Customer-owned Counties Energy meets change with agility using GE’s Digital Grid software

The pace of change in the utility industry is picking up, and leaders know the future lies in digital transformation. With climate change increasingly at the forefront of public consciousness, demand for renewable energy options continues to grow. Whether it’s solar, wind, or electric vehicles, the utility industry faces the need to incorporate a vast range of new technologies and power sources into grids that have come into being over decades. Even at the foundational level of energy flows, innovation is needed to manage this massive transition, especially given aging assets and increased stakeholder scrutiny.

At the same time, the world is becoming more dependent on reliable delivery of electric power, with demand anticipated to grow 50% by 2040. The transition to distributed energy resources (DERs) is critical, but so is providing the reliability and resiliency required by people and communities around the world. Affordability is also a concern, with electric power being foundational to health, economic growth, and opportunity.

Managing new energy sources, remaining resilient in the face of extreme weather and other risks, and delivering the affordable, sustainable power the world relies on is a tall order. One that requires the ability to accurately visualize and analyze the as-built and as-operated grid.

These are the kinds of challenges that Counties Energy is innovating to solve. One of the world’s most progressive utilities, Counties Energy is 100 percent customer owned and serves one of the fastest-growing counties in New Zealand. Because it is owned by and serves the needs of its diverse customer base, the organization is deeply committed to transforming its network for the low-carbon future and diversifying its offerings to create value for generations.

To support these goals and accelerate the digitalization of its grid, the utility chose to implement GE Digital’s Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS). Counties Energy was already using GE Digital’s Smallworld Electric Office, a network-based Geographic Information System (GIS). With the implementation of the GIS software, the company experienced the power of enforced data quality and integrity to support a fully connected, phase-aware network model. Additionally, the software gave the utility the power to model and manage the location and connectivity of transmission and distribution (T&D) network assets and distributed energy resources down to the level of the low-voltage network.

With the addition of GE Digital’s ADMS solution, Counties Energy gains advanced, intelligent SCADA, Distribution Management System (DMS), and Outage Management System (OMS) capabilities. ADMS provides the utility a single platform to safely interact with its network, manage work, and share information in real-time.

But the real power comes through the combination of the two solutions. Because GE Digital solutions feature true native interoperability, the utility will be able to access and analyze rich, unified multi-source data to drive flexibility, reliability, and resiliency for its network assets. Analytics will enable deeper understanding of customer needs and support effective decision-making and strategy.

An accurate, connected single network view—including fully digital, always up to date as-built information—will help the company optimize, maintain, and upgrade its network faster and more efficiently. Additionally, the company plans to take full advantage of its smart-meter fleet to improve high- and medium-voltage SCADA.

It’s a challenging time for utilities worldwide as demand explodes, technology hurtles forward, and expectations for environmental and community stewardship continue rising. By embracing the potential of the digital grid, companies such as Counties Energy are demonstrating that those challenges also create opportunities to lead toward a better world for everyone.

Read the Counties Energy case study to learn more about the collaboration between Counties Energy and GE Digital.