Smart Rural Grid

Abstract

Distribution System Operator (DSO), as well as many types of multi-utilities around the world, are rolling out what is known as the Smart Grid (SG), either by a legal mandate or because the technology is ready and sufficiently mature for a deployment of this magnitude. Another driver of this transition consists in the opportunity to create new business models, that will bring benefit to the companies involved in this technological challenge. An SG is an electricity network that can integrate profitably the behavior and actions of all users connected to it, such as generators, consumers and prosumers, to ensure an economically efficient and sustainable energy system with low losses, high levels of quality, and safety. The Smart Rural Grid project, has sought to make a clear definition of the stakeholders involved, trying to clarify what are the expectations of the society and what the risks., This investigation has resulted in a proposition: to avoid another Digital Divide between urban and rural citizens, due to a partial or complete lack of access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), of a part of the population. This project emerges to meet these challenges and it also helps to respond to the different technical and operational issues in the particular case of rural networks, taking advantage of the convergence between electricity and telecommunication networks. It also examines the best way to make the transition from the current rural distribution network to a new electricity grid using smart technologies, while always considering new possible business concepts, associated with this new paradigm, and with a robust environmental awareness and a solid social responsibility.