • How it differs from a classic search engine and a general chat assistant
  • Framing research questions precisely: time frame, region, source type
  • Follow-ups and drilling down instead of one-off queries
Module 2 Steering and assessing sources
  • Narrowing sources: web, academic literature, your own files
  • Targeting primary sources, official websites and specialist publications
  • Assessing source quality: origin, currency, vested interests
  • Tracing quotes and figures back to the original source
Module 3 Spaces and teamwork
  • Setting up Spaces for topics, projects or client requests
  • Uploading your own documents and combining them with web sources
  • Storing instructions for consistent output formats
  • Sharing research and turning it into pages or reports
Module 4 Deep Research and structured reports
  • Tackling broad questions with Deep Research
  • Producing market overviews, competitor comparisons and topic briefs
  • Turning results into tables, side-by-side comparisons and executive summaries
  • Recognising the limits of in-depth research and refining results
Module 5 Fact-checking, data protection and workflow
  • Systematic fact-checking: counter-research and spotting contradictions
  • Typical failure patterns: outdated, misattributed or fabricated details
  • Data protection, enterprise licences and handling confidential queries
  • A reusable research process and source documentation
Module 6 Practice lab: Energy & Utilities
  • Making regulation understandable
  • Relieving customer service
  • Pre-checking connection requests
  • Unlocking technical documentation
  • Permitting and project documents
  • Reporting and market analysis
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • As operators of critical infrastructure, utilities and grid operators face heightened IT security requirements, for example under NIS2 and sector-specific security catalogues; grid and asset data must not flow uncontrolled into external AI services. Consumption and metering data is personal data under the GDPR and metering regulations, and unbundling rules must also be observed.
  • Ground rules for safe AI use in your team
  • Checking results: facts, sources, tests and the four-eyes principle
  • Personal action plan for the next 30 days
  • Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning

Practical scenarios from your field

Making regulation understandable

Regulatory decisions, legislative changes and industry guidelines are summarised, their impact on internal processes derived and prepared as task lists for departments – reviewed by regulatory affairs.

Relieving customer service

Enquiries about instalments, annual bills, tariff changes or registering wallboxes and PV systems are classified, draft replies created and missing documents requested specifically. Recurring issues feed into FAQs and self-service content.

Pre-checking connection requests

Incoming applications are checked for completeness, technical details extracted and passed to grid planning in a structured format, with follow-up questions to installers drafted. Processing times shrink noticeably.

Unlocking technical documentation

Operating manuals, maintenance logs and excerpts from standards are made searchable so teams quickly get answers to technical questions, including a reference to the source.

Permitting and project documents

For wind, solar or grid projects, application documents are structured, comments from authorities and the public analysed and project reports prepared for boards. Deadlines and conditions are tracked clearly.

Reporting and market analysis

AI helps write commentary on sales, generation and grid KPIs, summarises market reports and drafts mandatory disclosures and internal reports. Figures always come from verified source systems, never from the AI.

Prerequisites

Experience with online research in a professional context; no prior AI knowledge is required. Professional experience in an energy sector company; no programming skills required.

Technical requirements

A laptop with an up-to-date browser and a Perplexity account; we recommend Pro or Enterprise access to use Spaces with files and Deep Research in full.

Data protection & compliance

As operators of critical infrastructure, utilities and grid operators face heightened IT security requirements, for example under NIS2 and sector-specific security catalogues; grid and asset data must not flow uncontrolled into external AI services. Consumption and metering data is personal data under the GDPR and metering regulations, and unbundling rules must also be observed.

Suggested dates

All dates are suggestions – your preferred date is always possible.

  • Fri, 27 November 2026 Online Request
  • Mon, 7 December 2026 Salzburg Request
  • Wed, 16 December 2026 Online Request
  • Mon, 11 January 2027 Bremen Request
  • Fri, 29 January 2027 Online Request
  • Mon, 8 February 2027 Augsburg Request

Frequently asked questions

How does Perplexity differ from ChatGPT or a search engine?

A search engine returns a list of links, and a general chat assistant often answers from its training data. Perplexity searches the web at the moment you ask, summarises what it finds and backs each statement with citations. That makes it particularly well suited to current, verifiable research – although you still need to assess the sources yourself.

Can I rely on Perplexity's citations?

Citations make verification much easier, but they do not replace it. Occasionally a statement is attributed to a source that does not say quite that, or an outdated page is used. In the course you learn a lean fact-checking routine that lets you quickly verify critical statements against the original source.

Is Perplexity suitable for confidential research within a company?

Enterprise plans offer additional commitments on data use and administration. Even so, you should not put trade secrets or personal data into queries unless your internal policy explicitly allows it. We discuss how to phrase queries so that sensitive details stay protected while the research remains useful.

May a grid operator use cloud AI services?

In principle yes, but only for suitable data and after approval by IT security and data protection. Operational and grid data from critical assets does not belong in external services. In the course we carefully distinguish non-critical use cases such as text work from sensitive areas that require special safeguards.

Can AI reliably interpret regulatory changes?

AI summarises regulatory decisions and legislation well and helps identify affected processes. Binding interpretation, however, remains the job of regulatory affairs or the legal department. The course shows how to back up AI summaries with source references and avoid misinterpretation.

How much does “Perplexity for the Energy Sector” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 1 training day(s) with a live trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.

Can I suggest my own date?

Yes. Our suggested dates are just a guide. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and confirm within one working day.

Is the course online or on-site?

Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart or Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.

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