UNIFIED UTILITY INTELLIGENCE INTERNET OF THINGS INTRODUCTION. FierceMarkets Custom Publishing

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1 share: UNIFIED UTILITY INTELLIGENCE INTERNET OF THINGS PAIN POINT: HOW TO MAKE SENSE OF GRID DEVICE DATA SO THE INTERNET OF THINGS CAN PROVIDE RELEVANT AND ACTIONABLE INFORMATION ON DEMAND INTRODUCTION When incoming grid data becomes actionable insight, utilities will realize opportunities with the highest transformational value. And when grid edge intelligence is balanced with flexible, central intelligence, utilities will have powerful new sources of unified information to help improve utility operations and engage more deeply with customers. To that end, utilities are making significant investments in the sensors that make up the eyes and ears of the grid. Grid operators need to collect, integrate, process and make sense of data from these sensors at increasing levels of speed and accuracy and to do so at more frequent intervals than ever before. Concurrently, the emerging Internet of Things (IoT) is making a more powerful and flexible array of sensing and control options possible for the grid edge. The result is the availability of more mission-critical information and the potential for more distributed management of operations. September

2 THE POWER OF INTELLIGENCE Dramatic gains in processing power of grid edge devices and flexible, open, standards-driven communications technology are helping push grid intelligence to new heights. Utilities are receiving tremendously higher volumes of data in near real time than was available even just a few years ago. Certainly, there is no shortage of required new data inflows into power grid management as end users feed energy back into the system through self-generation, while also consuming energy in different ways. The costs of acquiring and managing these everexpanding data flows can be significant. Making the business case for this investment involves taking the time to proactively build a strategy for processing and acting on incoming data. Doing so leads to greater cohesion between internal operations and the needs of end users, while improving the ROI of the evolving ecosystem. A strong grasp of grid intelligence means being able to take decisive action on a number of issues such as why a grid device failed to report data as expected, whether a device in the field has been tampered with, or how to more precisely adjust to increased electric vehicle charging at select points throughout the day. With the emerging Internet of Things and its promise of enhancing end-toend automation of complex processes, utilities are beginning to harness key intelligence and powerful underlying analytics to deliver real business value. COMPONENTS OF INTELLIGENCE If unified utility intelligence is the comprehensive umbrella that various forms of unstructured and structured data feed into, how do utilities ensure that they are attuned to the data that matters most? The answer lies in solutions that can adapt to the new ways data is created and flows throughout the network to support the power system. With data and events originating more at the grid edge, Having the flexibility to allow certain kinds of processing to take place outside of central locations with inputs from multiple vendors and working with data in multiple states of aggregation that is the key. The extent to which the central system can adapt to this new architecture impacts the utility s ability to take advantage of an evolving distributed intelligence and analytics approach. utilities are recognizing the need to process and analyze events when and where they matter most. According to a recent IDC report, soon 40 percent of IoT data will be processed at the edge. Having the flexibility to allow certain kinds of processing to take place outside of central locations with inputs from multiple vendors and working September

3 with data in multiple states of aggregation that is the key. said Tom Wilson, Director, Technology Strategy and Standards at Elster. The extent to which the central system can adapt to this new architecture impacts the utility s ability to take advantage of an evolving distributed intelligence and analytics approach. Utilities are responding resoundingly to the need for greater intelligence. The burgeoning market for smart grid analytics (software and managed services) purchased by power providers is expected to reach $4.8 billion by 2022, up from $1.3 billion in 2014, according to Navigant Research. As utilities consider which applications to implement, attention should be focused on broader, more flexible solutions that can grow over time. Transformer load management can be enhanced if you can get near real-time information by continuously analyzing data and taking action locally to help manage any overload or impending overload issues. A point solution may be appealing, for example, because it appears to offer a faster resolution to a problem, but enterprise-wide approaches offer greater flexibility to solve future problems with existing analytical tools, according to Bob Lockhart, Tractica Principal Analyst and author of the Gigaom Research report, Smart Grid Data Analytics: A New Approach for Utilities. These broader, more flexible solutions are more likely to integrate well with legacy grid components and provide a holistic way to sense and act on grid events. They also provide a platform to help manage both customer-centric initiatives and utility-specific internal programs. RESILIENCY THROUGH INTELLIGENCE Transformer load management an important factor in reliability and overall operations is an excellent case in point. Advances in sensors and end-to-end control processes allow for more real-time monitoring of this type of individual equipment and identification of associated discrete events. They also allow for a wider, more predictive view of activity across the entire power network. This enables grid operators to act immediately or act based on larger trends that impact their operation and their ability to serve end customers successfully. With distributed generation playing a more prominent role in modern grids, utilities are coping with increased bi-directional loads on distribution transformers and will need to leverage unified intelligence to understand how to sense and adjust grid devices accordingly. Transformer load management can be enhanced if you can get near real-time information by continuously analyzing data and taking action locally to help manage any overload or impending overload issues, said Wilson. By understanding the status of a transformer and how it is trending and if local attached devices are aware of the trending and the rating for the transformer operators can then take actions to mitigate problems and communicate outcomes upstream. This could be applied to simply turning devices on or off as well as to creating a virtual, interactive system under a transformer to prevent overload. To support the various devices and systems that will make these types of enhanced feedback loops successful, it s important to look at platforms that are flexible and can interface with multiple applications and vendors. Elster created its recently introduced Connexo platform to give utilities the flexibility to interface with legacy and new vendor applications and devices as part of their September

4 unified utility intelligence journey. The solution is also designed to handle data in various states of processing, whether at the grid edge or center. MONITORING TAMPER THROUGH ANALYTICS Actionable intelligence is all the more eye-opening when it incorporates analytics that can provide the right level of granularity. For example, with challenges like non-payment and electricity theft, granularity can help grid operators pinpoint events rapidly at the device level and take quick action. Tamper, as it s officially known, is a growing area of industry concern, representing nearly $8 billion in lost revenue per year in the United States alone and.5 to 3.5 percent of a utility s electricity, according to a Gigaom report. In some countries, tampering can account for as much as 15 percent of a utility s electricity. Not only is tamper a problem for a utility, it s a problem for other customers using electricity lawfully. These non-technical losses are undetected load, and the associated costs may get passed down to customers in the form of higher distribution and transmission charges. Analytics can pinpoint these losses and make sure residential and commercial customers are in sync with their utilities and paying the right price for reliable energy. With our Connexo platform, we re able to use analytics tools to give customers device-level granularity of information the location of the device and every event that took place, said Dan Abenhaim, Technical Product Manager at Elster. They can customize event notification, and we can give them granularity at the alarm level, the reads of the last number of days, and what wasn t read by schedule, as well as flagging certain devices. PROCESS AUTOMATION AND THE INTERNET OF THINGS By 2020, there will be an estimated 50 billion endpoints across all industries that participate in the Internet of Things, according to ZK Research. The data procured through those endpoints will serve as a foundation for improved operations and more automated, streamlined decision-making. IoT-driven innovations in smart devices, protocols and messaging architectures will help utilities to keep making improvements in power quality, tamper detection, outage management and more. If you have more intel at the edge, you can do a better job of pinpointing where the location affected by the outage is. You can use nearby sensing devices to determine when and where restoration has taken place, and algorithms will filter information both locally and centrally to determine what s important. Temperature monitoring of field devices and outage management are two examples of areas that have begun to leverage Internet of Things. In markets where extreme weather conditions prevail, utilities are using automated feedback loops that alert back to a central system when a device hits a certain temperature extreme, and the system can automatically cut off the device or series of devices in order to maintain operations. Responding to outages quickly and efficiently for improved customer satisfaction continues to be a very high priority for utilities. Centralized intelligence helps efficiently combine information from back office sources and AMI to assess outage events, facilitate management of repair crews and accurately confirm restoration. September

5 Thinking about where unified intelligence can help, today the central system aggregates last gasp messages from the meters, and the data is filtered and statistically analyzed centrally to estimate the scope of an outage, said Wilson. In the same way, you get information back at restoration. If you have more intelligence at the edge, you can do a better job of pinpointing the exact location affected by the outage. You can use nearby edge devices, communicating with each other, to figure out when and where outage or restoration has taken place, and algorithms will filter and assess information both locally and centrally to determine what s important. Meters are aware of each others status. It s a great example of the benefits of unified intelligence the combination of powerful and flexible central intelligence balanced with enhanced capabilities at the edge. FINANCIAL BENEFITS Closely linked to the operational and process automation advantages, the financial benefits of unified intelligence are also compelling. Efficiencies from grid intelligence enable operational savings that get passed on to customers in the form of lower rates and fees. Unified intelligence with analytics can increase financial returns for a utility by reducing the traditional fullscale capital expenditures required. For example, these solutions can help predict and make more sense of peak load times. Armed with such knowledge, utilities can shave off peaks in demand and reduce the need for new generation assets like peaking plants and associated infrastructure. These analytics packages that provide unified utility intelligence can also pay for themselves through efficiencies [they identify] throughout the utility s business, according to Lockhart. Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) is a case-inpoint. BGE s savings from recent AMI analytics investments are expected to total $20 million for the utility and its customers through more accurate monitoring of meter health issues and nontechnical loss cases. CONCLUSION The intense fervor surrounding Internet of Things and big data may be justified when the resulting data delivers valuable, actionable intelligence leading to high impact programs that utilities and end users can actually implement. The business outcomes of this approach to data acquisition and management will help to keep utilities and their constituents in better balance. Operational improvements and efficiencies derived from analytics and unified intelligence are accelerated when data is analyzed and acted on where and when it can make the most difference whether at the grid edge for immediate action, or centrally to drive future changes. Elster Solutions is the North American electricity business unit of Elster, a multi-national, 7500-person company providing electricity, gas and water meters and related communications, network and software solutions to customers in more than 130 countries. Headquartered in Raleigh, NC, Elster Solutions is focused on delivering the vital connections utilities need to achieve the greatest possible value from their meter data. For more information, visit elstersolutions.com. September