SMIGHT Smart Grid meets User Experience - Intelligent control for power grids

The challenge

Due to the continuously increasing number of electrical vehicles, heat pumps, and storage devices, the 1 January 2024 revision of the Energy Industry Act allows power to controllable consumption devices connected to the low-voltage network to be temporarily reduced whenever an overload appears imminent. This development was decisive for the creation of a new product, the SMIGHT IQ Copilot. This is an innovative solution which, in addition to evaluating energy readings, now enables the electricity network to be controlled in real time.

Communication between the various network operators, metering point operators, and suppliers was one of the development project’s biggest challenges. To resolve it, inovex developed an efficient communication strategy and implemented robust interfaces to facilitate the integration of the various systems.

User-centric product development

Designing the new solution’s interface required a great deal of information and functionality to be modelled as intuitively as possible. SMIGHT and inovex aimed to ensure that, despite the complex connections between data points and actors, the platform remained simple and straightforward to operate. inovex carried out user research and stakeholder interviews in order to develop a user-centric design based on users’ daily activities.

Technical Implementation

SMIGHT’s own sensors collect data on outgoing energy directly at the substations. This information can be sent via a gateway straight to the new solution, the SMIGHT IQ Copilot. The software monitors the amount of energy leaving the transformer or distribution substations and enables rapid, flexible reactions to any load spikes or overloading. In implementing this project, inovex and SMIGHT had to take into account numerous legal regulations and technical specifications and to incorporate them into their development process.

Cryptographic encryption, for example, was a crucial aspect of the project, and the highest security standards were established to ensure data integrity and confidentiality. This involved making sure that communication with each metering point operator was separately encrypted, while, at the technical level, strict multitenancy rules prevent the entire system from being simultaneously compromised. Within this encrypted network, the BDEW Web API is used to send energy reduction commands to controllable consumption devices via metering point operators. The control process is then documented in accordance with guidelines issued by the Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA, Germany’s Federal Network Agency) and VDE FNN (the technical regulator for power grids in Germany). The solution thus complies with current regulatory and ISMS requirements and can be rapidly aligned with future needs. A map view enables controllable consumption devices to be assigned to local network stations and cable distribution cabinets in just a few steps.

Results

Close cooperation and inovex’s specialist expertise enabled SMIGHT to bring a completely new product to the market. The real-time data enables network operators to accurately monitor network loads and to react flexibly when required. This reduces the risk of outages and improves the sustainability of the energy supply. The SMIGHT-inovex smart grid project demonstrates how innovative technologies and custom-tailored IT solutions can further advance the energy industry. The combination of technical expertise, comprehensive security architecture, and a deep understanding of regulatory requirements have resulted in the development of a product which is fundamentally changing how electricity networks are monitored and controlled.