Since 2019, Building The Future is one of the main Portuguese Digital Transformation events. In this edition, the panel Role of Technology in Energy Transition counted with Joaquim Teixeira, director of the Digital Platform of E-REDES, who addressed the challenges of Energy Transition, the impacts it has on the electricity grid and the key role of the Distribution Network Operator in this process of transformation of society.
In this sense, the following were mentioned as the main challenges for the sector: the strong growth of renewable distributed generation and the rapid electrification of society; the growing adverse and extreme climate phenomena, which put great pressure on the networks; and the new market models, with a strong focus on self-consumption and energy communities, which encourage the emergence of new services such as flexibility.
E-REDES as a Grid Operator has a crucial role in this transition, either through automation and intelligence in the grids, to make them more resilient, secure and able to integrate the available renewable production; or through the availability of digital platforms to support market facilitation, to leverage new solutions for energy efficiency.
To illustrate this intervention of the Network Operator in the Energy Transition presented 2 examples of projects that E-REDES develops:
1) The LVControl project consists of reinforcement, automation and intelligence in distribution networks through observability (combination of sensors installed in Transformer Stations and data from smart meters for supervision of Low Voltage (LV) networks in "real time") and controllability (which allows to estimate operating states and make command and control of the LV network, similar to High and Medium Voltage networks).
2) Open Data is the free and open-access portal for sharing data on the energy distribution network throughout mainland Portugal, and already has 17 datasets that provide different perspectives of the network. It promotes transparency and acts as a catalyst for the energy transition and smart cities, as it promotes product or service innovation and stimulates co-creation of value with municipalities, energy agencies, and the scientific community, among other entities in society.
The Energy Transition requires a united front of effort, in close articulation with everyone - government, society, business, academia - so that an increasingly better and more sustainable Future is possible.
