Innovative digital infrastructure is gaining prominence in electricity grids, both in distribution and transmission, with around 7% growth in investment in 2022 compared to 2021.
The distribution sector accounts for around 75% of all investment in grid-related digital infrastructure, through the rollout of smart meters and the automation of substations, feeders, lines and transformers via the deployment of sensors and monitoring devices.
Investment in digitalisation in distribution also includes specific digital tools, such as Distributed Energy Management Systems (DERMS). These are able to exploit the potential of the increasing volumes of flexibility resources such as small-scale renewables plants, EV charging points and battery energy storage systems to solve local network issues for short-term grid needs, such as voltage regulation and congestion management. In addition, such tools can help distribution system operators (DSOs) to optimise their long-term investments, considering the flexibility potential of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) as an alternative to network reinforcement, including in grid-planning activities.
Considerable investment and progress has been made in electric vehicle public infrastructure, which continued to grow significantly in 2022, rising by more than 75% during the year. Smart grids can effectively integrate electric vehicle charging into the grid by providing the visibility and control needed to mitigate grid bottlenecks.
In the transmission sector, digital investment is devoted to the digitalisation of equipment such as power transformers, the automation of substations and the development of flexible alternating-current transmission systems (FACTS) and advanced sensors as phasor measurement units, allowing for faster and more flexible operation and improved control, monitoring and optimisation of the power grid.
Another aspect that is becoming increasingly important is networks’ disaster resilience. More and more new digital technologies are being deployed, such as Spark Prevention Units that help prevent forest fires (such as bush fires in Australia) or technologies that combine geographic information and satellite image analysis to predict potential damage to grid assets, e.g. damage from falling trees or branches near power distribution lines.
