The Story of how Gridscale X saved Greenbrook during the Snowstorm - A Winter Tale

This year’s holiday season was unusually warm in the town of Greenbrook, with not a flake of snow to be found. The houses and trees sparkled with lights, but the children missed the joys of sledding and snowball fights.?

When school was back in session, their lesson turned to weather, climate change, and the role that energy systems can play in promoting sustainability. Their first guest speaker of the year was Sarah Smith, an engineer at the local Distribution System Operator (DSO). Sarah explained that her job is more complex than ever.?

Intermittent renewable resources such as wind and solar comprise a growing share of the energy mix, which benefits the environment but also makes predicting the supply of energy more challenging. The electrification of transportation, heating, and industrial processes is dramatically increasing demand and making it more difficult to manage spikes in consumption that occur during the winter holidays and summer heat waves.??

Despite these challenges, Sarah and her team ensure a reliable energy supply for the citizens of Greenbook with the help of our smart Gridscale X software. By creating a digital twin of the electric grid that incorporates real-time data from existing systems, the software enables Sarah’s DSO to enhance day-to-day operations as well as near and long-term planning.??

The students received a firsthand lesson on how quickly the weather could change later that night when a severe snowstorm turned Greenbrook white. At first, the kids enjoyed playing in the fresh snow, but it continued for days upon days until it blanketed the town. Eventually, the heavy snow brought trees and power lines down.???

Fortunately, Sarah and her team were ready.? The real-time insights of the #DigitalTwin allowed them to pinpoint exactly where the damage had occurred. With the advanced planning features of the Gridscale X software, Sarah’s team was able to efficiently prioritize restoration efforts. Using data from the digital twin, the co-pilot feature rapidly proposed mitigation measures so that the DSO could more quickly mobilize repair teams. The real-time insights offered by the software also allowed the DSO to keep its customers informed about restoration efforts and timelines for completion. Within hours (instead of days), Sarah and her team restored power to most of the town.?

At a ceremony after the storm had cleared, the mayor, the children, and the entire town cheered. Sarah was thankful that her DSO had invested in software that gives her team a detailed, dynamic view of the grid. The energy transition is creating unprecedented challenges for DSOs, but digitization and automation allow Sarah and her team to keep the lights shining in Greenbrook. With Gridscale X, they are always ready for the next challenge.??

Copyright: ? Siemens AG