The Internet of Things (IoT) is an infrastructure of interconnected objects (mainly sensors and equipment), that contains embedded technologies to sense, communicate, process information, react and interact with each other or the external environment to create value from this interaction. IoT solutions encompass sensors, Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) systems, communications, data storage and analysis, including AI. Increasingly, various industries are using IoT to operate more efficiently, deliver enhanced customer service, improve decision-making and increase the value of the business. With IoT, data is transferable over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interactions.
Highlights
According to Gartner’s Utilities 2024 CIO Agenda Insights and Data, 56% of utility respondents indicate increasing investment in OoT, with enterprises varying widely on their IoT maturity. Larger utilities have ongoing IoT-enabled initiatives for use cases, ranging from incremental benefits (for example, asset optimisation or regulatory reporting) to transformative benefits (for example, dynamic operations of renewable assets).Factors such as falling costs of technology, a large number of vendors, and relative ease of deployment for new use cases and experimentation are accelerating IoT adoption. Due to a larger addressable market and R&D funding, the price/performance of IoT solutions is improving faster than utility vertical solutions, such as advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) or (supervisory control and data acquisition) SCADA. IoT applications could sharply increase in the future with the development of edge computing and 5G.
Opportunities and challenges for DSOs
- IoT could bring benefits with voltage quality analyses in different nodes and voltage loss per phase and Last Gasp.
- IoT facilitates real-time monitoring (power quality, asset characteristics, etc.).
- IoT enables powerful asset management solutions (power transformers, overhead lines, partial discharges, etc.).
- IoT could be used in the future for the implementation of decentralised flexibilities (including V1G/V2G).
- IoT facilitates the integration of power and utility OT, IT, consumer technology (CT), and engineering/energy technology (ET).
- The lifetime of IoT devices is assumed to be shorter than the lifetime of usual equipment.
E.DSO Considerations
- IoT is an already available and widely used technology. Its applications could sharply increase in the future with the development of smart secondary substations and smart Low Voltage (LV) networks.
- IoT will bring the most benefits at low and medium voltage levels. The greatest benefits from IoT will come from:
- Substation monitoring, followed by monitoring of transformers and power quality measurements.
- Congestion management and implementation of flexibilities.
- The successful implementation of IoT needs to bridge the cultural differences between IT and OT operations.
- As IoT devices make new and different cyberattacks possible, cybersecurity is a major issue.
Potential use cases
- Grid monitoring: IoT sensors monitor the health of the grid infrastructure (e.g. power quality, monitoring transformers), detecting faults and predicting maintenance needs to prevent outages.
- Predictive maintenance: IoT devices can predict equipment failures before they happen by analysing data from sensors. This reduces downtime and maintenance costs.
- Renewable energy integration: IoT helps in managing the variability of renewable energy sources like solar and wind by optimising their integration into the grid.
- Electric vehicle (EV) charging: IoT can manage EV charging by monitoring charge levels, optimising charging times, and integrating with the grid to balance demand and supply.
- Energy theft prevention: IoT-enabled smart grids can detect and prevent energy theft, saving significant costs
- In combination with IoT, smart meters provide real-time data on energy consumption, allowing for better demand management and dynamic pricing. The separate smart meters and dedicated metering devices factsheet, to be available in the upcoming Radar editions, will provide further detail on this.
Ongoing projects
- Enedis developed SmartConnect, an IoT platform for the management of more than 100’000 connected objects. The main IoT solutions that are industrialised by Enedis include the monitoring of primary station transformers, surge arresters, fault localisation indicators, flood detectors and mobile generators.
- The GridWise project integrates information and operational technology to effectively monitor E-REDES’s transformer substations. By employing advanced technologies such as AI, IoT, big data analytics, and edge computing, GridWise performs continuous monitoring of LV circuits to guarantee power quality parameters, detect faults, and identify non-technical losses such as theft or fraud.
- E-REDES has also launched the Distribution Network Webcams project aimed at developing a dashboard for detecting, classifying and managing substation alarms.
- Stedin is running several innovation projects that leverage IoT (sensors) for grid monitoring and predictive maintenance. Use cases include climate monitoring, underground temperature monitoring and monitoring transformers.
- Netz Niederösterreich’s PQsmart project leverages 10-minute voltage profiles from smart meters to detect voltage limit violations, perform predictive maintenance, identify defective components, and optimise LV switch states.
- UFD is implementing the Fire Detection solution, a system leveraging AI and IoT to safeguard large forested areas from wildfires. The system utilises electrical towers and power lines as monitoring platforms. The initial deployment phase covers approximately 430 km2 in Ourense, Galicia.
Last update: 14 February 2025