Regulation and digitalization
Regulation has led to the massive adoption of Smart Metering and has shown us the enormous possibilities that the digitization of electricity grids offers.
We are beginning a new technological evolution in the electricity sector. Still, it also applies to other segments of the industry that have not received the regulatory push.
Other utilities are also adopting automated consumption reading and digitization of their distribution networks. We are in a moment of hatching the Smart Grids. No company in the sector does not have initiatives in this area.
While the various regulations have focused on ensuring and guaranteeing the proper functioning and improvement of the service to end customers, the utilities will benefit from advances in their management through the incorporation of sensors in all their elements and the automation of all business processes in real-time.
Benefits of digitization
The possibilities of improved efficiencies, cost reduction, failure prevention, and early problem detection are difficult to quantify today. Utilities will undoubtedly conquer those features, and they less and less question the excellent business cases for investment in digitization.
Real-time monitoring of all network elements will allow complete inventory control, with the identification and location of all assets, their lifecycle, status, remote updates of their configurations or firmware, and a proper association of the communications provided. This way, utilities obtain a better knowledge of the distribution networks’ current state, operation, and maintenance. Utilities can achieve significant economic savings by reducing operational costs, guaranteeing the security of supply to avoid failures and accidents, and allowing them to update the products and services utilities offer to customers.
The challenges of the future
This digitization of power grids becomes imperative as we face the future scenario: when the presence of electric cars will no longer be anecdotal and will become dominant. Another driver of these needs will be the proliferation of highly distributed renewable energy sources and the need to manage a decentralized distribution network.
Today, we find that IoT operations implementations have gaps and opportunities for improvement.
It is essential to make the right decisions now that the utilities are creating the foundations for the future Smart Grid. Taking a far-sighted view of the new capabilities and functionalities required by the IoT infrastructure, the utilities will improve effectiveness and add agility by integrating the devices, communications, and platforms implemented in IoT solutions. It is necessary to have the tools with these capabilities and functionalities to address the challenges that the Smart Grid will face in the coming years.
Conclusions
amplía)))) has the necessary capabilities and experience to accompany power generation and distribution companies in the challenge of Smart Grids, not in vain the company Berg Insight in its report IoT Platforms and Software - 4th Edition, references amplía))) as one of the world leaders in device management in the utility sector.