Introduction
Grid analytics provide solutions that allow the analysis of the enormous amount of data produced during smart grid operations. Today, these solutions are gaining significance, particularly in the utility industry, to effectively monitor consumer behavior, manage grid operations, and plan investment in distribution networks. The surge in demand for cost-effective and sustainable power supply by producers and consumers has changed the smart grid analytics market.
In today’s continuously evolving energy landscape, a humongous amount of data gets generated from smart meters, sensors, automated distribution systems, etc. Smart grid analytics utilize this data to manage demand and consumption, prevent power outages, and reduce downtime.
The entrance of information and communication technologies (ICT) in grid modernization, increasing with each passing day, has led to the emergence of smart grid data analytics. The arrival of the Internet of Things and big data has expanded the options available to utility providers in data management.
Let us look at how grid analytics have transformed the utility industry : Avoiding blackouts
Today, electricity disruption like a blackout can have a domino effect. It can lead to a series of crashes affecting banking, traffic, communications, and security. Grid analytics adds resiliency to the electric power system and enables it to be better prepared to address emergencies. Its two-way interactive capacity allows automatic rerouting when equipment fails or outages occur. It detects and isolates the outages, containing them before they become large-scale blackouts.
Restraining the issue of Global Warming
Global Warming, which is so rampant in the 21st century, has shown what kind of impact it can have on climate change. It makes the need to find efficient ways to use and optimize energy now more than ever. Smart Grid technologies enable the utility sector to maximize power consumption based on modern technologies like IoT and artificial intelligence. Usage data are collected continuously from the consumers by the power suppliers using smart grid data analytics. The usage then is optimized to distribute the energy supplies evenly.
Like wind energy, solar energy plants, etc., alternative power supplies can be channeled using smart grid analytics. It will reduce the dependency on power generated using fossil fuel. It will minimize fossil fuel production and help contain the greenhouse effect.
Containing water wastage
Smart grid analytics play a vital role in optimizing water usage by households and industries. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, water leaks in houses cause wastage of 10,000 gallons of water per year. Smart Grid Analytics helps utilities in optimizing the usage by reporting potential leaks and contain wastage.
Forecasting and planning for disasters
Grid Analytics has changed the way we forecast and prepare for emergencies. They use third-party data to predict natural disasters like storms, earthquakes, floods, etc., and the impact at specific locations. It helps utilities in planning and preparing for such emergencies effectively.
Optimizing consumption
The fuel that we consume each month accounts for half of our utility bill. Utilities can help reduce the bill by managing fuel better. Grid Analytics help make better decisions as far as fuel procurement, regulatory factors, unit commitment, and outage planning are concerned.
Reducing cost
Utilities lose an enormous amount of money every year either in the form of customers who do not pay their bills or tamper with meters to escape paying hefty bills. Grid Analytics can help utilities in detecting such theft and avoid fraud.
Giving more control to customers
Grid analytics is not just about technologies and utilities; it also gives more power to consumers. It allows customers to manage electricity from home just the same way they manage banking from home. Grid analytics allow an unprecedented level of consumer participation. It will enable them to see how much electricity they use when they use it, and its cost.
To sum up!
With each passing day, the business of utilities keeps evolving. It is because of the increasing cost-effectiveness of renewable energy sources, emerging technologies, new data sources, rising customer expectations, reform, and rate design. Grid analytics adapts to these influences seamlessly.
Utilities must develop and execute an analytics strategy to take advantage of the additional information at their fingertips. An analytical vision and comprehensive plan are required for the utility sector to maximize Grid analytics’s potential.
Grid analytics has become a core part of today’s utility business. And it has changed the way utilities do business. Understanding the experiences and challenges encountered by other services can help understand business value enabled by smart grid analytics. It will be fascinating to follow how these priorities shift in the coming years.
