Grid Management System to solve local congestion

Abstract

The energy sector is changing. The increasing amount of solar and wind energy has a considerable impact on the electricity grid. These renewable energy sources bring more volatility and less flexibility to the power system on the supply side. Therefore, we need more flexibility on the demand side for coping with operational challenges in maintaining the stability, reliability and efficiency of the grid. On the other hand, new patterns of energy consumption can be observed on the demand side too. The capacity of the power grid is dimensioned based on the peak load. The Distribution System Operator (DSO) is responsible for maintaining the grid and overcoming these challenges. Grid reinforcement as one of the traditional solutions to expand the grid capacity is time consuming and more often not a cost efficient approach to address this problem. By transition towards smart distribution networks, local flexibility on the demand-side can be employed as an alternative solution.Enexis builds a Grid Management System (GMS) which uses this information to forecast local loads and has a smart algorithm to decide where and when flexibility is required to prevent congestion.Enexis develops, constructs, maintains and manages the electricity and gas grid in the North, East and South of The Netherlands for approximately 2.6 million customers.In this paper you get detailed information about the functionality of the GMS and the challenges Enexis faced when building it.