COLLABORATION WITH EPRI

i-DE has entered into close collaboration with one of the most prestigious institutions worldwide in electricity distribution innovation: the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) of the US. Three major research lines have been defined within this collaboration:

• Tools and technologies to meet demand: focused on energy efficiency. It involves defining the required technologies that will make it possible to adapt demand during peak hours in order to reduce the need for networks, and particularly generation needs for meeting demand.
• New distribution system configurations and advanced distribution automation: network automation poses new challenges and opportunities for both the networks and the IT systems used to manage them. This project provides tools to manage the future development of advanced distribution network automation.
• Intelligrid; technology transfer and information systems: this will make it possible to identify the future evolution of technology in the distribution networks, by integrating traditional electricity distribution with the opportunities afforded by computing and the world of sensors, thanks to the new advances in communications through the national grids (PLC) and other technologies. This is closely related to the new smart (digital) meters, whose installation in Spain will be mandatory for all customers. This is the most important of these three projects, and the foundation for the future of electricity distribution.