The ‘Internet of things’ is the ‘new revolution’. During the past decades, there were major changes in the energy industry: the increased implementation of renewable generation, together with a greater use of electronic power elements in the network such as high-voltage DC links and the use of flexible AC transmission system and new market requirements, introduce new challenges and a need for more intelligent assets monitoring; and additional optimisation with a better balance in the combination of different energy sources and thus guaranteeing the reliability of supply and quality of energy; together with the identification of new business models that allow the integration of new technologies, neutralising cyber threats and ensure an adequate dissemination of knowledge to new generations. Companies are migrating to a more digital model based fundamentally on three pillars: communications, big data and artificial intelligence. The right combination of these three pillars will optimise the operation of the electrical system, reducing costs and polluting emissions, accelerating the adoption of non-polluting energies and renewable energies, while maximising economic performance and a closer way of interacting with users. The industrial Internet of things (IIoT) has been identified as one of the technologies with most potential impact in the next years.