We are in the Future of Smart Power Industry

Experts from T&D describe how to optimise the use of technology such as online monitoring, online health assessment, and asset management in power transmission infrastructure, to build a resilient business model for T&D infrastructure.

Transmission and distribution (T & D) sectors in India are being hampered by existing infrastructure, resulting in T & D losses and a detrimental impact on the electricity industry. Despite continuous sector growth and modernization efforts, more work has to be done to lower the proportion of power loss to a single digit.

This demands consistent electrical supply, good monitoring and management, and long-term infrastructure. Smart grids, automated substations, smart measurement technologies, and renewable energy are just a few of the new initiatives that will assist the country in developing a more effective T&D infrastructure. This will create several possibilities for technology, solutions, and service providers in the future.

Upgrading existing T & D infrastructure 

Transmission corridors are often strengthened globally by the construction of additional transmission lines as well as higher voltage corridors. In India, we can witness a progression from 220 KV to 400 KV and now to 765 KV as the voltage of choice for new transmission lines.

There are numerous methods and means for reaping benefits from upgrading or upgrading existing T&D infrastructure. It can manifest itself in the domains of space, time, and capital. On this view, Amitabh Singhal, Vice President – Power Systems, Sterlite Power Transmission Ltd., emphasises the core power, as that’s very critical in the delivery aspect. Other than that, if you look at the transmission networks today, the challenges are in terms of the uncertainty and intermittency of renewable integration, which is an increasingly larger share of the overall energy share, managing the CapEx and the O&M costs and manpower for maintenance.

According to Tarun Katiyar, Chief Business Development), Tata Power, “The Indian Power Transmission network was designed to serve load centres and connect various conventional power plants, primarily with 132 KV and 220 KV transmission lines that are ageing and require upgrading/strengthening of transmission lines with higher capacity conductors and/or multicircuits in place of single circuits.”

Optimising technologies to maintain T & D

In India, we are still fortunate to have more people coming into the power sector, but there is much geography where it is still an issue, and therefore, how we can optimise the use of technologies like online monitoring, online health assessment, asset management.

Discussing this, Amitabh explains that, ultimately, all of this depends upon the data. There have been projects with the installation of these phase or measurements in the transmission networks, which provide a lot of information to the network operators to take decisions in real time and increase the robustness and flexibility of the grid. “On the distribution side, not much has been done in terms of increasing its smartness, but I think the recent initiatives to install Smart Meters would go a long way, because then the real consumer data pattern would be available and there would be a lot that can be done to even manage the demand in a very dynamic manner,” Amitabh adds.

On the other hand, Tarun explains Tata Power’s strategy to deal with it. He emphasises that digitalisation and embedded eco-systems such as drone surveys, satellite imaging, and software-based simulation are assisting in rapidly reshaping the T&D environment. To prepare our network for the future, Tata Power is using image analytics, remote maintenance, and application pack age based monitoring. Microgrid businesses use technology to build long-term business models that serve consumers at the bottom of the pyramid, “Tarun elucidates.

These technologies, efforts, or solutions would play a very big role in making the grid smarter and helping us effectively utilise the capacities and infrastructure with minimal effort and cost.

Girish Dev, BU Head-AI and Digital Transformation, Commtel, agrees with the broad points made above. We are talking about smart grids, which will eventually be a part of the transformation, along with legacy infrastructure. However, when we discuss smart grids, smart cities, sustainable energy, energy security, and other topics, we are briefly introduced to the future of the smart power industry.

Smart grids are completely implanted with an information layer that facilitates communication between various other components, making them more sensitive to changes and transformations in energy demand during critical situations. This information layer, created by the widespread installation of smart metre sensors, enables individuals like us to gather, store, and analyse data as needed, i.e., at the customers’ and wherever the mechanisms are installed. So we refer to your phasor measuring units, or PMUs, as synchro phasers. And these are all necessary components of a smart grid, a contemporary smart grid, as they are referred to. All of this allows for real time measurement alignment of data from numerous remote places throughout the grid. Tarun adds to the conversation by stating that data has enabled operators to change from reactive to proactive and predictive maintenance methods in order to minimise outages, and that restoration times have been substantially decreased owing to centralised monitoring. As smart grid technologies are applied, the system is becoming more stable and trustworthy.

These Smart Grid elements have now been combined with advanced data analytics to assist in enhancing the reliability, security, and efficiency of energy transmission and distribution networks. Machine learning and other AI techniques are best suited to the massive amounts

and diverse structures of such data. This data analysis may also be used for problem detection, predictive maintenance, power quality monitoring, and renewable energy forecasting. So, if we’re talking about affordability, it is given thing in the landscape for creating a smart power sector.

Implementation difficulties in the face of technological uniformity

 Even if the utilities are different across the country, we still have one synchronous grid that is entirely operational. So all the transmission lines, substations, the loads, and power generations across the country are working in harmony and are playing together. Although the specifications of individual pieces of equipment or systems may differ slightly, at the end of the day, everyone is approaching the same vendors through different purchasing processes.

So, even though we have specifications, there might be minor differences. Usually, there is a common ground where everything is designed to work in a mixed system according to the defined functional requirements or specifications. “So I don’t see the issue of different utilities having any concerns pertaining to technology. The only concern here is the adoption of new measures and new technologies as per the utilities, which are happening at a different pace,” “says Amitabh. This is where we need a mechanism to promote adoption of the latest technologies by the utilities by allowing a platform for new technologies to be tested. Usually, there are concerns about innovations and about why to impose risk on the grid system by implementing new, unfamiliar technology.

We must realise that a lot of these newer technologies have been deployed in other geographies and have been operational for a long time. Moreover, they undergo stringent testing and validation before any application. Further, adoption of these technologies is becoming smoother. 

Government intervention and its impacts 

The recent union budget announced reforms to power sector link schemes that are expected to increase AT&C losses in the T&D sector. Welcoming the government’s move to address the concern pertaining to AT & C losses, Tarun said, “The government’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme is a positive move toward improving the distribution sector’s condition by bolstering distribution infrastructure and implementing Smart Grid technologies to reduce losses and close the ACS-ARR gap.” Aside from the aforementioned, the government should expedite the introduction of competition in the distribution sector. “

Whereas, Amitabh explains the significant benefits of having smart metres installed to address the critical concerns related to poor and inefficient billing. He says, “A lot of such aspects can be operationally managed with the deployment of smart metres; and interestingly, the government is looking to have a huge humongous number of smart metres installed across the country by 2025. So, in a way, smart metres are going to play a huge role in minimising the AT&C losses at the transmission and distribution end. So, an appropriate review of the infrastructure, proper planning, and timely actions can avoid overloads and reduce the technical losses.

Girish, on the other hand, claims that no adoption is simple. As conclusive as it may sound, it is still a critical push. If we are talking about being an energy independent nation and having energy security, among all the other things, then the whole drive is towards adoption of technology, to move towards becoming a smart power sector.

The final word 

Looking at the present circumstances and the advent of technologies taking over the operational functions in the T & D sector, the industry is highly optimistic, irrespective of the physical performance of different state discounts or poor credit worthiness. Even though the procedure delays still hamper the sector’s growth, the industry is positive about moving towards expansion and enhanced infrastructural growth by implementing innovative and advanced technologies in the T&D sector.