With the electrification of transportation and heating sectors, explosion of EV charging and a general rise in energy demand and prices, the UK energy network is stressed in numerous ways as we drive towards net zero targets. That is why we organized a symposium on Half hourly metering and Grid Management at our UK office in Manchester.
Bringing together industry colleagues and stakeholders from across the UK made for great discussions around the issues and challenges in grid management - from billing through to power quality management. With the shift from fossil-based to zero-carbon energy sources, grid operators are coming across completely new challenges - and our collective effort is needed in addressing these challenges, not just at the local metering level but all the way through the network.
Knowledge sessions
The day kicked off with a welcome address by Robert Harper following which 4 speakers took the stage on various topics.
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Half Hourly and Grid Metering for todays and Future opportunities: Federico Perillo and Rafael Vaquez explored industrial metering use cases and applications and how the new generation of high accuracy measurement instruments can tackle current and future challenges impacting the grid. |
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Communication Technologies Joe Andrews discussed the use cases and communication protocols active in the UK before speaking about the technologies needed to address them including remote terminal units with SCADA capability, Modbus and IEC 61850 equipped products. |
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Grid-Edge: The Future Networks Nina Zalaznik took the audience through the challenges faced by network planners and operators and how monitoring and control at secondary substations can improve network visibility and support more efficient grid operation. She showed how this helps grid operators plan investments, while moving towards decarbonization and continuing to support grid resiliency. |
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Trends driving the need for Grid edge technologies Jon Slowe from LCPDelta provided perspectives on the industry trends and challenges that will drive the use of Grid Edge technology . He spoke of the emergence of digital technologies and initiatives for grid modernization and DER management. |
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Product Introduction - Commercial Metering Rafael Vaquez provided a sneak peak into the Landis+Gyr E570 commercial meter now coming to the UK for the low and medium voltage markets, covering its capabilities, customer use cases and unique value proposition. |
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Key takeaways:
As dynamics in low voltage grid operation become increasingly complex - not only due to bi-directional power flows, but also due to the unpredictability between energy demand and supply, there is greater need for flexible solutions with the ability to adjust quickly to operating conditions.
At the same time, smart electricity meters are going beyond billing and balancing applications. With advanced metrology, connectivity and grid edge capabilities, they are helping network operators and energy providers to secure their investments against the costs of energy by acting as grid sensors enabling more efficient grid operations including power outage management, integration of renewables, and detection of network faults.
The E660 Industrial meter for example, provides powerful Grid edge control capabilities through its linux based RTU module and a wider range of communication interfaces. In a recent webinar on Industrial Metering for the IoT era we discussed some of the key challenges in Industrial Metering and how to solve them. Check it out to learn more on the impacts and mitigations of power quality issues.
