Smarter Grid operations – Building for the future in Winterthur

Stadtwerk Winterthur, in the Swiss Canton of Zürich, has been providing their customers with electricity, gas, water and heat for over 150 years. With the rising demand for photovoltaic installations however, they needed a smarter way to proactively manage challenges in billing accuracy and power quality. Working closely with Landis+Gyr, Stadtwerk Winterthur found an all-in-one solution that reduced their total cost of ownership by 30%.

The secret to ongoing success is to never stand still. For utility providers, this means adapting to meet the changing nature of the energy running through their grid. In 2019, Stadtwerk Winterthur began a widespread rollout of smart meters. However as the proportion of photovoltaic (PV) installations continued to rise, they needed a better way to ensure stable energy flows, consistent power quality and a balanced grid.

Collecting data to manage the grid

Compared to traditional generators, PV introduces significant power output fluctuations and influences power quality. To manage this and ensure uninterrupted high-quality service, the network requires reliable, up-to-the-minute data on billing and quality of supply. And when necessary, grid voltages must be adjusted instantaneously by changing the output of the PV plant. In the past, utility providers used multiple devices to achieve this. But multiple devices need multiple installations, maintenance, and connectivity, with an associated multiplication of the cost of operation.

One device, many functions

Stadtwerk Winterthur needed an all-in-one solution that could measure both billing and power quality, communicate simultaneously with SCADA and HES and regulate grid voltage remotely. They found the versatile measurement, connectivity and control they were looking for in the Landis+Gyr S650 Smart grid terminal. Featuring the E65C multi-protocol communication module with a SCADA license, the S650 delivered complete power plant visibility, grid intelligence and remote DER voltage control without the need for multiple devices.

Over 30 % savings in TCO

By installing the Landis+Gyr S650 with the E65C communication module across their network, Stadtwerk Winterthur was able to achieve improved planning and operations, thanks to better data and analytics. This also enabled improved customer experience, not just be reducing power outages, but also by cutting down on the number of times a technician would have to visit a customer’s home.

This allowed Stadtwerk Winterthur to not only achieve over 30% reduction in total cost of ownership but also gain far greater control of the grid and its assets for safer and more efficient operations.
Download this case study to learn more about how Stadtwerk Winterthur was able to achieve this.