Smart Industry 1/2019

grid more efficiently, and reduce operational
costs.
Governments and private firms are
realizing that transforming supply,
delivery, and consumption depends
on three interdependent elements:
policy, economics, and technology.
Together they will drive transformation
by creating a sustainable,
reliable grid. Indeed, legislation and
regulations triggered the fundamental
transformation that is now underway.
Without new technology, none of
this will work because new infrastructure
is needed. Utility companies are
responding to mandates and incentives
to integrate significant amounts
of wind and solar-generated power,
while pursuing massive capital programs
to replace and expand the electricity
infrastructure. Many recognize
that modernization also includes deploying
information and communications
technologies.
Economics are often the most critical
factor in making policy and technology
choices – and these choices have
impacts on societal, customer, and
business value. While there is much
discussion among stakeholders, there
remains a lack of clarity regarding the
value in each of those areas. Understanding
and articulating customer
value is a key to the success of smart
grids.
Transforming electricity delivery and
consumption while delivering new
value to customers is going to depend
on many factors. But the fact remains
that near-real-time information allows
utilities to manage the entire electricity
system as an integrated framework,
actively sensing and responding to
changes in power demand, supply,
costs, quality, and emissions across
various locations and devices.
Making the grid smarter, more secure,
and more resilient is one of the great
business and technology opportunities
of this century. There’s an exciting
convergence going on already
between energy technology (ET) and
information technology (IT). In order
to realize the benefits of this convergence,
the technology architecture
must align to the business architecture.
Utility companies and technology
manufacturers need to be as
knowledgeable about the business issues
as they are about the technology.
Electricity companies have significant
challenges in implementing their
converged ET/IT platforms; among
which are the issues of legacy integration
and deployment management.
The legacy device and system issues
can dominate technology adoption,
making it impossible to make wholesale
and immediate changes to utility
infrastructure for both financial and
logistical reasons. Any technology
The goal is
complete
integration of
information and
communication
technology and
existing energy
infrastructures.
Monjur Mourshed
Cardiff University
Employing the
network for energy
management
will enable utility
companies to optimize
power supply in
response to demand,
improve security
and reliability, and
integrate renewable
energy resources
onto the grid while
reducing operational
costs.
upgrade plan must take these points
into account and the business implications
of a proposed upgrade must be
understood.
In addition to the need to accommodate
the existence of legacy devices
and systems, it is also necessary to understand
that new technology implementations
are done via rollouts and
transitions and that operations and
services need to be able to keep up.
While these issues may be challenging,
they have been addressed successfully
in other industries. However,
the unique needs of the power industry
and the ways in which business
processes and financing impact such a
technical transformation must be integral
parts of the convergence process.
Business architecture is the integration
of corporate strategy, business
models, processes, and functions. It’s
the starting point for determining
the appropriate organization-specific
technology architecture. The strategic
options facing utility industry executives
involve an uncertain future and a
period of rapid transformation.
Disentangling the complex links between
public policy and business
strategy makes it easier to determine
the cost benefits of specific investments,
to understand the architectural
context, and to assess investments in
terms of sequencing and synergies
when developing robust technology
roadmaps.
There are many ways to innovate.
This means that it’s not just about
new boxes or devices. It’s increasingly
about looking at the challenges and
solutions in different ways. A strong
architecture enables a rethink of the
entire situation: applying protocols
in innovative ways to achieve performance
levels unachievable in the
past.
Investment in new technology along
with replacement of an aging transmission
and distribution infrastructure
will create a stronger and more resilient
grid. Investments in operational
information and communications
technology via discrete investments
as part of the infrastructure upgrade
could result in smarter grids that are
also more secure.
55