Agility in energy
Ahead of the challenge, ahead of the change
siemens.com/agility-in-energy
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We are on the verge of a new era,
the so-called electricity age.
The energy system as we know
it is changing dramatically.
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Agility: the key
to success
The bar is constantly being raised in the changing energy landscape
The change of the energy system is characterized by an
increasing departure from the use of carbon-based fuels,
the deregulation of markets, and environmental
awareness.
Agility is the basis for future business success in an energy
system that is efficiently automated, fully digitally
enabled, and seamlessly integrated across borders, system
functions, market roles, and forms of energy.
Enabling the integration of renewable energy, electricity
is becoming an increasingly important, omnipresent
energy carrier. At the same time, there’s a shift from
centralized large-scale power generation to a highly complex generation landscape characterized by a vast number
of independently owned and operated, distributed power
producers.
Agility in energy
This poses new, highly demanding challenges to the
power grids and their operators: Small generation units
are increasingly being integrated with loads and storage,
and the grids must be able to flexibly handle bidirectional
power flow and intermittency. At the same time, classic
supply side functionalities are being fulfilled more and
more on the demand side, and power distribution and
metering are growing together. Still, the entire system
and all its operations must be kept absolutely safe and
secure at all times.
While energy management becomes increasingly complex, Siemens remains focused on helping its customers
improve reliability and efficiency to stay ahead of the
challenge from the control room across the grid out to the
consumer.
A global powerhouse in the fields of electrification,
automation, and digitalization and a leading supplier of
technology for the efficient generation, transmission,
distribution, and application of electrical energy for more
than 160 years, Siemens provides holistic solutions for
the consistent automation and digitalization of power
transmission and distribution systems.
Success in changing times
Ensuring the reliability, efficiency, and sustainability
of
the power supply system and at the same time dealing
with completely new technical and market demands
requires a high degree of agility – the capability to anticipate developments and approach business operations as
well as resources flexibly, consistently, and promptly
through comprehensive automation and digitalization.
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Keeping sight
of the objectives
Strategic and operational agility is the main key
to success in a changing business environment
characterized by ongoing disruptive innovation.
The demands placed on the energy system and on energy technology have not
changed much over the last few decades.
However, today’s framework conditions
are completely different from what they
used to be. Experts say that very few
other economic sectors have undergone
similar disruptive developments. It has
become more important than ever for
power transmission and distribution
infrastructures to be safe and secure, efficient and affordable, reliable and resilient, and environmentally compatible.
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That’s why all energy management
products, solutions, and services from
Siemens have a common denominator:
the digitally enabled convergence of
information technology and operation
technology. They provide the basis for
understanding technology and market
developments, focusing on the relevant
fields of action, and finally acting accordingly. In a nutshell, they make it possible
to manage business processes and
resources flexibly, consistently, and efficiently and to react appropriately to new
technical and market demands in a timely
manner. Put even shorter: they enable
agility in energy.
Reliability
Resiliency
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In the new energy landscape,
delivering power efficiently,
reliably, and sustainably
requires agility.
All approaches need to enable the
thorough understanding of a
given situation, clear focusing,
and consistent action.
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Understand
Increasingly volatile parameters call for new forms
of collaboration based on transparent processes,
open ecosystems, and farsighted strategies.
Openness paves the way
Ecosystems that enable open collaboration and acknowledge the importance of other parties’ contributions will
be an essential driver of success. Factors such as the rise
of the prosumers, the market entrance of nimble specialists, and the convergence of information and operation
technology increasingly make proprietary systems with
their typical limitations a thing of the past. They call for
open system architectures that enable market participants
to pool resources, share their expertise, analyze developments, and ultimately utilize their strengths in the most
efficient way possible.
A great example is Siemens’ new Spectrum Power™
Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS). It
integrates distribution SCADA, outage management, and
advanced fault and network analysis under a common
roof and offers numerous data input and output options.
Comprehensive security solutions, such as Siemens’ cyber
security solution make sure that all systems are properly
and consistently protected at the same time.
Transparency enables better management
Comprehensive knowledge about everything that is going
on within a grid and related business operations is becoming more and more important. Precise long-term planning
as well as maintaining the reliability of increasingly complex grid infrastructures are only possible on the basis of
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comprehensive data and meaningful analysis results. And
the more market players and stakeholders are involved,
the more important it becomes to consider influencing
factors outside the grid itself – from generation capacity
estimates to climate and demographics. Moreover, transparency contributes to cost-efficiency in daily operation.
It is the basis for fast reactions in the case of faults and it
helps optimize systems.
Siemens has developed powerful system planning, simulation, data management, and analysis tools, such as the
Power System Simulator PSS®Product Suite, to assist engineers and operators in their work, while distribution automation solutions from Siemens enable remote monitoring
and control of power distribution grids.
The future is already here
The ability to foresee market developments and dynamics
in order to react to emerging business opportunities and
ensure sustained business success is a must in complete
systems. At the same time, foresightedness also enables
clear guidance and a stringent roadmap that ensures protection against wasted investments or unnecessary moves
that damage current success.
Siemens’ Compass consulting and analysis methodology,
for instance, provides comprehensive support in the
development and implementation of business strategies
and technology for the future energy system.
Canada: A clear understanding of more flexible, intelligent,
and efficient energy management
NB Power, the chief electrical
utility in the Canadian province of New Brunswick,
decided to become a “utility
of the future,” providing
load-following generation
capabilities and sustainable
electricity while also placing
even more focus on its customers and reducing rate
increases. In the framework
of a multiyear agreement,
Siemens applied the Compass methodology to design
a roadmap for NB Power
based on a comprehensive
key performance indicators
catalog.
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Focus
Customer alignment and public acceptance are essentials
in the increasingly dynamic energy market.
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Great Britain: Focusing on customer demand
with an open network management system
Siemens supplied a
significant contribution to
the ambitious “Customer Led
Network Revolution” (CLNR)
project operated by the
British electricity distribution
business Northern Powergrid:
A network management
system based on openstandard platforms and
protocols that can integrate
more data from various
sources as well as existing
and new IT platforms and
automatically adapt network
operation according to
identified constraints.
The customer is always right
Unobstrusive technology is a winner
Since distributed small-scale generation by private households started mushrooming a couple of years ago, the relatively fixed value stream in the electrical energy business
has turned into to a constantly changing variable. Electricity markets have become much more volatile, and customer behavior has changed completely within a short
period of time. Collective switching schemes, for example,
enable electricity customers to group together and use
their collective buying power to negotiate a better price
for their energy – a development many market players
would not even have dreamed of just a couple of years
ago. In several countries, such collective switching
schemes are even promoted by local councils, and the
number of consumers who switch their supplier keeps
rising.
Along with the changes in customer behavior, the general
public has become much more sensitive to the environmental aspects of power transmission and distribution.
Today, new projects experience much closer public scrutiny. Time-consuming planning procedures including
numerous planning permission hearings often render the
outcome of a project uncertain, while quick and clear
answers are required to master a given challenge.
The increasingly complicated technical framework as well
as market mechanisms that are sometimes difficult to
understand and to predict require highly adaptive solutions on the side of distribution system operators and
utilities, perfectly tailored to the individual company’s
situation and strategic agenda. Enterprise trading and risk
management (ETRM), for instance, a software solution
based on Atos’ Power Trading and Retail System (PTRS)
solution and Siemens‘ joint Resource Optimization and
Scheduler (jROS) solution, connects generation and trading, this way ensuring the best possible combination of
risk reduction and profit optimization across the entire
value chain.
With the development of new technical solutions, as well
as with the continual improvement and optimization of
existing technology, Siemens has helped improve the
public acceptance of transmission and distribution projects substantially. Extremely compact gas-insulated highvoltage switchgear makes it possible to bring power on
high voltage levels right into urban centers by placing
substations inside buildings such as multilevel parking
garages; gas-insulated lines offer an attractive alternative
wherever electromagnetic emissions are an issue; and the
low losses of high-voltage DC transmission help reduce
the space requirements and ground area of power lines.
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Act
Highly adaptable, lean,
and easily manageable structures
and processes enable the reliable
control of all relevant parameters
and assets in the most efficient
manner.
The right move at the right time
The energy business has become a highly dynamic industry and requires market players to adapt swiftly to new
developments. Siemens has developed a comprehensive
range of tools to manage this increasingly complex situation. The Siemens Demand Response Management System
(DRMS), for instance, is a proven software platform that
allows utilities to manage all aspects of their demand
response programs through a single, integrated system.
And Spectrum Power is a trendsetting energy management solution that helps increase the availability of a network, swiftly adapt an electric power system to new conditions and respond more effectively to malfunctions, and
to reduce the risk of system disturbances and outages.
Jettison ballast, streamline operations
Digital technologies also provide the opportunity for existing market players to become leaner, faster, and more
efficient from organizational structures to business models, while new market entrants can focus on their core
business without having to establish too much of an
administrative overhead. Systems and services such as
software as a service, cloud-based applications, and managed services help keep costs at a minimum and unlock
time and capital for new ventures and the development of
new business models. SICAM DC, for example, is a data
concentrator that can be controlled directly at the installa14
tion site without the need to connect a notebook or computer, and the Decentralized Energy Management System
(DEMS) communicates with the connected generation,
load, and storage systems without any need for additional
communications software.
Hardening a sensitive system
Reports say that there was a tenfold increase in major
power outages in the U.S. between the mid-1980s and
2012, and that weather caused 80 percent of all outages
between 2003 and 2012. In view of such figures, grid
resilience and the manageability of faults and outages are
at the top of the list of priorities. New solutions need to
be implemented swiftly and reliably, according to a clear
roadmap with a sustainable case for action.
Solutions from Siemens, such as microgrid management
systems and advanced fault detection and location systems that support self-healing applications and even comprise workforce management to ensure fast restoration,
help ensure maximum security of supply. Easy-to-use
products with a no-frills feature set and customer-friendly
interfaces help operators remain on top of things and
maintain a reliable supply at all hazards.
Germany: Acting today to be ready for the future with an
intelligent grid controller
German distribution system
operator Netze BW and
Siemens are implementing a
grid automation solution for
the catchment area around
the town of Niederstetten,
which is characterized by
multiple renewable energy
sources, such as wind power
and photovoltaics. Distributed grid intelligence makes
operation of the distribution
grid very energy- and costefficient while deferring the
need for cost-extensive grid
expansions. The pilot project
will serve as a model for
future projects.
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Distributed
energy system
Protection
Grid
applications
Industrial
cogeneration
Small
power plant
Onshore
wind
District heating
and cooling
Automation
Storage
e-Mobility
Energy mgmt.
and control
Photovoltaics
Traction
converter
Gas/Diesel
generator
Storage
Distribution
and consumption
Transmission
Transmission
control center
Transmission
substation
HVDC/
grid access
Central
power plant
Offshore
wind
Electrification
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Gas/Diesel
generator
Automation
Distribution
substation
Pumped storage
power plant
Digitalization
Communication
Evolution
means
opportunity
Metering
Private
photovoltaics
Prosumer
applications
The future energy system offers
promising prospects for agile minds
and businesses.
Combined
heat and power
Microgrid
control
Heat pump
Transformer
substation
Residential
area
Distribution
control center
The energy value chain in most markets will be turned
upside down within the next decades, but the emerging
future energy system will be full of opportunities for
agile energy businesses that are prepared for the change.
Siemens supplies trendsetting, workable automation and
digitalization technology, processes, and financing
options that provide the basis for exploiting all opportunities to the full. A comprehensive range of one-stop solutions is readily available to address changing customer
behavior, a changing energy mix, and changing network
operation requirements head-on and optimize all key
domains of a utility’s business within a comprehensive
strategic framework.
Opportunities multiply as they are seized
Infrastructure
Industry
In this context, digitalization unlocks synergies and
becomes a catalyst for even more success. The data
obtained from intelligent demand management, substation automation, and the grid integration of energy storage, for instance, can be used for the development of new
business opportunities that range from digital services
such as the management of virtual power plants to flexible pricing and pay-as-you-go schemes.
Siemens offers safe navigation toward profitable market
sectors with a comprehensive portfolio for power systems
of any voltage level in both public and private power
supply, expert knowledge and vast experience, and fully
customized solutions for every individual project.
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First and foremost, agility is a
mindset. It’s an attitude. It has the
power to enable every individual
player in the industry to gain and
keep an upper hand:
Agility in energy – ahead of the
challenge, ahead of the change.
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Printed on elementary chlorine-free
bleached paper.
Subject to change without prior notice.
The information in this document contains
general descriptions of the technical options
available, which may not apply in all cases.
The required technical options should
therefore be specified in the contract.
Siemens AG
Energy Management Division
Freyeslebenstrasse 1
91058 Erlangen, Germany
Article No.: EMCG-B10005-00-4A00
Dispo No.: 06200
fb 6642 WS 10150.5
Printed in Germany