Smart Grid

The power sector is a major source of carbon emissions in China. In 2018, it accounted for more than 50%. Emission reduction is required of this key sector to achieve the carbon neutral target.The adoption of IoT in power utilization, distribution, transformation and communication can make the power grid more automatic, information-based, interactive, strengthen the capability of resource allocation, improve the level of safe and stable operation, adapt to clean energy development and grid connection.

5G IoT Supports the Smart Grid

5G eMBB, uRLLC and mMTC can comprehensively improve the power sector’s operation efficiency and intelligent decision-making, helping smart grid construction.

Distribution Automation

The distribution automation system is an important part of the smart grid. It’s an integrated system for real-time monitoring of all kinds of equipment in the distribution network. Distribution network testing and measurement, fault detection and location, automatic control, planning, data and statistics management are integrated. The distribution automation system consists of the intelligent terminal information acquisition layer, communication network layer, SCADA layer, aided decision-making layer and WEB publishing layer. With the distributed network protection technology, relying on high-speed optical communication, rapid decision-making is done between DRTU. Feeder line fault location fault isolation and power supply recovery can be realized, further reducing the range and outage.

Data collectors in the distribution system transmit data through modules. When a fault occurs, the fault information can be transmitted to the master station through modules. The master station judges the fault location and the current condition at fault occurrence according to the received fault information, and sends an alarm at the same time, informing the staff to rush to the site quickly. Thanks to the intelligent information system, the staff can quickly find the fault location, reducing the inspection personnel and troubleshooting time, and greatly improving the reliability and stability of power supply.

Grid Patrol Robots

Manual grid inspection is prone to blind spots, time-consuming and costly. Grid patrol robots can carry out infrared temperature measurement, meter reading, on-off actuator identification and abnormal state alarm on substation equipment, and provide background functions such as real-time inspection data uploading, data analysis, information display and automatic report generation, effectively improving the grid inspection capability.

Real-time data communication by grid patrol robots is enabled by modules. SIMCom has developed a series of 5G modules covering all frequency ranges of major global carriers and compatible with various communication protocols, which are very suitable for high-speed scenarios such as telemedicine and grid inspection.

Smart Grid Meters

Billions of grid meters are also an important part of the smart grid. Power metering needs to evolve from traditional metering to advanced metering. 5G networks characterized by extensive connectivity can connect numerous smart meters, increase the frequency of data collection, enrich the content of data collection, achieve two-way interaction, thereby meeting the customer demand for intelligent electricity consumption and individualized service.

SIMCom 5G, Cat.1 and NB-IoT modules can make a big difference in the field of smart meters. Cooperation has started with a number of partners. A7600C1 and A7670 series have completed large-scale commercial shipments to serve various industries. Remote meter reading, dynamic monitoring and optimal allocation of resources can be achieved via data connection through modules.