Get “Smart” with Smart Grid

Smart Grid deployment is essential for a secure, cost-effective and clean energy future. It is also envisioned as the only smart technique that can help achieve the full electrification of the country. India is too diverse geographically and climatically for centralised electrification policies to be entirely successful and sustainable. The idea of the Smart Grid is to use a two-way digital communication, in combination with digital control technology, to dispatch power with the aim of enhancing energy efficiency.  Power may be generated either centrally in large power stations operated by utilities by traditional means or by local, small generators using green and renewable energy resources. The “smart” digital components then communicate the status of generation and consumption to each other and collectively compute the path of least loss from the various generators to each consumer. This leads to enhanced efficiency in power utilisation and a better quality of supply to the consumer. In addition, the digital communication elements can notify all parts of the grid rapidly in case of breakdown or damage in any portion, following which computers can collectively, or in groups, compute and activate alternative routes or strategies for the dispatch of power. In this way, Smart Grids increase the connectivity, automation and coordination between the suppliers, consumers and networks that perform either long distance transmission or local distribution tasks.
 
The concept of Smart Grid can be visualised by the design of our hands. The performance and execution skills that can be achieved by using all five fingers of our hand can never be compensated by using just one very strong finger instead; since its structural limitations would enable it to perform a restricted range of tasks only.  Of course, the hand presents the brain and the nervous system with a significantly more difficult task in controlling and coordinating five fingers to work as a unified single entity.
 
As an analogy to human body, the Smart Grid relies on small local generators and large power stations, which are monitored and activated by the digital communication network, a parallel of the nervous system. These generators are controlled and coordinated by networks of computers, forming the brain. This combination of computation and communication is where the “Smartness” lies.
 
Why India requires Smart Grid
India is a fast emerging economy where the demand on electric power is increasing multiple folds. This can be visualised from the fact that currently India consumes around 3-4 per cent of worldwide electrical power consumption while more than 17 per cent of World population lives here. As India marches on it is developing economy journey, the demand and consumption of electrical energy is going to dramatically change. Although 70 per cent of Indian population lives in villages, still there are thousands of villages either with no electricity or inadequate electricity.  This scenario makes it very attractive if not mandatory to capitalise on these technologies like Smart Grids to leapfrog to next level. 
 
From our studies of Indian government policies, it seems that the focus would be on addition of generation capacity based on renewable resources like solar, wind, hydro-electric and biomass. The government is also formulating policies and standards for energy metering to eliminate pilferage and waste. On the load side, smart and energy-efficient loads like LED lights are being researched and standardised. 
 
India needs to build a modern, reliable and intelligent grid to be able to continue along its path of aggressive economic growth, which results in ever-increasing demands of electrical energy. With its current electrical grid, India loses money for every unit of electricity sold, due to inefficiencies in the distribution system. Being among the weakest electric grids in the world and considering the massive demand of the population, the necessity for building the Smart Grid in India becomes further apparent. Another driver behind the need for a smarter Grid in India is the country’s trend towards energy efficiency and increased use of renewable.
 
The Smart Grid, especially the smart mini/micro grid, should actually revolutionise lives in rural India. With the availability of low cost electricity, which would be generated from locally available renewable energy sources, the work hours of the day would be extended to well after sunset, which would improve the endeavours of housewives and have a positive impact on the education of children, who would be able to study at night. Power would be available for agriculture and animal husbandry, leading to increased productivity of farms. Electrical energy would be available for mobile communication, bringing the benefits of data connectivity to villages. Healthcare centres would be equipped with sophisticated electronic equipment and would be connected to remote consultancy centres to take advantage of telemedicine.
 
Success of Smart Grid across the World
Smart Grids are a key focus area all around the world including developed, developing and emerging economies. Whereas in the developed world, it can bring out efficiency and enable use of renewable energy sources, for the developing economies it can play an additional “leapfrog” step by bringing the power to energy starved areas including those where there is no electricity currently. This is possible as distributed energy sources are available almost everywhere e.g. Solar and Smart Grids can easily tap into these. There are active programs all around the world e.g.  in USA, European Union, China & India etc. to name a few.
 

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