These new assets will allow us to manage the distribution network more efficiently, improving the integration of new renewable energy producers and resolving possible congestion derived from distributed generation, thereby maximising the use of grid capacity.
The different types of investment were as follows:
– SmartGrid investments: these aim to use IT tools and the most innovative equipment to respond to the demand for electricity, based on achieving a two-way relationship between the installation itself and the end user. To this end, all distribution and transformer stations need to be equipped with digital tools and sensors.
Among the projects planned in this section are the Advanced Low Voltage Supervision, which provides real-time information on the entire network of transformer substations, and the Advanced Supervision Manager, which houses the equipment that enables all the information collected at the low voltage output level to be aggregated. We have also invested in the Transformer Dissolved Gas Analyser to continuously monitor the level of dissolved hydrogen in the cooling oil of transformers, among other equipment.
– In addition to the equipment described above, we have invested in Digitalisation Systems, which are essential for controlling and processing all the information collected from the new equipment. Given the exponential increase in the number of grid assets being monitored today, their management has become one of the main challenges in the operation of the distribution network.
The planned investments in Digitalisation Systems promote the improved operation of electricity distribution assets, thanks to their maintenance and monitoring based on remote supervision, sensorisation, IoT (Internet of Things) and AI (Artificial Intelligence), robots, energy control, smart meters and remote management, cybersecurity, fraud and loss data analytics, among others, and improved customer service through our Digital Services Platform.
– Last, we have invested in a third group of equipment called Digitisation Offices, which include the digitisation of substation automation, control and protection systems.
Actuators are the main devices that enable data exchange between smart devices, both within and between substations. This entails the extension of protection functionalities and improved remote management and cyber security associated with digital assets. These investments help advance the remote operation of the electricity grid, receiving measurements and signals from multiple points scattered across the grid and enabling their remote management. As more telecontrol points become available, the network can be provided with more capacity to make its operation more flexible.
The communications network is also made up of a set of different networks of different technologies that coexist to offer the best alternative in each case. Investments in fibre optics and wireless communication will enable large amounts of information to be transmitted and will improve the performance of the network as a whole.
All the investments described above are included in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, and are supported by EU funding through the NextGenerationEU programme managed by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge.