Going Digital Gives Electric Utilities a Business Advantage

Today’s business model for electric utilities are shifting from the traditional role to a more advanced one. Electricity suppliers are being challenged with stagnating or declining electricity sales in some regions. Increasingly popular distributed energy resources (DER), including on-site solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and energy-storage devices also are having a revenue impact.

European utility executives polled by the market-research firm IDC Energy Insights think new business and services supporting their commodity-electricity business will account for about 40% of utilities’ revenues by 2020. To meet changes, many distribution system operators (DSOs) are exploring new and innovative ADMS (Advanced Distribution Management Systems). They wish for creating stronger customer relationships and modernize the power distribution system operations to open new revenue streams for growing their businesses beyond energy sales. With the help of efficient DMS (Distribution Management Systems), utility companies can provide more reliable, safe and efficient power to its customers.

Three digital technologies are particularly used by utilities. They offer opportunities for business transformation.

  • Sensors, matched with sophisticated and advanced softwareand automation tools, are helping to better address the utilities customers’ growing demand for onsite PV and storage. To keep grid power flowing smoothly, distribution substations are equipped with switches, capacitors, transformers and other such assets. Pairing sensors to these components with increased automation will minimize outages and support faster network reconfiguration. And, with more accurate voltage and power measurement, DER can be more easily integrated, with real-time voltage management to stabilize fluctuations, even when integrating intermittent distributed generation.
  • Smart meters act like the digital front doors to customers’ homes. They function in conjunction with internet-connected thermostats, water heaters and other appliances. With this technology, customers can save money as utilities gain new capacity for offering demand-reduction and time-of-use rate plans.
  • Digitizedsmart grids give DSOs an easier path toward the integration of customer-sited technologies in the early stages of deployment. The nascent market for electric vehicles, for example, offers one of the few opportunities for load growth in our increasingly efficient But these emissions-free cars, trucks, and buses pose operational challenges. With a digitized distribution system, DSOs can monitor charging operations in real time and offer rate plans that incentivize grid-friendly charging schedules. Such systems could even call on the batteries in customers’ electric vehicles as a new distributed resource for aid in load balancing and other ancillary services.

You can learn more about the business advantages electric utilities are discovering through increasingly digitized grids in the new report, “Digital Grid Unleashed.” Download it for more insight into the changes, challenges and opportunities these new technologies might present for today’s utilities.

 

By our Guest Blogger:  Ponniah Sankarakumar

Ponniah Sankarakumar graduated with distinction from Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, India with a Bachelor Degree in Electrical and Electronics. He conducted most of his career in Electrical Power Systems, based in the Middle East and in the U.K, holding many senior engineering and commercial roles. Ponniah is a recognized Edison Expert within Schneider Electric, and has contributed various publications in the Electrical Power Systems field. Presently, Ponniah leads the Marketing & Strategy function for the Energy business of Schneider Electric in the Greater India region.

Ponniah’s work ethic is to “help others to succeed”.

The post Going Digital Gives Electric Utilities a Business Advantage appeared first on Schneider Electric Blog.

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