Christian Hoetterges
Electromobility
The Grid Optimization Manager (GOM) is a software solution for predictive and preventive grid control, based on state of the art predictions as well as identified patterns. As a platform solution, the GOM offers open standards for integration to operators of distribution and areal grids as well as metering points.
More and more distributed generators and consumers are connecting to the low-voltage grid. This complicates the task of maintaining secure, reliable service. Operators have to have insight into the low-voltage grid to manage bidirectional power flows and volatile renewables and tackle the increasingly difficult task of forecasting feed-in and consumption levels. Smart meters and grid sensors can serve to monitor power quality.
The Grid Optimization Manager aggregates the readings taken by smart meters and other grid sensors within the low-voltage grid. The GOM features smart asset management to analyze all factors that impact grid operation as well as the ways in which they interact. This analysis provides the foundation for monitoring and proactively operating the grid and managing distributed assets.
The only way to rise to the challenges of the low-voltage grid’s growing complexity is with intelligent software. To this end, all components have to be connected and seen from a holistic perspective.
Robin Schmidtke, product manager GOM
The low-voltage grid is growing more dynamic as the exit from fossil fuels progresses. This is why operators need deeper insight to see the details at the grid level. The Grid Optimization Manager supports analysis and decision-making based on infrastructural and topological data. This enables a real-time model to detect network sensitivities, detect anomalies and enable real-time failure management.
The Grid Optimization Manager is a platform solution that supports open standards for integration. It connects with existing communication solutions as well as new metering infrastructure. Integrated smart meters detect and localize power quality problems without requiring additional sensors.
Coordinating power production and consumption in line with the current grid status is a constant balancing act. The Grid Optimization Manager draws on the available data to provide an intelligent way of controlling power flows based on operator and user preferences. Powerful features such as multi-criteria optimization help cut the costs of balancing energy, improve the quality of the power supply, and enable sustainable and non-discriminatory grid operation. In addition, smart connectivity of all systems ensures that the energy generated on site can be used in a targeted manner by temporarily storing it in the company’s own network.
The Grid Optimization Manager also serves to monitor grid quality to ensure secure and reliable operation. It provides a visual representation of the grid’s current status to detect bidirectional power flows, pinpoint deviations from grid standards (DIN EN 50160), and determine remedial measures. This enables operators to improve grid utilization and optimize the grid territory.
The Grid Optimization Manager merges current weather data and forecasts as well as energy generation and consumption data within the grid territory to holistically analyze the interplay of all these factors. AI-driven analysis of the data set, a digital twin, and multi-criteria optimization provide the means to monitor operations, make precise forecasts, and intelligently manage the grid territory.
The GOM thus combines the individual management tasks associated with the grid, balancing groups, and grid planning. This is how it facilitates system-based decisions that enable the grid’s distributed plants to be operated in a cost-efficient, sustainable, and non-discriminatory way. And multi-criteria optimization also enables dynamic load management in the grid.
To safely manage the grid, it is imperative that the operator has tools to forecast volatile bidirectional power flows across the points that connect the various grid levels. The data aggregated by the Grid Optimization Manager allows precise forecasts to be made for feed-ins and loads in the grid territory. These forecasts help detect congestions early on. They also enable operators to draw conclusions about how individual power plants affect the grid and to make better informed decisions in the course of vertical grid coordination.
